Being a teenager can be emotionally and mentally draining, and it can end up taking a physical toll through unhealthy coping mechanisms or even suicide.
Those from 10-24 years-old make up 14 percent of the national suicide rate, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports. That accounted for 6,643 deaths among that age group in 2020.
Suicide is the third leading cause for that age group, and it is the second leading cause of death for those 10-14 years-old.
Students in seventh-12th grade at Heritage Academy listened Thursday to Chris Brown, a psychiatric nurse practitioner from Allegro Clinic, talk about mental health resources and the importance of taking care of mental health.
“The thing is mental health is important,” Brown said. “In this day and age, with all of the interconnectivity, everybody has cell phones and can be a keyboard warrior. It’s really hard these days if something is going on, you can’t escape it. … It’s OK to not be OK.”
The students came in groups of about 30 as they were divided up by gender and grade level. Beth Lucas, director for admissions and public relations at Heritage, said conducting the assembly in small groups rather than one large group in the gym allows students to feel comfortable asking questions among their peers, and it helps to ensure they don’t zone out.
Brown spoke with the students about the need to talk about feelings as they lead by example, and even though they are young, it helps get a conversation started and can inspire others to talk about mental health.
“When we try to take the reins and try to help somebody even if they don’t want to help themselves, we’re leading by example,” Brown said. “We’re trying to establish a new standard. … People are people — you may be younger, you may be older, but we’re all the same. We all learn from one another.”
Children can be under a lot of pressure from parents, friends and even the world because of technology, Brown said. One thing he emphasized was coping with mental health in a healthy way such as painting, journaling and even working out rather than turning to binge eating, drugs or even self harm.
“When you start writing or painting, you’re actually subconsciously, you’re actually talking to yourself a little bit,” Brown told The Dispatch. “Sometimes when you speak out loud, you actually hear what you’re saying because outside-in to inside-out are two totally different things. If you can talk to yourself to a certain degree, even if you’re talking to somebody, you’re still hearing it. It’s just a call and response and you can figure out what you need to do.”
Brown was joined by Heritage counselor Amanda Shelton, and she addressed the teens to let them know she and the other Heritage employees care about each of the students.
“What we want to make sure is, you all are loved,” Shelton said. “I love you, your teachers love you … we all love you. We want to make sure you know we have your back, we’re here for you whenever you need us.”
Shelton told The Dispatch being at a less populated school helps her to really know the students, and she is able to tell when someone is feeling off or not having a good day.
She encourages the students to talk with her if they are not feeling mentally well, even if they think it is something minor. She also likes to send out online surveys she makes to the students to check in with them, asking how they are doing and feeling.
Brown left the students with resources such as the National Suicide Hotline numbers including the newly implemented 988.
“We get down and find ourselves in a hole we can’t get back out of it, but the thing is if we can stick it out, there is hope in the end,” Brown said. “We have to try to save each other.”
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Quality, in-depth journalism is essential to a healthy community. The Dispatch brings you the most complete reporting and insightful commentary in the Golden Triangle, but we need your help to continue our efforts. In the past week, our reporters have posted 46 articles to cdispatch.com. Please consider subscribing to our website for only $2.30 per week to help support local journalism and our community.
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