A sense of isolation and loneliness, and the associated anxiety and depression, are growing everywhere and most unsettlingly among our youth.
Shocking data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in 2023 shows that nearly 60% of teenage girls felt sad or despair in 2021.
This issue is rarely limited to the US or North America.
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The adolescent-to-puberty transition study, published recently in Lancet Psychiatry, was the first longitudinal study of its kind, revealing depression and anxiety in nearly two-thirds of those studied in Melbourne, Australia. I’ve done it.
In this study from the Murdoch Research and Children’s Institute (MCRI) in Melbourne, 64% of respondents reported at least three episodes of anxiety or depression throughout their teens.
A recently published study from The Murdoch Research Children’s Institute (MCRI) in Melbourne found that 64% of adolescent respondents reported at least three episodes of anxiety or depression throughout their teens. (MCRI)
Girls were found to be much more likely to have chronic or persistent symptoms (84% vs. 61% in boys).
Approximately 1,239 children were studied (registered at age 8 in 2012) and their symptoms were carefully followed from age 10 to 18.
This is the first major study to longitudinally follow anxiety and depression, and the first study that showed that periods of worsening anxiety and depression are associated with milestones such as graduation from elementary and high school. Yes, it is an era of major changes in the structure of child support.
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Dr. Susan M. Sawyer – Famous adolescent pediatrician, Leader of the Adolescent Health Centre at Murdoch Children’s Institute in Melbourne, Australia, Chair of Adolescent Health at the University of Melbourne and Royal Children’s Hospital – Me from Melbourne I spoke to. In a recent interview. (See the video at the top of this article.)
She emphasized that the reasons for the reported increase in anxiety partially reflect an increase in mental health literacy.
Dr. Susan M. Sawyer, a renowned adolescent health expert and pediatrician based in Australia, discussed the first major study following adolescent anxiety and depression. We have shown that worsening anxiety and depression are associated with major milestones in children’s lives, such as school graduation. (MCRI)
“There’s been a greater mental health literacy these days, which leads to more reports of symptoms,” she said. “And adolescents have a greater ability to recognize stress and emotional distress than we did and have the language to report it. There’s far less stigma, it’s healthy.”
Sawyer said he believes the increase in the rate of anxiety and depression observed in the study at age 12-13 was due to a combination of adolescents and the changing stress towards secondary education.
“Pubescent years are the time to come up with ways to gain emotional control.”
“Girls are also more likely to explore emotions at this age than boys,” she said.
The teenage depression spikes are consistent with social media, with new polls suggesting “nowhere”
An older group called the second cluster took place at the graduation of secondary school. Emotional symptoms were measured with distinctive responses such as “scary,” “I woke up scared,” and “I was afraid of something bad going on with me.”
“Pubescent years are the time to come up with ways to gain emotional control,” Sawyer said. “It’s time to seek mental health support. The (older) generation’s “hard upper lip” approach was not healthy. ”
“The longer you spend on social media, the less loneliness and connections (people) are,” said an adolescent health expert. “We need some systems to slow the access of young people to social media.” (istock)
Unfortunately, as Sawyer pointed out, resources for intervention remain limited in Australia, the US and around the world.
The COVID pandemic has clearly played a role in exacerbating the anxiety of our teens. However, a Melbourne-based CATS study found that one of the most severe pandemic lockdowns – only contributed about 25% to reported anxiety and depression.
The problem existed before the pandemic, but is now even worse.
Social Media Concerns
So, what role does social media play? There is ample concern in Australia that it has enacted a social media ban on everyone under the age of 16, and Sawyer and other experts say it won’t work.
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“It’s difficult to implement,” she said.
“And while it’s clear that the more time you spend on social media, the less loneliness and connections (people) need a system to slow youth access to social media,” she says. added.
Further research is underway on the role of social media at Australia’s MCRI. (istock)
“And we need to focus on developing independent skills, the need to stand two feet without a phone. Our kids are much safer than social media. It needs a place.”
Further research is underway on the role of social media at MCRI. Until then, children are not allowed to call at Australian schools.
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“Social media is a double-edged sword,” Dr. Sawyer said.
“On the other hand, groups that are more socially vulnerable and mutilated in conflict situations can connect with like-minded peers and connect via social media,” she said.
“Prevention, more attention to the physical environment, more nature, more sedentary, rethinking opportunities and focusing on happiness. This is a real step forward.” (istock)
“But on the other hand, the time spent in distant communities is not good for the health of young people. There is excessive exposure to porn, sexting, gambling, and bullying. Something to help young people release them. You need to do that.”
So, what is the long-term treatment for the epidemic in an anxious, depressed child and their parents when “clinical services must be prioritized, but unable to provide adequate responses”?
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Sawyer said the focus should be on prevention.
“Clinical responses need to be hidden by prevention, and schools need to be an important environment to emphasize health and well-being.
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“There is a risk of the appeal of mental health issues, but prevention will result in more attention to the physical environment, more qualities, sedentary, rethinking opportunities and focusing on happiness. This is a real step forward.”
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