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Youth Mental Health – A Crisis, but Ending Pandemic Rules Won’t End the Crisis
There’s been a lot of talk about youth mental health during the pandemic, including a number of prominent voices raising the alarm about this crisis. There have been almost as many voices suggesting that ending things like lockdowns, mask and vaccine mandates, and just getting “back to normal” will fix this mental health crisis.
I am not one of those voices.
Now let me be clear, I’m not saying that the pandemic hasn’t played a number on mental health for all of us, it clearly has. But, the crisis in mental health for everyone, but especially young people, existed long before COVID-19.
Link – A Fragile State
Back in the Fall of 2018, NOLA.com did a series of stories highlighting the failure of the mental health care system in Louisiana. The stories are heartbreaking, and some will be difficult to read. If you’re easily triggered, think about skipping them. On the other hand if you want to fully understand what it’s like…
Sharing – Small Talk With A Stranger Can Still Save Lives, Says Samaritans
I’ve talked about this a little bit, but maybe not in detail. When I was really struggling, I can’t necessarily say that someone starting a conversation with me made the difference that day. I don’t think I was self-aware enough to know that. What I do know, however, is that being seen makes a huge difference. In my depression, I did not want to be seen. I wanted to fade away. That was the driver behind my desire, to simply not be here. To disconnect from everything in order to disconnect from the pain I was in. Small connections helped me understand what I was giving up, and why I might want to rethink that.
