Why is Mental Health Care in the Youth so Important?

Have you ever heard someone your age say they're struggling mentally? Have you ever been that someone?

MHAM strives to raise awareness for mental health care and resources to youth minorities as it is exceedingly vital during years of adolescents. In accordance to the World Health Organization in 2009, 70% of mental disorders onset prior to the age of 25 and, in North America alone, approximately 15%–20% of children and adolescents are suffering from some form of mental disorder, which is an estimated 15 million of our nation’s youth; and only an estimated 7% of these youth receive appropriate help from mental health professionals (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov) (www.apa.org). However now in 2020 in accordance with the CDC, 7.4% of minors (approximately 4.5 million) are specifically diagnosed with anxiety and 3.2% of minors (approximately 1.9 million) are specifically diagnosed with depression (www.cdc.gov). If left untreated or overlooked, those affected children could be derailed from a successful or happy life, growing up as they are deprived from the resources or even simply the knowledge of their conditions. It is essential to promote access to mental health care for the youth since their developing brains and personalities during times of peer pressure and insecurities can cause them to develop unhealthy coping methods such as self harm, alcohol or drug addiction, nicotine addiction, suicidal thoughts, etc. Thus MHAM wants to prevent such behaviors and instil healthy lifestyles, habits, and resources to those in need.

Sources:

Kutcher, Stan, and David Venn. “Why Youth Mental Health Is so Important.” Medscape Journal of Medicine, Medscape, 8 Dec. 2008, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2644010/.

“Why Is Children's Mental Health Important?” American Psychological Association, American Psychological Association, 2009, www.apa.org/pi/families/children-mental-health.

“Data and Statistics on Children's Mental Health.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 15 June 2020, www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/data.html.