Our kids need help

How do we prevent anxiety, depression, obesity, addiction, overdose, suicide, and school shootings?  We start by teaching our kids, our parents, and our families about wellness: what it is and how to achieve it. We help them get to the root cause of their problems in their body, mind, and spirit. We help them create lifestyles that support their health and happiness and support them on their wellness journey.  

Our children today are living in a different world, and 2022 has taken it to another level. Disrupted routines. Separation from their friends. College expectations. Worried about world events. School shootings. The list goes on and on. For teens and tweens, the coronavirus pandemic has added new pressure to their already tumultuous world. These stressors can intensify existing mental health issues in teens, says Ellen Rome, MD, MPH, a pediatrician and head of the Center for Adolescent Medicine. 

Research has shown approximately 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness will develop before the age of seventeen. Unfortunately, teen mental health issues are often overlooked or written off as “typical teen angst” that will go away on its own.  Suicide is now the second leading cause of death for teens and young adults in the United States and more teens than ever are experiencing depression, anxiety, behavioral health issues, learning disabilities, ADHD, stomach issues, and substance use. While there are many reasons for these increases, the one certain thing is that we need to take action to help our kids now. The issue is urgent.   

The time is now to start teaching our teens and give them the tools they need to help them create healthy minds and healthy lifestyles that create balance in their body, mind, and spirit.  More than ever, today's teens need to learn healthy self-care skills to help them cope with stress rather than the self-medication avenue many often seek. Helping teens learn to love themselves and prioritize creating a healthy lifestyle will prevent the crises we're seeing in our world. It will have a tremendous impact on their health and happiness, their family, their school, their community,  and our world. Our kids are our hope and our future. We need to move in a direction of wellness.   

IHS works with teens (and their families)and provides them with education, access, inspiration, and support that can help them take charge of how they feel and create sustainable health and happiness. We can help our kids and their families find balance in their body, mind, and spirit, which will create a strong foundation for healthy adulthood and a better future!