Letter: May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Dear Editor,

Today’s youth are navigating a mental health landscape more complex and unforgiving than ever before. Rising rates of anxiety, depression, self-harm, and suicide among young people signal that there is work to be done. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, nearly three in five teenage girls felt persistently sad or hopeless in 2021 – a dramatic increase over the past decade. Suicide remains one of the leading causes of death among youth aged 10 to 24. These numbers are not just data points; they represent our children, our students, our future.

Young people today face pressures that previous generations could not have imagined. Social media, while offering connection, often breeds comparison, bullying, and unrealistic expectations. Academic and extracurricular demands have intensified, while access to mental health care has not kept pace. Add in family instability, racial and economic inequities, and the psychological toll of global crises like the pandemic and climate change, and the burden becomes overwhelming.

This month is Mental Health Awareness Month, bringing awareness to the importance of mental health and wellness in American lives. Mental health education should be prioritized – teaching students not just how to cope, but how to seek help and support others. To address this, Tioga County Public Health, in collaboration with Tioga County Mental Hygiene, introduced CredibleMind- an online platform for mental health and well-being. 

CredibleMind aims to support individuals and empower them to discover local resources and access support options. Anyone can access CredibleMind, including youths. CredibleMind offers a range of resources for individuals to choose from, including articles, websites, podcasts, and more to help address their mental health and well-being concerns.

To access CredibleMinds, visit https://tioga.crediblemind.com/.

Sincerely,

Kristin Russell

Public Health Educator