Addressing the Unfolding Children’s Mental Health Crisis

Excerpt

2021 is a year of transitions. As our understanding of COVID-19 and the implementation of COVID-19 vaccines and boosters continue to evolve, society at large attempts to regain semblances of normalcy. Airline travel resumes to allow for families to gather during holidays, roads are once again filled with workers rushing to and from their offices, and schools for our children convert from virtual back to in-person. Yet, despite all our efforts, we cannot turn the clock back to the pre-pandemic days. As of December 2021, the United States (U.S.) has lost almost eight hundred thousand people to the virus, and the world over five million [1, 2]. Many more people continue to suffer from disabilities associated with COVID treatment and recovery, or even “long COVID”, ongoing symptoms and conditions the medical world is only starting to quantify. The tremendous loss of human life is only compounded by loss of jobs, financial security, and trust in public health and governmental officials [3]. With so many stressors, it is no wonder that reports of depressive and anxiety symptoms and substance use have increased since the pandemic began [4]. The pandemic’s impact on mental health is widespread, and as we wrestle with having to live with COVID-19 and its numerous evolutions, enduring. This is especially true for the mental health toll on our children, the youngest of whom had never known the days prior to March 2020. In this editorial, we outline the mental health crisis affecting our vulnerable children and adolescents, how the pandemic persists in affecting their mental health, and how we have and will continue to address this crisis. …