Colorado health leaders declare youth mental health state of emergency: “Our kids have run out of resilience” Representatives of Children’s Hospital Colorado and rural leaders call for increased funding for services By SAM TABACHNIK | stabachnik@denverpost.com | The Denver Post PUBLISHED: May 25, 2021 at 6:19 p.m. | UPDATED: May 25, 2021 at 6:43 p.m. Colorado health leaders sounded the alarm Tuesday over what they’re calling an unprecedented crisis among the state’s youth population, declaring for the first time a pediatric mental health “state of emergency.” Top-ranking representatives of Children’s Hospital Colorado as well as rural leaders convened a virtual roundtable, pleading for increased funding for mental health services in schools, hospitals, in-patient clinics and other avenues as emergency rooms fill up with youth in crisis. The public health emergency has been burbling for years, health officials say, but bubbled over the surface during the COVID-19 pandemic, when kids’ lives were disrupted with remote learning, social isolation and anxiety over family members’ health and safety. “The current system is simply unsustainable and is failing our children,” Jena Hausmann, president and CEO of Children’s Hospital Colorado, said. The numbers are striking: Between January and April, behavioral health visits to Children’s Hospital Colorado pediatric emergency departments were up 72% over the same time period in 2019. In April alone, those visits were up 90%, according to Children’s Hospital. In Colorado Springs, behavioral health visits to the emergency department shot up 145% as compared to the first fourth months of 2020. The Pediatric Mental Health Institute at Children’s Hospital Colorado has seen twice as many patients reporting increased anxiety, depression and feelings of isolation and social disconnectedness. “I’ve been in practice for over 20 years in pediatrics,” said Dr. David Brumbaugh, chief medical officer for Children’s Hospital Colorado, “and I’ve never seen anything like the demand for mental health services in the last 15 months.” https://www.denverpost.com/2021/05/25/colorado-mental-health-youth-pandemic/ I'm not sure that things are as bad as some are claiming, but they could definitely be better. Hope you all are doing okay.
So just wanted to bump because I hit rock bottom last week. Ive mentioned before that I’ve been battling cancer. Anyways how I’ve dealt with it since the beginning was just putting my head down and pushing through everything. Since being diagnosed in July I finished at the top of my company in sales and even got a promotion in December. Anyways ever since Christmas break when I had some time off to decompress things I’ve been having ups and downs. I would have a couple of days where I couldn’t sleep and would just feel like ****… but then it would go away after a few days…. So I never reached out for help. It all came crashing down last week and I honestly thought I was going to die of a heart attack… and I didn’t even care to be honest. I didn’t sleep all week and tried to supplement sleep with energy drinks. I finally spoke to a counselor Friday and they were able to make me feel better. I should be seeing a psychologist and attending a cancer support group next week. Moral of the story, don’t be too stubborn to ask for help.
I’m in partial remission. That’s what was so weird. I never felt depressed until I got good news. But apparently it’s not uncommon for that to happen.
