What I’ve learned about mental health over the past year

It’s become a cliché to?say?that?the past 18 months have had an unprecedented and unfathomable impact on?us – as a society and as individuals.?Collectively, we have experienced the COVID-19 pandemic,?loss of?loved ones,?the?climate crisis?hitting home, a?devastated?economy,?a racial reckoning and?deepening cultural and political divides....?

The list?goes on and seems to?keep getting longer.??

The impact on our mental health has?been immediate, and the long-term effects are unknown.?Over the past year, I’ve learned so much about mental health, from both a?personal and a professional?perspective.?

On?the?personal front,?I lost a dear friend to suicide?when the isolation of the pandemic lockdown exacerbated long-time mental health challenges.?And as?a?mom of two?teen?girls, not a?single?day has gone by?without?worrying?about?their well-being as they've navigated?teenage life?during a pandemic.?While our family has all the privileges one could hope for, the?lack of?social?engagement?during formative adolescent years has been?an ongoing challenge.?

When I speak with other parents?in my community,?the topic of?youth mental health?is part of almost every conversation.?These?conversations are generally with people who?are fortunate to have good health insurance and resources to pay for care,?but?despite that, finding a?mental health?provider is nearly impossible.??

Professionally, my organization, Panorama, hosted?The Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health,?which provides funding to organizations serving the mental health needs of adolescents who are of color and/or LGBTQ+.?Through this work, I’ve learned?how weak the mental health infrastructure was?even before COVID-19, and how little appropriate care is available to those who need it most.??

Truly effective care demands an understanding of the unique societal contexts that shape and influence how youth move through their worlds, including the intersectionality of race, socioeconomic status, gender identity, and lived experience.?The communities that are most intersectional already have lower access to care,?and the?demand for services?over the past year has further?strained?an already?broken system.???

The challenge?of finding mental health services is even more difficult globally,?which I learned?through my role?as board president of American Friends of?United for Global Mental Health.?The problem of limited services?are?often compounded by repressive legal systems.?A?recent?report?found that suicide is a criminal offence in 20 countries, with some of the legislation dating back 160 years.?These laws?don’t deter people from taking their own lives,?but they do “deter?them?from seeking help in a moment of acute crisis.”?

The criminalization of suicide is counter-productive and?plays a significant role in?stigmatizing mental health.?Similarly, the criminalization of same-sex relationships?still exists in?67 countries, according to Outright International.?These?punitive laws?expose millions of individuals?not only to increased stigma and social isolation, but also?arrest, prosecution,?imprisonment?and in some?countries,?even the death penalty.???

Last week, the World Health Organization issued?their Mental Health Atlas, which they described as painting “a?disappointing picture of a worldwide failure to provide people with the mental health services they need, at a time when the COVID-19 pandemic is highlighting a growing need for mental health support.”?

While our work is a tiny drop in the bucket of need in the United States, I am proud?that?The?Upswing Fund?has provided critical resources to?organizations providing mental health services to adolescents.?Over the last year,?$11 million dollars?has been?awarded?to 92 organizations in 34 states?and?Washington, D.C.?

And we are?proud to join MTV and other partners in the?just-announced?Mental Health Youth Action Forum?in coordination with the Biden-Harris Administration, that will work to ensure adolescents are taking steps to help themselves and their communities manage their mental health.?

As we raise funds for year two, our goal is to fund at least 120 community-based organizations?in the U.S.?I am honored that the family of my friend who lost his?battle?with?mental illness?made a contribution, though there is nothing that can replace the gap?his death?left?in the lives of all who knew him.??

My hope is that the open dialogue we are having today about mental health leads to more resources and more treatment so that the next generation doesn’t have to experience the hardship and loss that so many face today.?