Letters: Mental Wellness - Children and Teens

Let’s transform South Lake Tahoe into one of the healthiest places for our children…a place where mental health issues are quickly identified and treated…a place where parents and caregivers are well-educated in recognizing the early warning signs. Let’s give the next generation the best chance possible at thriving.

In March we participated in the Mental Health Forum sponsored by Barton and the South Tahoe Unified School District. We were impressed by the passion presented by the many school-teachers, Barton ER doctors, and others that care deeply about Mental Wellness.

My husband and I know first hand what it is like to have a loved one with a severe mental illness. When we realized our loved one was ill we had to get educated – and fast. NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness threw us a life raft. All the doom and gloom and feelings of hopelessness melted away as we learned facts and techniques to help our loved one. Our loved one is the main hero in his recovery journey. He now works full time, lives independently, drives and is thriving in the community. People can and do recover. Early intervention and belief in recover can be catalysts to recovery. We wish we knew about NAMI years sooner.

One in ten children have a mental illness. 20% of youth age 13-20 live with a mental health condition, 11% of youth have a mood disorder, 10% of youth have a behavior or conduct disorder, 8% have an axiety disorder. 1 in 5 children have or will have a serious mental illness.

10 common warning signs of mental illness in teens:
- being sad or withdrawn for more than 2 weeks
- severe mood swings that cause problems in relationships
- intense worries or fears that get in the way of daily activities
- seriously wanting to harm or kill oneself or making plans to do so
- not eating, throwing up or using laxatives to lose weight
- sudden overwhelming fear for no reason
- significant weight loss or weight gain
- drastic change in behavior or sleep habits
- extreme difficulty concentrating or staying still
- repeated use of drugs or alcohol

Early intervention can be key in improving lifelong cognition and quality of life. Sadly the average delay from onset of symptoms to intervention is 8-10 years.
Approximately 50% of students age 14 or older with a mental illness drop out of high school. A whopping 70% of youth in state and local juvenile systems have a mental illness.

All youth leaders will benefit from current mental health education – to break down stigma that those 1 in 10 children living with a brain disorder deserve treatment and education. So often caregivers ask “how do I tell if this child is misbehaving or if they have a brain disorder.” I always wonder how many truly understand the statistics on mental wellness.

BBRFoundation.org (Brain & Behavior Research Foundation) is an excellent resource to learn more. They are dedicated to bringing the joy of living to those with mental illness and provide free re-playable webinars sharing their scientific discoveries. Recovery stories and research results by top scientists are available. They, like NAMI, the National Alliance on Mental Illness, demonstrate that mental illness is neurological, a brain disorder. With treatment, people can and do recover and can go on to thrive.

Consider how some people react when they hear your child has cancer. Now consider how some people react when they hear how your child has ADHD or BiPolar. Why is it so hard for people to understand that mental illness is a problem with an vital organ in our head called a brain. Select brain cells may be damaged or deleted causing odd behavior. It is not a choice – it is not bad behavior or laziness - it is a neurological issue. With treatment our loved ones have a far better chance of improved lifelong cognition. Education is needed for parents, caregivers, providers, educators, youth leaders, deputies and anyone interfacing with children.

More than half of all mental illnesses show symptoms by age 14 and 75% by age 24.

The impact of mental illness is devastating but does not need to be. Join our free monthly NAMI Support Group, 2nd Tuesdays monthly starting June 9 from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the South Lake Tahoe Library, 1000 Rufus Allen Road. This group is for families/caregivers/friends concerned about a loved one with mental illness. May is mental health awareness month. If you would like to schedule an educational presentation for your club, workplace, school administration, or place of workshop, please email South Lake Tahoe NAMI leaders at f2fnami@gmail.com.

J&A Nelson – NAMI Instructors and co-support facilitators
F2FNAMI@gmail.com
NAMI.org