COVID-19 changes taking heavy toll on mental health of teens, pre-teens in Greater Cincinnati
Recent spate of shifting school dynamics amplifying anxiety many young people feel
Recent spate of shifting school dynamics amplifying anxiety many young people feel
Recent spate of shifting school dynamics amplifying anxiety many young people feel
Silverton mom Hope Ingram can't help but wonder how the pandemic will impact kids once the virus is no longer lurking around every corner.
"You don't really know the long-term effects it's going to have on their psyche," Ingram said.
She said COVID-19 finally caught up with her daughter a few days ago. Ingram said her 15-year-old is recovering well, but the infection has injected a dose of unease into her daily routine.
"She's on the dance team at her school," Ingram said. "It just created a little bit of anxiety because she's, like, 'Will I get to dance, will I not get to dance?'"
Those are the kinds of concerns Lynne Merk, a psychologist with Cincinnati Children's Hospital, listens closely to.
"Am I going to miss out on such and such and such and such that's coming up? You know, the school dance or the award ceremony for my sport or whatever," Merk said.
Merk said COVID-19 has exacerbated a mental health crisis among area kids that existed before the virus first made an appearance.
"We're seeing more severe presenting concerns — so higher degrees of suicidality and, certainly, engaging in some suicide attempts," she said.
Merk knows keeping kids healthy is paramount. But she said young people, especially teens, can have a hard time developing social skills when schools go from closed to remote to open back to remote.
"That's our concern is that they're missing out on this development, this natural development that occurs in a school setting," Merk said. "They don't know exactly what they're missing, but they know they're missing it."
Despite that feeling of loss, Merk encourages the kids and parents she works with to remain hopeful.
"It's hard stuff. It's hard stuff," she said. "We have to acknowledge that truth. But we can do hard things."
Merk said the first step is asking for help. Parents worried about the mental health of their children can find information about scheduling an appointment toward the end of this blog post Merk recently wrote.
Parents can also contact the Pediatric Intake Response Center at 513-636-4124 or the Division of Behavioral Medicine and Clinical Psychology at 513-636-8107.