EDITORIALS

Our view: Feeling nervous, restless or depressed. Imagine feeling that way as a kid

Columbus Dispatch Editorial Board

It is no consolation, but you are not alone if you find yourself grinding your teeth, having a hard time sleeping or feeling nervous, depressed or overwhelmed.

Sadly, your kids might be right there with you.

Ranked 38th in the nation, Ohio is among the states where adults have a higher prevalence of mental illness and lower rates of access to care, according to Mental Health America, a nonprofit that focuses on mental illness and mental health.

Opinion:'It's OK to not be OK.' Talking about stress erases stigma of seeking mental health help.

As part of its just released State of Mental Health in America report based on national data from 2020, the organization unsurprisingly found a country in emotional and mental distress.

  • 21% of adults were experiencing mental illness, the equivalent of more than 50 million people
  • 12 million adults seriously thought about suicide
  • 55% of adults with mental issues received no help
Oct 18, 2022; Columbus, Ohio, USA;  The U.S. Surgeon General, Vice Admiral Vivek H. Murthy, MD, MBA, talks with Dispatch reporters about youth mental health.

Even more distressing, America's children are in the middle of a mental health crisis of their own.

With its 16 mental health care facilities for children — four in Columbus included — Mental Health America, ranks Ohio 27th in the nation when it comes to youth mental illness and access to care.

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It found that one in 10 children experience depression that severely impairs their ability to "function at school or work, at home, with family, or in their social life." 

Opinion:66 percent of OSU students feeling burnout. Mental heath strained on all levels

Kids are in crisis

Amanda Lacass lifts up Ayden White, 5, so he can help clean the board in class, Tuesday, February 23, 2021, at St. Vincent Family Center. The pandemic has increased stress and created a surge in mental-health issues among children already growing up in poverty and/or crime-ridden areas

Those findings mesh with what U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy told Columbus Dispatch journalists last week during a visit with the editorial board centered on mental health.

He says he routinely thinks of three numbers.

"One is the number 57. It is the percentage increase in suicide that we have among youth in the decade prior to the pandemic. The pandemic has certainly made it worse for some kids. Another number is 44%. That's the percentage of high school students who say they are persistently sad and hopeless. This is astonishing because it's nearly half of high school students," he said. "The third number is 11. That's a number of years it takes on average from when a child experiences mental health symptoms to when they actually get care."

In this year's State of the State address, Gov. Mike DeWine declared mental health one of his top priorities, saying Ohio could lead the world "in behavioral health research, community care and workforce development."

More:Psychiatrist shortage limits Nationwide Children’s behavioral health program

What is being done about mental health in Ohio?

The governor has made some progress.

Among other things, DeWine's administration has invested $69 million to build mental crisis centers and mobile crisis teams, $84 million for hospitals and health centers to boost pediatric services.

There is another $85 million set aside for paid internships, scholarships, licensing and other incentives for students who join the behavioral workforce.

Advocates question what the long-term impact will be of those efforts, particularly when there is a shortage of behavioral health workers.

More:Gov. DeWine made mental health one of his top priorities. What's been done so far?

Despite an increased demand, there is reportedly only one psychiatrist for every 10,000 people in Ohio, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness Ohio.

The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry estimates that one in five American children have a mental, emotional, or behavioral disorder in a year's time.

It says that there are 13 psychiatrists for every 100,000 Ohio children.

That's an improvement from 2020 when there were just 11 psychiatrists per 100,000 children. Our state has about 2.6 million children younger than 18.

Communities no doubt need more funding to expand access to care, but as Murthy stressed we will not be able to tackle the mental health crises with money alone. A cultural shift is needed.

Murthy offered the following points for change:

Redefine success for children

"I think that we have pushed our kids to pursue a model of success that is creating stress and is not contributing to happiness or fulfillment. It is a model of success that tells them that they are successful if they acquire wealth, power or fame. Even if we don't tell them that directly, we tell them indirectly through the stories that we lift up, the people we profile as being successful. You and I probably know many people who are rich, powerful and famous — all three — who are profoundly unhappy. We don't want our children to fall into that."

Change conversation

"You can't mandate how anyone speaks about mental health in a certain way, but all of us have the choice to speak about mental health in a way that does not promote stigma. We have the choice to share our own stories and struggles in a way that people understand it's not something to be ashamed of. We have the opportunity to talk to our kids about mental health. Start those conversations so they at least know there is no shame in asking for help."

Build connections

"There are social connections that have really suffered over the years. We have become disconnected from each other. We participate less in community organizations. People have friends over less often for meals. Fewer people have individuals that can rely on their networks. More people feel isolated and alone and that has real consequences for our mental health but also for our physical health."

"People who struggle with loneliness are not only at increased risk for anxiety and depression, but also at increased risk for heart disease, premature death, dementia, sleep disturbance, and the list goes on."

This piece was written by the Dispatch Opinion Editor Amelia Robinson on behalf of The Dispatch Editorial Board. Editorials are our board's fact-based assessment of issues of importance to the communities we serve. These are not the opinions of our reporting staff members, who strive for neutrality in their reporting.