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How COVID-19 Impacted the Mental Health of Teen Girls?

The COVID-19 pandemic has been terrible for the mental health of many people. Teenage girls are among them. According to a government survey, the results of which were shared by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 60% of teen girls reported feelings of persistent hopelessness and sadness.

The report also highlighted that suicidal thoughts, suicidal behavior, and sexual violence-related issues affected several teens from all backgrounds. However, girls and LGBTQ youth faced the worst on most measures.

To conduct this survey, over 17,000 high school students were surveyed in the fall of 2021. Similar data has been collected for about 30 years now. But it has never revealed these devastating feelings being consistent.

Kathleen Ethier, director of CDC’s adolescent and school health division, believes the data tells people to act as the young people are in crisis. The research also found that 30% of girls admitted that they considered attempting suicide. It is double the rate among boys and has increased by almost 60% from a decade ago.

About 20% of girls reported that they experienced rape or other forms of sexual violence in the last year. It has seen an increase over previous years. About half of the LGBTQ students also admitted that they seriously considered a suicide attempt.

In the survey, over a quarter of American Indians and Alaska natives stated that they considered a suicide attempt. It was higher than other ethnicities and races. Over one-third of kids of all races and ethnicities were affected by feelings of persistent sadness and hopelessness over the past few years. Poor mental health in recent times was reported by half of LGBTQ kids and about one-third of American Indian and Alaska Native youth.

Though the results align with previous reports and surveys, the trends started before the pandemic. However, according to mental health experts, online schooling, isolation, and rising reliance on social media during the COVID-19 pandemic worsened the things for many kids.

A Solution?

Several school districts across the nation have used federal pandemic money to hire a higher number of mental health specialists. But they are stretched thin. Also, the students who need expert help outside school can’t often get it as therapists are overburdened and often have long waitlists.

Consult an Expert

If you have trouble knowing about your teen girls’ mental health and want an expert’s help on how to proceed, then you can trust me, Michelle Mehta, a certified professional co-active coach, an Associate Certified Coach through the International Coach Federation, and a Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP) practitioner.

I am passionate about helping teenagers feel authentic, empowered, worthy, and loved and helping them create a sense of belonging and believe that the world needs their talents. So, if you feel you’re called to have your teenager work with me, let’s schedule a time to talk and connect. I look forward to Empowering Your Teenager to Shine with Confidence. To know more about how I can offer help, please click here.

References:

https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2023-02-13/pandemic-youth-mental-health-toll-unprecedented-data-show
Certified life coach and Teen Counseling Center
Emotional Freedom Technique Practitioner (EFT)

Michelle Mehta

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