Younger people may take more time to mentally recover from pandemic

COVID-19 has affected all of us in different ways, whether it’s physically or mentally, but one younger generation may have an even harder time dealing with the effects of the pandemic.

Experts who spoke with WINK News say how long it takes young people to bounce back might depend on their age.

“When you don’t see friends, you don’t see teachers, or people that provide you an outlet, it’s become incredibly difficult for kids to thrive,” said Amy Wimpey Knight, president of the Children’s Hospital Association.

“We saw 200 kids a day in person before COVID; we’re seeing 310 kids a day on a screen and 30 in person. So the demand for psychological services in kids has really exploded,” said Dr. Harold Koplewicz, founding president and medical director at Child Mind Institute.

But Koplewicz said some groups are harder hit than others.

“The first date, the years of training to finally make the football team, the child who wanted to get a lead or get into the chorus of the school play – those things are gone, they can’t get them back.”

That’s why he said people between 13 and 24 years of age are suffering the biggest losses, and a lot of them end up in emergency rooms.

“What that means is that you’ve really overrun the system of care. It’s not a place that we should be taking care of children’s behavioral health conditions,” Knight said. “We should be far removed from that – dealing with it in a community, dealing with it in a primary care physician’s office, but those have been inaccessible for children during this time.”

But even as offices and schools reopen, for some of these kids, the pain of the pandemic remains, creating a new type of long hauler.

“We’re thinking a lot about what we call long haulers in adults. And so these are people that will have symptoms for years to come. They’re oftentimes visible symptoms – we need to think of our children in the same way,” Knight said.

No matter how long the pandemic drags on, there is hope.

“We know that these things are very treatable. We know that with slight management techniques, we can get improvement in symptoms. And if it’s serious, we also know the treatment works for kids with mental health disorders,” Kopewicz said.

He said other age groups are less impacted because, for adults, this is a blip we can recover from. Children five to 12 years old are resilient and can make up their academic losses quickly, and kids under five enjoy spending extra time with their families.

MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES

Warning signs to look out for in your child:

• Isolation or refusal to attend school;
• Changes in eating habits;
• Withdrawal from peers or social activities;
• Withdrawal from extracurricular activities at school or in the community; and/or
• Reports of bullying, harassment, or intimidation in school, the community, or on social media.

Kids’ Minds Matter: https://kidsmindsmatter.com/

SalusCare has a weekly zoom support group for parents. It’s free and you do not need to be a client. It’s Monday nights at 7. Zoom ID: 975 9545 3712 Password: 488302

SalusCare Emergency Services: 239-275-4242

National Suicide Prevention Hotline: 800-273-8255​

Disaster Distress Helpline: www.samhsa.gov/find-help/disaster-distress-helpline​

Parent/Caregiver Guide for Helping Families Cope with COVID-19: www.nctsn.org/sites/default/files/resources/fact-sheet/outbreak_factsheet_1.pdf​​

Smart Social: Monitor your kids online https://smartsocial.com/parental-control-software/​

National Association of School Psychologists: School safety and crisis

David Lawrence Center website for children

If you or a loved one are struggling, you can find support by visiting resources on the NAMI website.

For a comprehensive list of resources and organizations, you can visit This is My Brave.

For additional tools, including a treatment locator, you can visit the CDC’s mental health web page.

FGCU Community Counseling Center
https://www.fgcu.edu/mariebcollege/counseling/communitycounseling/

National Alliance on Mental Illness, Collier County
namicollier.org

National Alliance on Mental Illness, Lee, Charlotte, Hendry counties
namilee.org

Lee Health – Behavioral Health
https://www.leehealth.org/our-services/behavioral-health

Lee Health Foundation’s – ‘Kids Minds Matter’
https://leehealthfoundation.org/kids-minds-matter

The National Alliance for Caregiving offers a free handbook
Circle of Care: A Guidebook for Mental Health Caregivers

Collier County Mental Health Court
ca.cjis20.org/home/collier

Lee County Mental Health Court
ca.cjis20.org/home/lee

Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
convio.net

Local Support Groups: Anxiety and Depression Association of America
adaa.org

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Mental Health and Addiction Insurance Help)
hhs.gov/programs/topic-sites/mental-health-parity

Southwest Florida Resource Link
http://www.swflresourcelink.com/services/mental-health–substance-abuse

Stop Now And Plan (SNAP)

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
https://www.samhsa.gov/

American Foundation for Suicide Prevention: Talking to kids about suicide