After the last two years, you would think we’d all be health experts. We’ve trained ourselves to spot symptoms and methods to keep ourselves safe and healthy, but even amid a health crisis, we are forgetting to talk about mental health.
While a recent resolution in the Legislature highlights the impact of child trauma, investments in the mental health system are needed to improve Idahoan’s access to care. The mental health care system is difficult to navigate, and the pandemic has only made it worse. Idahoans trying to access mental health services face limited availability of services, backlogs and delays in treatment.
For children, the stakes are even higher.
I began working as a doctor during the pandemic, and in that time, I have seen that Idaho kids have not been faring well. In fact, the trends are alarming. I have witnessed the rates of emergency room visits and hospitalizations for depression, aggressive behavior and suicidal ideation increase since the beginning of the pandemic. Nearly one in five Idaho teens experienced major depression in the last year, and two-thirds of those teens received no treatment at all.
We are also seeing patients harming themselves or experiencing depression at a younger age. For kids over 5, a mental health diagnosis or complaint is one of the most common reasons for hospitalization. We’ve seen kids overdosing on household items such as windshield wiper fluid, Drano and Tylenol. The pandemic has increased child depression as their social interaction is more limited.
