Aug 17, 2018, Stuff: The rise and rise of mental illness among our young https://www.stuff.co.nz/national/health/105952214/the-rise-and-rise-of-mental-illness-among-our-young Mental health issues are on the rise throughout the developed world and being young doesn't make you any less susceptible. Helen Harvey reports. … Nuutea is one of a growing number of young people in New Zealand who has suffered from some form of mental illness. Every age group is increasing but the biggest rise since 2008 is in the 12 to 17 age group. The trouble is no one seems to have a definitive answer as to the root cause of the increase and the reasons offered are many and varied. Social media gets a bad rap, and studies have found a strong correlation between the use of social media and mental health disorders such as depression, anxiety, sleep problems, eating issues, and increased suicide risk, Taranaki DHB Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr Yariv Doron says. … But while there are various theories and research into the causes there is 'no bottom line'…. This said the causes for mental illness were "multifactorial' and many different parts of a person's history, experience, cultural background, genetics, and current circumstances could conspire to induce mental illness. Taranaki DHB Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist Dr Yariv Doron says the reasons for an increase in mental illness among the youth are unclear…. In the 15 to 25 age group presentations increased from 209 to 330 in the same time period. And there was a 154 per cent increase in people from that age group calling the Mental Health Crisis team, now called the Assessment and Brief Care team (ABC), for help - up from 854 in 2013 to 2168 in 2017. In Taranaki the number of people in the 10 to 14 age group being prescribed anti depressants went up from 240 in 2013 to 417 in 2017, and from 1063 to 1944 in the 15 to 19 age group. Nationally, 10,146 children in the 10 to 14 age group were prescribed antidepressants in 2017 and 56,700 in the older age group. And 1788 children under the age of nine were also prescribed anti depressants. Taranaki, like other DHBs around the country, has acknowledged recruitment challenges have impacted, in the short term, the waitlist by not having enough clinicians to take new cases. The increase in young people suffering from issues like anxiety and depression is not unique to New Zealand - it is similar to what has been seen in other countries…. "Some of the biggest contributors to youth distress are adverse childhood events, including family violence, bullying, poverty, sexual abuse and social exclusion. Early intervention is important." … "The world in which young people now live is rapidly changing with different stressors, including an ever-changing job market, climate change, the introduction of new technology and more….
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Childhood Lost
Children today are noticeably different from previous generations, and the proof is in the news coverage we see every day. This site shows you what’s happening in schools around the world. Children are increasingly disabled and chronically ill, and the education system has to accommodate them. Things we've long associated with autism, like sensory issues, repetitive behaviors, anxiety and lack of social skills, are now problems affecting mainstream students. Blame is predictably placed on bad parenting (otherwise known as trauma from home).
Addressing mental health needs is as important as academics for modern educators. This is an unrecognized disaster. The stories here are about children who can’t learn or behave like children have always been expected to. What childhood has become is a chilling portent for the future of mankind.
Anne Dachel, Media editor, Age of Autism
http://www.ageofautism.com/media/
(John Dachel, Tech. assist.)
What will happen in another 4 years? How can we go on like this? This is a national (and international) problem of monumental proportions. We have an entire new class of children who cannot be accommodated by the system: many are manifestly neurologically impaired. Meanwhile, the government and the medical profession sleep on regardless.
John Stone,
UK media editor, Age of Autism
The generation of American children born after 1990 are arguably the sickest generation in the history of our country.
Robert F. Kennedy, Jr.
It seemed to me that with rising autism prevalence, you’d also see rising autism costs to society, and it turns out, the costs are catastrophic.
They calculated that in 2015 autism cost the United States $268 billion and they projected that if autism continues at its current rate, we’re looking at one trillion dollars a year in autism costs by 2025, so within five years.
Toby Rogers, PhD, Political economist
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