{"id":5057326,"date":"2021-12-15T00:19:46","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T05:19:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ctlatinonews.com\/?p=5057326"},"modified":"2021-12-15T00:19:46","modified_gmt":"2021-12-15T05:19:46","slug":"children-and-adolescents-struggling-with-pandemics-mental-health-fallout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/2021\/12\/15\/children-and-adolescents-struggling-with-pandemics-mental-health-fallout\/","title":{"rendered":"Children And Adolescents Struggling With Pandemic\u2019s Mental Health Fallout"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One day in early March 2020, just as the pandemic was gaining momentum, sixth-grader Carolina Martinez-Nava was heading to the school cafeteria when she saw her sister coming down the stairs, looking for her. Arlene, an eighth grader, was crying.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cShe came and hugged me,\u201d Carolina said. Students had been peering out windows all morning at the black smoke rising a few blocks from the school, in Bridgeport. But that still couldn\u2019t prepare Carolina for her sister\u2019s news that it was their family\u2019s house that was burning.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The blaze destroyed everything, including the stuffed rabbit that was Carolina\u2019s favorite toy. It also started an odyssey for the Martinez-Nava family that, at almost every step of the way, was stymied by COVID-19, whose shape and intensity was, especially in the beginning, poorly understood.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe couldn\u2019t believe there was so much stress,\u201d Angelina Martinez-Nava, mother of the sisters and 4-year-old Alesander, said this summer through an interpreter.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although what they experienced may have been extreme, today, every family has its pandemic story, one that\u2014as data and anecdotes from health care professionals show\u2014can be largely summarized by two words: anxiety and loss.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Melissa Mendez, a licensed clinical social worker and director of early childhood programs at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wheelerclinic.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Wheeler Clinic,<\/a>&nbsp;said she thinks that for the rest of her professional career, she and others working in children\u2019s mental health \u201cwill be dealing with the aftermath\u2014if we ever get there\u2014of this pandemic.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Anxiety Persists Nationwide&nbsp;<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Shortly after COVID-19 began its sweep across the country, health experts began warning about high rates of anxiety and depression among children and adolescents.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kim Holyst, director of behavioral health at the Wheeler Family Health &amp; Wellness Center in Waterbury, said counselors started to see \u201csome pretty significant anxiety\u201d among children and adolescents as soon as schools went to remote learning.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The children had \u201cbehavioral issues, increased irritability,\u201d Holyst said, noting, \u201cTheir whole world had been turned upside down.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By February 2021, an NBC\/Stanford University&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/challengesuccess.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/CS-NBC-Study-Kids-Under-Pressure-PUBLISHED.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">survey showed<\/a>&nbsp;that only a third of high school students \u201cfelt they were able to cope with their sources of stress, which include strained mental health and peer relationships.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In June, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cdc.gov\/mmwr\/volumes\/70\/wr\/mm7024e1.htm\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a>&nbsp;that visits to hospital emergency departments for suspected suicide attempts were more than 50% higher among girls 12-17 in February and March 2021 than in the same period in 2019.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, the Wheeler Clinic\u2019s Mendez said the anxiety continues, linked to the \u201congoing uncertainty\u201d about COVID-19.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cNobody ever knows for sure what\u2019s happening day to day,\u201d Mendez said. \u201cThere\u2019s new research coming in, new recommendations being made, new drugs being approved.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe\u2019ve never really had anything like this<strong>,\u201d&nbsp;<\/strong>Mendez said. \u201cThat, I think, has created a lot of anxiety and uncertainty with grownups in general, and that certainly filters down to children.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/706C4B76-4BA7-4045-ADE2-A5C23DBD7013.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5057327\" \/><figcaption><br \/>The Martinez-Nava family (clockwise from right) Angelina Martinez-Nava and her children Alesander, 4, Carolina, 12 and Arlene, 14. \u201cWe couldn\u2019t believe there was so much stress,\u201d said Angelina.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Family Searches For Ways To Cope<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Martinez-Nava family soon found a new apartment, but their challenges continued to mount. Schools closed. The children\u2019s father was diagnosed with COVID-19 and lost his landscaping job when he had to quarantine. Angelina, a cook at a restaurant, lost her position when the restaurant closed. For six weeks, no income came in.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Arlene and Carolina tried to keep up with their schoolwork by passing Arlene\u2019s cellphone back and forth. Although they eventually got computers, their grades dropped as they struggled with the challenges of remote learning and those of their new home environment.