Fredericksburg Parent

14 Fredericksburg Parent and Family • November 2024 Over the past several years, a growing chorus of experts has drawn attention to a mental health crisis in America. In 2021, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued an advisory call- ing attention to spiking indicators of mental health struggles among the nation's youth. This past summer, he followed up with an advisory entitled, "Parents Under Pressure," raising the alarm about the state of mental health and well-being of parents and caregivers. According to the most recent advisory, parents are feeling more stressed than ever, with about 41% saying they're often overwhelmed. This stress comes from juggling work, worrying about finances, and keeping kids safe. It's not just about managing the day-to-day — things like social media and school safety also weigh heavily. Over time, this constant stress can lead to mental health struggles, affecting not just parents but their kids too, creating a cycle that impacts the whole family. Mental Health fi nding BALANCE 33% of parents [report] high levels of stress WRITTEN BY EMILY FREEHLING Parental stress comes in part from the pressures children are fac- ing. Trends were already going in a troubling direction before the pandemic. As the 2021 Surgeon General's advisory reports, from 2009 to 2019, the proportion of high school students reporting persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased by 40%; the share seriously considering attempting suicide increased by 36%; and the share creating a suicide plan increased by 44%. Dr. Jonathan Dalton, a licensed psychologist who has treated anxiety and related disorders for more than 20 years, says it's important for communities to understand just how many of today's young people are grappling with suicidal thoughts. According to 2023 data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 10% of high-school-aged children attempt sui- cide each year. "If you think about the average high school with around 2000 kids, you're looking at 200 of them attempting suicide every year," he said. "It's ungodly the frequency and intensity of it." He notes that girls tend to exhibit double the rates of anxiety and depressive symptoms as boys across all measures. In 2021, the CDC reported that 57% of teen girls reported persistent sadness and hopelessness. That figure dropped to 53% in 2023, but is still significantly higher than teen boys, at 28%. CDC data have also showed that parents face significantly higher stress levels than other adults. In 2023, 33% of parents reported high levels of stress, compared with 20% of other adults. And 48% of parents said most days their stress is completely over- whelming, compared to 26% of other adults. "The challenges today's generation of young people face are unprecedented and uniquely hard to navigate. And the eff ect these challenges have had on their mental health is devastating." - U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, December 2021

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