According to data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2021 more than 4 in 10 students felt persistently sad or hopeless and nearly one-third experienced poor mental health. And this is a growing trend.
Young people these days have so much on their plates, and the pressures of school and life can be magnified or even distorted by social media. U.S. surgeon general, Vivek Murthy, calls it a "youth mental health crisis."
He actually published an op-ed in the New York Times last week calling for social media warning labels like those put on cigarettes and alcohol, to try to alert young people of the dangers social media poses to their mental wellbeing and development.
Earlier this month there was an event at Florida Southwestern State College called ‘Normal is Overrated.’ This is the fifth year for the annual event, which is presented by Kids Minds Matter — a local movement dedicated to advancing pediatric mental and behavioral health services, managed through the Lee Health Foundation.
Normal is Overrated is essentially an effort to remove the stigma of talking about mental and behavioral health issues among teens. We talk with one of the organizers, and three of the teens who told their stories at the event.
Guests:
Vanessa Reyes Ruiz is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and Child Advocacy Program Manager at Golisano Children's Hospital
Saylor Davis is a Junior at South Fort Myers High School
Andrea Gijon is a freshman at Florida Southwestern State College
Blas Molina is a junior at Labelle High School
All three teens spoke at this year's Normal is Overrated event held on June 8, 2024 on the FSW campus.
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