User:Redhead0227/Mental health

Mental Health With Young Adults and Children
Surprisingly and not surprisingly, plenty of children in the world have some form of mental health disorder, whether they know they do or not. Some of the most common childhood mental health disorders are “attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety (fears or worries), and behavior disorders.… Other childhood disorders and concerns that affect how children learn, behave, or handle their emotions can include learning and developmental disabilities, autism, and risk factors like substance use and self-harm.” (CDC 2019) Different environments and changes in the environment can impact mental health. It can be affected psychologically based on these changes. There are environments and factors in those environments such as home (climate, crime levels, poverty), school (having a sense of belonging and feeling safe and connected, or being bullied and teachers having a little-to-no understanding of how to deal with students who have mental health issues due to poor training or instruction); and social (having a strong and positive support system with people that are close and trustworthy, or if there’s a lack of relationships, which leads to loneliness, causing anxiety and depression). (Lindberg 2023)

Symptoms can often start in early childhood, but some disorders may develop more over time, especially during the teenage years. Some actual symptoms can include social changes/staying away from others, self-harm or thoughts of self-harm, significant changes in mood/behavior/personality, and doing poorly or not going to school. There are so many possible treatments for mental disorders, and every treatment is different for every disorder. Sometimes, the treatment is used for the one with the mental health disorder, but at the same time, if the parent doesn’t understand, they can get help to understand better what their child is going through. A couple of things a parent can do to help their child is “before you label your child’s outbursts as a lack of control or mental illness, look for a simple explanation for what is going on, and why your kid is acting different.… Do your best to create a healthy environment in your home.… Let your child know you are always there for them if they want to share their feelings.… Routines give a sense of stability to children and teens, especially those who struggle with anxiety. Limit their screen time, and keep bedtime and wakeup time in mind to create a healthy routine.” (Pickle 2019)

Statistics
Statistics help scientists and experts prove the facts and present them. Statistics can be frightening to some people, especially when they’re about a rough topic to talk about, such as mental health for some people. There are stats about mental health in general and stats about specific mental health disorders that people can’t imagine. For how “1 in 7 U.S. children aged 2-8 years (7.7 million children) had a diagnosed mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder.” And how “half of the young kids didn’t receive the needed treatment from a mental health professional.” (Both quotes are from Pickle, 2019) Those, again, are just some of the many statistics about mental health, and those are just some that are about mental health in children. There were, and still are, so many barriers that involve mental health, especially young adults and children. The biggest one is the COVID-19 pandemic. It had such a major impact on mental health, especially in mid-2021 when the pandemic was starting to die down slightly. Well, at least according to a University of California San Francisco. It talks about how “Forty-eight percent of young adults reported mental health symptoms and, among those with symptoms, 39% used prescription medications and/or received counseling, while 36% reported unmet counseling needs. Female, Hispanic, and uninsured young adults had the greatest unmet need, though these trends were not statistically significant.” (Berthold 2022) Statistics may be numbers to some people, but they prove the facts. As many scientists, mathematicians, doctors, and other experts say, numbers never lie.

Homeless Population

It is known that within America, there have been many issues with the amount of homeless individuals that keep arising. Many of these individuals have mental health issues and cannot afford mental health care or health care in general because of their current life circumstances. The University of Saint Augustine for Health Sciences explains that “Many unhoused people in communities struggle with mental illnesses around the country. There are over 580,000 people in the United States that are unhoused, and over 21% of them have mental illnesses.” (Muzaffarpur, 2024) Not only has the population of unhoused people expanded, but there has also been a “16 percent increase among individuals that are experiencing chronic homelessness between 2020 and 2022, and the homeless population has compromised 37 percent of individuals who identify as Black and 24 percent who identify as Hispanic.” (Saluda, 2023)  Many of the homeless have chronic issues with substance abuse, which is a higher percentage than those stable with a reliable home. There are a variety of mental illnesses within the homeless population, including not only substance abuse but depression, bipolar, schizophrenia, and anxiety disorders. These disorders can make managing a stable income and daily activities difficult. In the article Brain and Behavior, “Several Studies have shown that individuals with mental illnesses often find themselves homeless primarily as the result of poverty and a lack of low-income housing.” (Tarr, 2018) Homelessness is a critical issue and has yet to be solved. Many homeless people have daily encounters with the criminal justice system, and it has been researched that “homeless adults who experienced abuse or neglect within their childhood are more likely to experience being arrested for a crime or being a victim of one.” (Tarr, 2018)  Many individuals can relate to having this kind of experience during their childhood because, unfortunately, it happens often.

Immigrant and Refugee Mental Health

Immigrants and refugees are byproducts of disastrous situations such as war, poverty, and environmental instability. They long for a place to call home, and in doing so, they experience unimaginable amounts of stress and trauma. Immigrants and refugees often suffer from different mental disorders due to things they have experienced throughout their lives. These events and experiences usually have a life-long impact. “Many experience the onset of anxiety disorders, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).” (Refugee Mental Health: What You Need to Know, 2022) The list does not end there. These people tend to experience physical pains and things like insomnia, restlessness, and hunger. These can be detrimental to a person's psyche over time. It often leads to suicidal thoughts. “On top of suicidal thoughts, they may also withdraw from engaging with friends or loved ones or turn to substances in an attempt to cope with the discomfort.” (Refugee Mental Health: What You Need to Know, 2022) These mental disorders then lead to issues within immigrants' and refugees' new lives. They often experience things like a lack of job opportunities and racism.

Homelessness among immigrants makes the population of unhoused people rise. It is stated that “1 in 20 homeless adults in the United States is an undocumented immigrant.”(Gitnux, 2023)  However, immigrants play a significant role in innovation in the United States. “While immigrants already play a huge part in maintaining the United States’ role as a leading innovator, immigrants will also be instrumental in helping high-tech industries meet their full potential as their needs for high-skilled STEM workers rapidly increases in the future.” (Immigrants in the United States of America, 2024) Immigrants and refugees often experience discrimination, yet they help lead a large portion of the workforce. They do not migrate and provide nothing of value to society. While they have been forced out of their homes for various reasons, they still strive to work and lead as everyday life as possible.