World News: We're facing a mental health crisis

Tuesday, January 11

Kieran Seven, middle, takes notes during an advanced placement literature class at Nativity BVM High School in Pottsville, Pa., on Wednesday, Jan. 5, 2022. The Diocese of Allentown planned to make masks in schools optional, but the decision was put on hold due to the omicron variant.

We're facing a mental health crisis in America

The entire country is facing a mental health crisis, especially young people.

Today's newsletter focuses on a topic that I think everyone can relate to: mental health and wellness. There's more and more evidence that many Americans of all ages are struggling mentally. If you or someone you know is having serious thoughts of suicide, please call 911 or the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Psychologist: How to help kids cope with pandemic's emotional toll

By Alan D. Blotcky

A 9-year-old girl drew me a picture of a young child surrounded by a dark, swirling storm and four stick figures lying in hospital beds with long tubes attached.

A 12-year-old girl told me: "We've been at home together for a long time and we love each other but we're getting in each other's way. I don't know who's more upset, me or my parents? We are a scared family right now."

And a 14-year-old boy said: "My grandmother died yesterday from COVID. I'm so sad. And I'm scared for me and my mom and my dad. And even my little sister."

Being a clinical psychologist who treats children and teenagers has given me a unique vantage point during this nearly two-year pandemic. I have seen firsthand the psychological toll this national crisis has taken on our youth.

Today's Editorial Cartoon

Andy Marlette, USA TODAY Network

USA TODAY Network

•	January political cartoon gallery from the USA TODAY Network

Students face mental health crisis. But schools aren't ready to help.

By Autumn Cabell

The U.S. surgeon general's public advisory about the devastating challenges to young people's mental health is a clarion call to increase and diversify the ranks of mental health professionals in our nation's schools.

"The challenges today's generation of young people face are unprecedented and uniquely hard to navigate," Surgeon General Vivek Murthy wrote in the advisory. "And the effect these challenges have had on their mental health is devastating."

Most school counselors are cisgender white women, which means students of color and students who identify as LGBTQIA+ may struggle to feel safe or understood in the space where such feelings are paramount.

Our mental health is no joke. Have some manners.

By Steven Petrow

Wide receiver Antonio Brown made headlines ripping off his jersey and shoulder pads, then pulling off his gloves and T-shirt and running off the field, flashing a victory sign in his wake. Since then, there has been a tremendous amount of discussion about mental illness and what's happening with him.

I don't know what's going on in his mind, and I'm not going to speculate. Nor should others. But we can use the incident and whatever is going on with Brown to focus on the important topic of mental health issues. An overwhelming majority of Americans say we're in the grips of a full-blown "mental health crisis," according to a new USA TODAY/Suffolk University poll.

This is just the latest poll to report on the deepening mental health crisis in this country, which has seen a rise in depression, anxiety, stress, addiction and other disorders in the course of the pandemic. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, nearly 1 in 5 U.S. adults – nearly 52 million of us – live with a diagnosed mental illness, which leaves me to wonder how much higher the real number is.