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Angelina tried to keep things going, but her usually outgoing daughters pulled inward.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI would lock myself in my room, and I would sleep through the day and be up at night,\u201d Arlene said. \u201cAt random times,\u201d she said, she and Carolina, \u201cwould just crack, and get angry with the world, with anyone around us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Carolina\u2019s best friend had left Connecticut before the pandemic, and with schools closed, the younger girl had no one to talk to.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI didn\u2019t want to leave my room,\u201d she said. \u201cI would just stay there, in the corner. I was very worried, like scared, all the time. I\u2019d most likely cry myself to sleep.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Their mother arranged physicals for the girls at&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.swchc.org\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Southwest Community Health Center<\/a>&nbsp;in Bridgeport. When she told the pediatrician how worried she was about them, he suggested reaching out to the center\u2019s behavioral health staff.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2018We Really Did Need Therapy\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Nancy Wiltse, chief behavioral health officer at Southwest, said the number of families seeking mental health treatment for children and adolescents has soared, helped by the advent of telehealth.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Both girls saw counselors at Southwest, meeting with them on cellphones and then on computers through the year. With counseling, the sisters were able to process what was happening to them and, most importantly, find words for their feelings.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">When the fire and the pandemic blew up their lives, Arlene said, \u201cWe didn\u2019t know we had a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBy the time we got to the end of professional therapy,\u201d Arlene said, \u201cthat was when we thought, \u2018We really did need therapy!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>\u2018Pins And Needles\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">With schools reopened, many families have been able to resume more familiar routines, even though the threat of COVID-19 continues to impede the country\u2019s full resumption of \u201cnormal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/B01EE336-9AD5-4520-89CE-39A275B17C77.jpeg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-5057328\" \/><figcaption>Melissa Mendez, director of Wheeler\u2019s Early Childhood Programs.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many people \u201chad high hopes about what fall would be like,\u201d Mendez said, \u201cand now we\u2019re here, and everybody just\u2014I don\u2019t know, it\u2019s pins and needles, it\u2019s bated breath.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some families that Wheeler counselors have been treating were not ready to send their children back to school, Mendez said.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">They\u2019re \u201cupset that remote was not an option this fall,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think the children who are struggling more with the anxiety around the pandemic and what it means for them and being away from their parents again are probably having a harder time at school,\u201d Mendez said.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">She notes, however, that, \u201cChildren are actually pretty resilient and pretty adaptive, and many are happy to be in school again and see their friends, for the most part.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">But, Mendez warned, in the past 18 months, \u201ca lot of families and children have gone through some pretty serious losses\u201d\u2014family members, people in their communities.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe don\u2019t really see a lot of discussion about that,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator\" \/>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"http:\/\/c-hit.org\/2021\/09\/20\/children-and-adolescents-struggling-with-pandemics-mental-health-fallout\/\" data-type=\"URL\" data-id=\"http:\/\/c-hit.org\/2021\/09\/20\/children-and-adolescents-struggling-with-pandemics-mental-health-fallout\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Children And Adolescents Struggling With Pandemic\u2019s Mental Health Fallout<\/a> was first published on Connecticut Health I-Team.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Cover Photo: Carolina Martinez-Nava\u2019s world unraveled when her home was destroyed in a fire in March 2020. The Southwest Community Health Center helped her and her family process their emotions of loss and uncertainty.<\/p>\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Publisher\u2019s Note:<\/em>&nbsp;<em>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/latinonewsnetwork.com\/ctln\/\">CTLN<\/a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"http:\/\/c-hit.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">c-hit.org<\/a>&nbsp;collaborate to best serve the Connecticut Hispanic, Latino community<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>One day in early March 2020, just as the pandemic was gaining momentum, sixth-grader Carolina Martinez-Nava was heading to the [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5057331,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","ghostkit_customizer_options":"","ghostkit_custom_css":"","ghostkit_custom_js_head":"","ghostkit_custom_js_foot":"","ghostkit_typography":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center 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