Too many kids are feeling a sense of hopelessness | HLTH 2024

Las Vegas - In a discussion about kids and mental health challenges, Christine Crawford said it’s important to recognize the gravity of the situation.

Mental health experts talk about the behavioral health crisis in kids during a panel discussion at the HLTH conference.

Crawford, associate medical director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI), said that kids aren’t just a little anxious or sad. “It’s so much more than that,” she said.

“So many people feel disconnected, even though you're surrounded by folks all the time, it just feels like we're living in isolation,” Crawford said.

Crawford moderated a panel discussion on kids and mental health at the HLTH Conference. The session was titled, “The Kids Are Not Alright,” and that’s an assessment shared by many healthcare leaders. Children’s hospitals are seeing more kids and teens showing up in emergency departments with mental health needs.

Read more: Children’s mental health crisis is ‘at risk of overwhelming the system’

Don Mordecai, MD, national leader for mental health and addiction care for Kaiser Permanente, said the mental health crisis among kids existed before the COVID-19 pandemic. But he also cautioned that the pandemic’s impact on young people shouldn’t be dismissed.

“The pandemic was a big deal, a big disruptor in people's lives,” Mordecai said.

Many children are hurting, and the problem is worsened by parents who aren’t sure where to turn to get help for their kids.

“Parents are struggling,” he said.

Plus, parents of kids with developmental disorders often have difficulty getting assistance, and they find it difficult to find work as they become teens and young adults. It’s especially problematic for parents that are getting older.

“We don’t live in a society that supports people and gives people with developmental disorders a job,” Mordecai said.

Akiera Gilbert, CEO of Project HEAL, an organization that serves people with eating disorders, says many people can’t get coverage for treatment. And often, treatment is only approved for those who have a low body mass index, but Gilbert noted that there’s a spectrum of eating disorders, including binge eating.

Many kids feel a sense of hopelessness, she said.

“We are theoretically living in an age of connection, and we have never been more alone,” Gilbert said.

She pointed to the impact of social media on the mental health of kids, and like Mordecai, she suggested that some people have minimized the toll of the pandemic on kids. Gilbert said it’s wrong to simply view it as a part of the past.

“There are lot of people who haven’t moved forward,” Gilbert said.

Both Gilbert and Mordecai said young people are finding it difficult to figure out who they are, and feelings of hopelessness compound the problem.

“If there’s nothing to look forward to,” Gilbert said, “then how do I form a sense of self?”

Mental health conditions are notoriously unrecognized in communities of color, and among LGBTQ teens.

Drew Robinson, a former major league baseball player, candidly discussed his own mental health struggles, including his attempt to take his own life. Robinson now works as a mental health advocate, and he says some young people, including athletes, mistakenly feel like they need to ignore their pain.

“You don’t have to learn the way I did how important it is to take care of mental health,” Robinson said.

For many, including young people, there is still a hesitancy to seek help for mental health, and Robinson said he almost lost his life to an “outdated stigma.”

Robinson said normalizing therapy can go a long way. He said he talks with other and describes seeking help in a bragging tone. And he said it would have made a big difference if he was young to see more people talking openly about taking care of mental health.

“Young people pay attention all the time,” Robinson said.

The panelists also offered advice for parents who want to help their kids but aren’t sure how to do it. Even showing concern can be a big help, and parents shouldn’t carry the burden of feeling like they have the answers.

“The most important thing is to be present … Say you don’t know what to do and I want to be part of solution,” Mordecai said.

Gilbert pointed to the value of paying attention to kids and avoiding the temptation to dismiss struggles as a phase.

“It also means listening to them right, and not just hearing them and letting it flow in one ear and out the other,” Gilbert said.

Robinson talked about getting away from the athlete’s mentality of all or nothing. In his work, he talks about finding a sweet spot between 0 and 100 that’s something tolerable.

While many kids are struggling, Crawford urged the audience of healthcare leaders to embrace the idea that the mental health crisis in kids can be remedied.

“There are things we can do about it,” Crawford said. “We’re able to make a change and we have to make a change.”

Getting help

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Dial or text 988 to connect with someone. Help is available 24/7.

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention offers resources for healthcare professionals.

NAMI: The National Alliance for Mental Illness offers “frontline wellness” resources for healthcare workers and public safety employees.