While we thought we were recovering from the pandemic-related trauma, we realized just how dark it got for many teens during the peak of the lockdown.
Recent data suggests that high school students’ mental health declined, and many lacked a safe and comfortable home to study from.
The CDC unveiled the findings of a recent survey, which they commissioned and completed. They asked nearly 8,000 high school students to share how they felt in 2020.
Based on a survey, 55% of the subjects claimed they were cursed or verbally insulted by an adult at home. Out of the surveyed teens, 11% had been physically abused, and 67% found it challenging to finish their work.
The CDC stated it’s unclear how significant the lockdown played in what the survey showed whether the abuse teens experienced was related to the pandemic or if it had been going on before the lockdown.
It is, however, clear that the impact on every teen wasn’t equal due to the lockdown. Here’s a case in point. The CDC found that one in five teenagers contemplated suicide in the last 12 months, and over half have felt persistently sad or hopeless in the last 12 months.
47% of gay, lesbian, and bisexual teens surveyed reported that they had considered suicide compared to 14% of heterosexual teens. In addition, 25% of girls contemplated suicide, which was double the rate of boys.
Increases in Mental Health-Related ED Visits
A disproportionate number of ethnic minorities have been hurt by mental-health challenges resulting from the outbreak.
Recent research, published in JAMA Psychiatry, shows that these groups had an increase in the number of emergency-room visits for mental-health-related complaints during and after the COWIE-19 scare.
Asian adults’ visits to emergency departments for most of the mental disorders the study looked at, including an increase of 21% in depression when COVID-19 was surging.
After the COVID-19 surged, ED visits among American Indian and Alaska Native adults for various mental disorders, including post-traumatic stress disorder, anxiety, and significant depression, rose significantly by 42%.
There was a 24% increase in visits to the ER for bipolar disorder among Hispanic adults and a 14% increase in visits for trauma and stress disorder-related problems among Black adults after a spike.
Can Therapy Help With Trauma for Teenagers?
Many kids and teenagers who go through traumatic experiences—whether in a car accident, being physically or sexually abused, going through a divorce, or experiencing significant loss can learn how to cope with these experiences.
And for some people, therapy may be an effective way to process these events and start moving forward.
Therapy can help with all kinds of issues—from anxiety to depression, and it can often provide critical insight into why we do what we do. The key is finding a therapist you trust, someone you feel comfortable talking to about your problems.
It could be someone at school, like your guidance counselor or a school psychologist; it could also be someone outside of school you already know (like your parents) or meet with a therapist you trust, not from your school.
What Medication Works?
There are many different medications to treat PTSD symptoms. Some of these are more effective than others, and certain medications seem to work better for certain types of trauma. So how do you know which medication is right for you?
If you’re experiencing panic attacks or severe anxiety, your doctor may first try a benzodiazepine such as Xanax or Ativan. These drugs help relieve stress by slowing down brain activity. Your doctor may also prescribe an antidepressant drug, like Zoloft or Celexa.
Antidepressants can be beneficial in treating trauma, but they can take weeks to start working. Therefore, they’re not usually used on their own for treating PTSD.
However, some people with co-occurring depression and PTSD find that antidepressants help them manage both conditions at once. If you have trouble sleeping after a traumatic event, your doctor might recommend a sleep aid such as Ambien or Lunesta.
Natural Ways to Teenagers Can Cope With Trauma
Take good care of your body: You should eat healthy, well-balanced meals, exercise regularly, and get plenty of sleep. If you are curious about mental health wellness strategies, click the link below.
Make Connections: Make time to stay in touch with people and talk about your worries. Also, form healthy relationships with friends and family.
Take Breaks: It’s crucial to stop, even if only for a few minutes. Remember that emotional intensity would fade, try to stop for a minute and take a deep breath. Then, try participating in things you’re interested in because it will help you.
Stay Informed: When you are out of the loop, you might become stressed or scared. So, watch, listen to, or read the news for updates from official sources.
Know that during a crisis, rumors are common and are especially abundant on social media. When checking a news story, make sure it comes from a reliable source and a dedicated channel.
Maintain an air of distance from bad news: Taking periodic breaks from watching, reading, or listening to them will keep you. Instead, schedule as many fun things as possible and, as much as possible, go back to living your everyday life. Ask for updates from your medical team in the meantime.
We offer support and understanding therapists trained to help adolescents cope with stressful and traumatic events at Davenport Psychology.
Our approach combines traditional talk therapy with proven treatments like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization Reprocessing (EMDR).
Whether you’re experiencing trauma from the pandemic, your school environment or your relationships, our therapists are here to support you.