Guest Blog: THE GIFT OF OPPORTUNITY - INCLUDES MENTAL HEALTH CARE
Dr. Kimberly S. Williams, PsyD
Written By: Kimberly S. Williams, Psy.D., Clinical Psychologist and Neuropsychologist
BJ can’t take his eyes off social media. He’s consumed every detail of a high-profile tragedy and his own anxieties are escalating. He can’t sleep or eat; he panics about leaving home to go to and from school.
Mr. Adams sips coffee in gorgeous Aspen. Hitting the slopes with his daughter Mariah had been an annual tradition, but this year she’s away at boarding school; in fact, it’s her 3rd school this year. Her risky and rule breaking behaviors have escalated since the divorce.
Leah is awake at 3:00 am. She’s obsessed with studying for her history exam. Tears are rolling down her eyes and she can’t catch her breath. She doesn’t know how she’s going to make it through the day. She cuts her wrist with a paper clip for relief.
These Are Our Children
The commonality of each scenario… a bright, high achieving child who works hard to excel; not the child you may consider in need of psychological support. Yet the reality is, each child wears a mask everyday to go through the motions of life, to maintain the status quo that everything is fine, even when it’s not. It is unfortunate, but well documented that communities of color stigmatize mental health care. Needing help is perceived as a character flaw, a problem of the majority culture and some sort of moral weakness. Often, as a child’s distress becomes more apparent, well intentioned parents remind their child, “how good their life is” and ask, “what do you have to be sad about?” Often parents will intervene academically or socially to decrease obstacles for their child, but this relief is short-lived. Many parents attribute the stress to typical teenage irritability or angst and believe that the moodiness will pass.
The truth is, 1 in 6 U.S. youth ages 6 to 17 experience a mental health distress leading to a diagnosed disorder each year. In fact, 50% of all lifetime mental illness begins by age 14 and shocking, but true, suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among people ages 10 to 34. According to the NIMH, for children of color, who are dealing with daily microaggressions in life and their school environment, this is increased by a rate of 20%.
Although there has been some improvement, in communities of color, access to care and cost may make receiving services prohibitive. However, even for families who know where to go or have the insurance coverage, they are still reluctant to put in a call to a physician or therapist because of stigma. Often a small clinical issue has grown out of hand because of the delay in contacting a clinician. Parents worry that therapy invades family privacy, that a child will be labeled, or that it will be time consuming.
Know The Warning Signs
With the statistics of anxiety, depression, self-harm and suicides increasing, it’s imperative to see the signs. If your child:
Appears sad, tearful or withdrawn for two or more weeks
Inflicts injury upon him/herself
Complains of sudden overwhelming fear accompanied by racing heart or fast breathing
Involved in multiple fights
Has a change in appetite or is not eating, weight loss
Extreme difficulty in concentrating linked to school failure
Use if drugs and alcohol
Drastic changes in behavior or personality
Change is sleep patterns, sleeping too much, awaking in the middle of the night, or can’t get to sleep
So often parents will observe only one of these issues, but in fact, several other symptoms are present. Parents should never feel like these issues are too minimal to contact a professional for support. Your first call can be to your pediatrician for a referral, or your child’s school psychologist/guidance counselor for a local referral. Do not hesitate to state your preference for a therapist that can culturally identify with your family. There are many cognitive and behavioral strategies that can help your child reach and maintain emotional milestones and teach coping skills to deal with the current issues and the imminent challenges of the future. We must condition ourselves to recognize the opportunity for good mental health and wellness and understand it is equally important as physical health and education.
We thank you for supporting our kids, Dr.Kim!
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