Parents, teachers describe impact of COVID on NH youth

During the pandemic, much of the focus has been on COVID-19 and stopping the spread. But parents and teachers have seen firsthand a less ballyhooed but serious pandemic effect: the emotional struggles of young people.Angela Pickowicz recalls the day her daughter was ready to give up.”She expressed to me that she did not want to live anymore and she had been cutting. I knew in my body, I could feel in my body, that this wasn’t a threat,” Pickowicz said.>> WATCH: The full “COVID-19 Impact: Helping Kids Cope” specialPickowicz assertively and tenaciously reached out for help for her 14-year-old daughter, but she came up empty.She estimates she called 75 psychiatrists, psychologists and therapists in a 50-mile radius.”Their voicemails just say, ‘I’m sorry. We’re not accepting new clients.’ Or you call and they say, ‘I’m sorry, but we don’t deal with that age range,'” Pickowicz said.Pickowicz said the cutting, the despondency and the suicidal thoughts all emerged during the pandemic. She describes her daughter pre-pandemic as vibrant, athletic and engaged with the family. Then, she suddenly started sleeping more and was withdrawing.>> Do you or someone you know need help? The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24/7 at 1-800-273-8255 or online. More resources are at the end of this story.”It’s my belief that the length that this has gone on has made a tremendous impact on their mental health,” Pickowicz said.Pickowicz’s daughter was admitted to a New Hampshire hospital into what’s called “the annex.” She said eight other children were also in “the annex” in mental health crisis. It was a weeklong holding pattern until a mental health facility had a bed available.”There is no place for these teens who are feeling this way and it’s a scary place if you have never been there,” Pickowicz said. “Why aren’t people talking about this like they are talking about the coronavirus because it is that big.”Parents aren’t the only ones ringing the bell. Teachers are seeing it, too.Technologically speaking, the switch to remote learning after COVID-19 broke out was simple for Mikaela Gauvain’s students, it’s the emotional-social component that stalled and the deficits are apparent already.”Just in terms of socializing with each other, it’s almost like they forgot what it means to talk to another person and how do I identify what that other person is feeling and how do I approach that person if I can’t fully identify what their emotions are,” Gauvain, a seventh-grade social studies teacher, said.Educators call it social emotional learning and say ideally, it happens in person and closer than 6 feet.”We encourage them to talk about it because a big part of social emotional learning is being able to express your feelings in a way that others will be able to understand it and in an appropriate way,””There have been across-the-board reports of increased stress, anxiety and depression, across the lifespan, but particularly hard-hitting youth and young adults,” Ken Norton, of NAMI New Hampshire, said.What is surprising and hopeful is that preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for 2020 reveals a decline in suicide rates.Norton is wary of celebrating the decline too soon, but one theory is that mental illness is part of the everyday narrative surrounding health. Talking about it is less stigmatized and that is a win.Norton encourages people to keep the conversations flowing with open-ended questions.”‘What are you looking forward to?’ ‘What are you not looking forward to?” Norton said. “What have you missed the most during this past year by working remotely? What do you think you’ve done well? What do you think you haven’t done well?”With summer vacation right around the corner, Gauvain said she wants parents to seek out ways to get kids outside with their peers and even in a change of scenery.”Any chance that they have to go somewhere else in terms of a road trip, any form of safe travel, a safe summer camp. Anything that they can do to socialize, especially during the summer, is what these kids need,” Gauvain said.Pickowicz said her daughter is doing well now and has a weekly therapist appointment. She wants mental health to get the attention that COVID-19 has been grabbing for a year and a half.”My plan is to do something to help change this. I wouldn’t voluntarily ever send my child there. There is no other resource. There is nothing else you can do,” Pickowicz said.There are many resources available if you or someone you know need help:National Suicide Prevention Lifeline:1-800-273-8255 (available 24/7 via phone or live chat online)Options for deaf and hard of hearing: For TTY users, use your preferred relay service or dial 711 then 1-800-273-8255Free and confidential support for people in distress, plus prevention and crisis resources for individuals or loved ones211 New Hampshire:Call 211 for information and referrals to resources available across the stateAvailable 24/7NAMI New Hampshire:1-800-242-6264 (calls are returned within 48 business hours; this is NOT a crisis line)Information on National Alliance on Mental Illness NH programs, including local support groups and programs and references to community and national resourcesMakin’ It Happen:Information on mental and physical health and wellness, plus information on prevention, treatment and recovery resources for people of all agesNH Department of Health and Human Services:Includes a list of Peer Support Agencies across the state for people who qualify for publicly funded mental health servicesThe Campaign to Change Direction:Information on the five signs of emotional suffering and to make a pledge to help change the conversation about mental healthNational Institute of Mental Health:Fact sheets on mental health, resources on finding treatment, and information on current research