Teenager mental health is struggling in these key states

The CDC runs a Youth Risk Behavior Survey every 10 years, which analyzes the trends in youth mental health over the past decade. As we thought, youth mental health suffered acutely during 2020, although it had been on a decline for a while. 

This article covers this study and others like it to paint a picture of youth mental health in the United States and what can be done about it. 

Youth Mental Health Over the Decade

The CDC found that all indicators of poor mental health and suicidal thoughts worsened over the past ten years. The metrics they used included:

• Experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness
• Experienced poor mental health
• Seriously considered attempting suicide
• Made a suicide plan 
• Attempted suicide
• Were injured in a suicide attempt that had to be treated by a doctor 

Their results were as followed:

• In 2023, 4 out of every 10 students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness, a primary symptom of depression
• 2 in 10 students seriously thought about committing suicide. 
• 29% of high school students experienced poor mental health in 2023
• There was a 10% increase in “persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness” (30% in 2013 and 40% in 2023.
• “Seriously considering suicide” increased from 17% to 20%

However, the results were not all bleak. Around 2021, individual states started to implement youth mental health measures in their schools and communities. Mindfulness programs, virtual therapy in schools, incentives for students to graduate in the mental health field, and more awareness for youth mental health all aided the effort to improve our students’ mental health. 

These changes mattered. Nearly all indicators of poor mental health that the CDC measured improved between 2021 and 2023 by around 2%. For example, in 2021, 42% of youth experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. In 2023, that percentage was down to 40%. All indicators experienced a similar 2% decrease. 

Although 2% is not enough in the face of nearly half of students struggling with depression and other mental health problems, it is a positive change that can be capitalized on in the future as more healthy and life-saving resources are implemented. 

Teenager Mental Health in the States

With much of youth mental health left up to the states, some states had better luck at implementing successful strategies than others. Mental Health America (MHA) ran a study that looked at the rates of depression in teenagers in all of the states. This is what they found. 

The rankings were based on these seven factors:

1.  Youth with at Least One Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in the Past Year
2.  Youth with Substance Use Disorder in the Past Year
3.  Youth with Serious Thoughts of Suicide
4.  Youth (Ages 6-17) Flourishing
5.  Youth with MDE Who Did Not Receive Mental Health Services
6.  Youth with Private Insurance That Did Not Cover Mental or Emotional Problems
7.  Students (kindergarten and older)) Identified with Emotional Disturbance for an Individualized Education Program.

Here is how the states matched up, with 1 being the state with the lowest level of depression and 51 being the state with the highest level of depression: 

1. District of Columbia
2. Delaware
3. Wisconsin
4. Pennsylvania
5. Massachusetts
6. New Jersey
7. New Hampshire
8. Connecticut
9. Nevada
10. Oklahoma
11. Colorado
12. Rhode Island
13. Illinois
14. Maryland
15. Vermont
16. South Carolina
17. Wyoming
18. North Dakota
19. Mississippi
20. New York
21. Minnesota
22. Georgia
23. Indiana
24. North Carolina
25. South Dakota
26. Iowa
27. Ohio
28. California
29. Arizona
30. Utah
31. Kentucky
32. Maine
33. Florida
34. New Mexico
35. Michigan
36. Missouri
37. Alabama
38. Alaska
39. Montana
40. Washington
41. Tennessee
42. Louisiana
43. Hawaii
44. Arkansas
45. West Virginia
46. Texas
47. Idaho
48. Virginia
49. Nebraska
50. Kansas
51. Oregon

What are Delaware, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania doing that Oregon, Kansas, and Nebraska aren’t? It’s hard to know for sure. Access to quality mental health care is important for most mental health factors. This means having good insurance that covers therapy so it’s not too expensive and access to good therapists who can get you in relatively quickly and meet your needs. 

How to find a therapist for your teenager?

If your teenager is struggling with depression, therapy can help. Wherever you are, there are online therapists who can help. Online therapy is a great resource for teenagers because it does not require you to be in the same city or zipcode as your therapist and is often cheaper than in-person therapy.

We recommend Lifebulb Counseling and Therapy, an online therapy that operates in states across the U.S, including Texas, Georgia, Virginia, New Jersey, Arizona, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and West Virginia. 

Learn more by visiting their website or calling their team at 855-722-4422