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Last month, pediatric expertsdeclared a national state of emergency in children’s mental health.
In their declaration, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and the Children’s Hospital Association said stressors related to the COVID-19 pandemic and theongoing struggle with systemic racismhave contributed to “soaring rates” of childhood mental health emergencies,including suicide attempts.
“The number of adverse childhood experiences, or childhood traumas, has skyrocketed. And correlating to that has been a dramatic increase in depression, anxiety, trauma symptoms, PTSD, even feelings of loneliness,” says Dr. Jonathan Goldfinger, a pediatrician and CEO of non-profitDidi Hirsch, which provides free mental health and suicide prevention services.
“Domestic violence, child abuse of all kinds, drinking among parents, all of these things increase during pandemics and times of enormous stress,” Goldfinger tells PEOPLE ahead of theAlive Together: Uniting to Prevent Suicideevent on Sunday. “Sadly, there are about 140,000 kids across the United States who actuallylost a parent or caregiver to COVID. And they are disproportionally Black and Latinx. We’re talking about significant trauma and loss.”
According to a November 2020 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, mental health-related emergency room visits for children 5-11 rose 24% last year compared to 2019, while visits among adolescents 12-17 increased 31%.
Goldfinger is urging everyone — especially parents — toopenly discuss mental healthwith their families and join community efforts to promote mental health care accessibility.
“We are seeing suicide attempts andlossesat alarming, alarming rates across the United States. Now is the time to really talk about it with our loved ones and ensure that mental health care is available to all those who need it,” he says.
Warning signs of childhood suicide attempts often “present differently” than they do in adults. “The frightening thing is that probably the symptoms are not as obvious in younger people,” Goldfinger explains about indicators of potential self-harm in kids ages 5-11. “When we talk about adults, usually we say know the signs: someone who says their life is not worthwhile, they feel not worthwhile, they start putting their affairs in order, they act a little bit strange about the future. But a child does not have the brain lobes developed to tell them to think about the future. The kids are not putting their affairs in order. A lot of times what we hear from parents is,‘I had no idea.'”
“If there’s anything, absolutely anything we can do” to mitigate risks, he says, “it’s teaching all children about suicide and the risks and symptoms of suicide, as well as talking to our kids. Every single parent should be having some form of a conversation with their child about how they’re feeling, how they’re doing, and check in frequently.”
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While vigilance within individual homes is imperative, Goldfinger notes that only collective action to combat “structural or systematized stigma” will lead to substantial and equitable changes to the current crisis.
“If there is one thing people can do in addition to talking to their kids, speak to your members of Congress, speak to your elected officials in your state. Tell them that mental healthishealth. It’s a right,” he urges.
Goldfinger, along with celebrities includingMelissa Rivers, Lance Gross andSelena Gomez, will be supporting survivors of suicide loss and attempts during theAlive Together: Uniting to Prevent Suicideevent on Sunday. Participants can join the walk at Exposition Park in Los Angeles or virtually through Didi Hirsch’ssocial mediachannels.
If you or someone you know is considering suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255), text “STRENGTH” to the Crisis Text Line at 741-741 or go tosuicidepreventionlifeline.org.
source: people.com
