Helping youth with pandemic-related mental health issues

During the past year and a half, individuals, families, and communities have experienced the fullness of social isolation, unfamiliar public health restrictions, long-term uncertainty, elevated anxiety, depression, suicidality, and escalations of mental health uncertainty. The lockdown of schools, universities, and communities of faith further threaten the well-being of society and in particular our youth. As the long-term effects of pandemic restrictions and mandates continue to surface, the long-term consequences facing our youth’s spiritual hope and well-being requires careful reflection, attention, and labor.

Preliminary research identified significant changes in adolescent mental health and disordered substance use as a direct result of the school closures, lockdowns, and restrictions. Data analysis shows an increase in social distress, anxiety, and symptoms of depression in adolescent populations. The research also shows negative life satisfaction for adolescents as many have suffered in silence, with fears of further rejection, detachment, and isolation.

The stigma and shame associated with our public response to mental health and substance-use disorders are oftentimes rooted in narratives of sin and condemnation. Our world and communities often fail in providing supportive and comprehensive resources necessary to navigate through the struggles of loved ones who suffer from mental health disorders. It is cumbersome to gain access to services for severe depression or paralyzing anxiety even in the best of times, let alone during a global pandemic.

Yet, as we reflect upon Matthew’s Gospel, we begin to see the benefits of Christ’s call to be laborers of the harvest. Jesus reminds us that we are called to respond in love to heal those who suffer, and that we are called to labor for our youth. As Christians, we should never say, “I do not know what to do.” Rather, Jesus commissions us all. Christ calls his disciples to “Cure the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, and drive out demons. Without cost you have received; without cost you are to give” (Matt 10:8-9). We are called to be the light, to help others access necessary services and to initiate health care support. We should not be paralyzed in our response to the needs of our youth. Our youth are depending on us, their families, and their faith communities to hold on to them in support and love.

“Jesus went around to all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the Gospel of the Kingdom, and curing every disease and illness. At the sight of the crowds, His heart was moved with pity for them because they were troubled and abandoned, like sheep without a shepherd. Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is abundant but the laborers are few, so ask the master for the harvest to send out laborers for his harvest” (Matt 9:35-38).

We are not to be silent; we are called to proclaim the Good News. Like the early members of the church, we need to teach the Gospel of the Kingdom and seek out our youth. Our youth need family interactions and connection. Our youth need our faith communities and the assurance that their lives have meaning. Our families and faith communities are called to dismantle the emptiness of contemporary culture and addictive pursuits. We are called to recreate community interactions that empower living connections. Like the shepherd, we are called to gather our youth into our homes, our communities, and our hearts, in order to openly illuminate the importance and value of their lives.

DiANN ECRET, PH.D., M.S.N., R.N., is the nurse planner and ethicist at the National Catholic Bioethics Center and assistant professor of nursing at Ave Maria University School of Nursing.