The health district’s census of more than 6,000 students among middle and high schools across the county was taken in October of 2021.
The surveys are conducted in Clark County every two years, and they have shown a rise in middle and high school youth reporting feelings of depression and anxiety, especially since the onset of the pandemic. Disruptions to daily life, including school and extracurricular activities are factors, said Nate Smith, communications coordinator with the Clark County Combined Health District.
The National Institute of Health estimates that approximately half of all people nationwide are living with an undiagnosed mental illness.
“That tells us that certainly there is a significant number of Clark County youth living with undiagnosed challenges to their mental wellness,” Smith said.
More than 26% of Clark County middle school students and 36% of high school students reported poor mental health “most or all of the time” during the pandemic, according to the survey.
‘It’s getting a little better’
Tecumseh High School student Scout Berner, 17, said the pandemic brought on a lot of change for her and her classmates. Students had to pivot from virtual learning back to in-person learning and didn’t know what the next week would bring.
Virtual learning brought on a feeling of isolation among many students, Berner said. But coming back to in-person education didn’t automatically bring back the feelings of normalcy, too.
“Everyone was so excited to see each other… but everyone also felt a little distant,” she said. “You would be sitting next to someone, or they’d be on the other side of the classroom, you wouldn’t talk to them verbally. You’d text them on the other side of the room. It was a lot! But it’s getting a little better.”
Roughly 40% of high school students, too, reported that they had felt sad or hopeless for at least two weeks straight in 2021, up 2% from high school students’ response to the same question in the health district’s 2019 survey.
Tecumseh student Colleen Kottmyer, also 17, said many of her classmates may feel overwhelmed due to the balance of responsibility amid a time when life lacked balance. Her and her classmates’ homes were also their classrooms; their kitchen tables, their desks.
“You were always home, so you never got a break from either school or home,” she said.
Feeling haven’t gone away
Smith said the COVID-19 shutdowns magnified the need for a sense of community and how feelings of isolation can negatively impact a person’s mental health. Parents, though, need to consider that the feelings of anxiety and depression that school-aged children experienced during the pandemic have not necessarily gone away.
“That anxiety and depression can become a catalyst for other unhealthy behaviors such as poor diet and not getting enough exercise,” he said.
Overall, a person’s mental wellness is influenced by many factors: primary among them are feelings of safety and security, according to Smith.
“Food and housing insecurity greatly contribute to feelings of anxiety, depression and hopelessness and can exacerbate existing mental health challenges,” Smith said.
Mental Health Services for Clark and Madison Counties CEO Kelly Rigger said mental health among teens, too, can be heavily influenced by their home environments. Familial stress reverberates, and the struggles of parents can oftentimes be felt by their children.
Berner said, too, that she feels the use of social media often influences how teenagers view themselves and how they feel connected to one another.
“I know I compare myself to models I see on Instagram, or celebrities, wishing I could be them instead of being happy with myself,” she said. “And I think that’s a thing a lot of teens struggle with.”
‘They’re not alone’
Clark County’s schools provide mental health resources to their students. Tecumseh High School principal Aaron Oakes said his school district employs full-time mental health therapists and hosts wellness events for students.
Students are also offering support to their peers through an organization called the Hope Squad, Oakes said.
The Hope Squad is a nationally recognized peer support group and suicide prevention organization, and Tecumseh High School’s chapter has dozens of students, including Kottmyer and Berner. Students who are members of the squad are nominated into it by their classmates, and squad members are trained in peer support.
Kottmyer and Berner said they have enjoyed getting to learn about how to respond to people who may need help or who may be grieving the loss of something in their lives. Both students said teenagers feel much more comfortable approaching their peers for counsel and comfort.
“Us going to them first, I think makes them feel more seen,” Berner said. “We can be with them through it. They’re not alone.”
Kottmyer said many young people are hesitant to come to the adults in their lives for help for many reasons: the fear of being punished, the fear of disappointing their loved ones, and even the fear of judgment.
Raising awareness about mental health is important to them overall, too.
“We all deal with our mental health in some way,” Berner said. “And we may all deal with it in different ways.”
Mental health resources for youth are also expanding outside of their schools.
Mental Health Services for Clark and Madison Counties finished building upon its main building on North Yellow Springs Street this summer in order to house its youth services in one facility.
The nonprofit has doubled its capacity of treatment for young people since opening its new addition, Rigger said. The organization offers outpatient treatments, therapy and educational support to young people in the area who are seeking mental health services.
Smith said the community, too, can become a mental health resource for young people by becoming trained and certified in mental health first aid. Mental Health Recovery Board and Mental Health Services often make resources and training available for anyone to gain enough knowledge to be able to lend support in times of a mental health crisis.
Help the teen in your life
Free mental health guides on many topics can be found at childrensdayton.org/onoursleeves. Anyone can also sign up for a free newsletter to get guides in their inbox with ways to help.
If you or your child need immediate help due to having suicidal thoughts, call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255) or text the Crisis Text Line by texting “START” to 741-741.
If there is an immediate safety concern, call 911 or go the nearest emergency room.
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