There's a mental health crisis gripping kids today, but the way out is a job for all of us

My kid is so close to being a teenager, it scares me. 

Amongst our friends, discussions revolve around screen time, bedtime schedules, friendships and whether there's something going on in our children's lives we don't yet know about.

For parents of teenagers, life can feel overwhelming, complicated, uncertain and exhausting. For kids, it can be easy to forget similar feelings apply.

So why am I telling you this?

In the past decade, rates of psychological distress among young people have risen sharply across the country, and we wanted to understand the issue more — to offer up information, solutions and ideas around raising resilient young people despite the overwhelm they’re currently facing.

We also learnt that in Australia (among other developed nations) instances of self-harm among 15 to 19-year-old girls have increased at alarming rates. First Nations, queer kids and kids living with disabilities were also over-represented. 

In fact, Indigenous youth are over-represented at every turn: whether you're looking at rates of psychological distress, self-harm, hospitalisation or suicide.

Here's a breakdown of some national stats, though experts caution we need more longitudinal data to get a clearer picture of what's going on:

• In 2021-2022, Australians aged 13 to18 were 3.4 times more likely than adults to be hospitalised for injuries caused by intentional self-harm, AIHW data shows. Girls accounted for more than four in five of these hospitalisations.
• From 2008 to 2022, rates of self-harm nearly doubled for girls aged 15 to19 and tripled for girls aged 14 and under, according to AIHW data. [Embed datawrapper self-harm girls]

• The prevalence of mental disorders in 16 to 24-year-olds rose from 26 per cent in 2007 to 39 per cent in 2021, an increase driven almost entirely by rising rates in females, according to ABS data.
• Overnight hospitalisation rates with psychiatric care for people aged 12 to 17 have almost doubled since 2011, again largely driven by increases among girls, AIHW data shows. [Embed datawrapper hospital admissions]

• More than a quarter of the 1.1 million Australians with an eating disorder are aged 19 or under, compared to 15 per cent in 2012, according to Deloitte.
• Almost half (42.3 per cent) of people aged 15 to 24 were psychologically distressed in 2021, up from 18.4 per cent in 2011. This age group had the highest average distress scores of any generation.

Ok, but why are teens struggling today?

It's a good question, one that experts and parents alike want answers for. That, and what exactly we can do to support their mental health.

"There is no doubt that an increased willingness to report mental health problems — including by children, adolescents and their parents, and at increasingly younger ages — is one of the reasons for the ever-increasing prevalence rates of mental distress in younger Australians," says Professor Ian Hickie, a global expert on mental health.

"However, the increasing rates of serious self-harm – presenting to hospitals and often resulting in inpatient care – are not so easily explained by increased willingness to report difficulties or seek help.

"They are more likely to reflect a genuine increase in the extent to which serious mental distress, and progression to serious mental disorders – like severe depression and major eating disorders — are really increasing in onset in younger people. "

And while it's difficult to know for sure if today's generation of kids are doing it tougher (it's like comparing apples and oranges, pediatrician Harriet Hiscock says), she does say their mental health is "probably worse" than those from previous generations.

Experts are urging us to understand the situation and support the kids in our lives who will one day be our future leaders and changemakers.

"One of the most unhelpful things going on at the moment is an attack on young people as if they're weak," Professor Hickie says.

If big, bold action isn't taken immediately, they say nothing will get better.

Here's what we know (and don't know)

The jury's out on why teens these days are having a hard time, but experts say that the pandemic, a lack of connection to our communities, our early childhood experiences and digital technology all play a part.

How we move our bodies, what we eat and how much good sleep we get, referred to as the pillars of good mental health, are also really important.

And what kids worry about — whether they'll ever find a home they can afford to live in, or what climate change will mean for their future — impacts their mental health, too.

"The challenges for young people in the current world are large: there's now great uncertainty," Professor Hickie says.

Regardless of what we do and don't know, Professor Hickie says we're facing "a genuine mental health crisis" with the data a decade before the pandemic "very clear cut". 

He says those "rapidly increasing rates" of mental distress, particularly for young women, and the self-harming behaviours in those age groups have been "accelerated by COVID, not caused by it".

"There must be bigger megatrends that are affecting young people: things about our society that are changing, that are having the greatest impact on young people," he says.

Professor Hiscock, who is from the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, says these worries about the future are "definitely playing on the minds of teenagers without an obvious, clear pathway of what they can do about it".

"Whenever you get those anxieties, coupled with a lack of sense of control, that's when it can really affect your mental health," she says. 

What hasn't changed so much, however, is the fact that teenagers are going through a really interesting and important developmental phase of their lives. Their brains and bodies are changing, and so too are their reactions to life and the adversities within it.

"It's a really massive deal," Professor Hiscock says.

"Understanding these developmental stages of life is key to understanding how a teenager might respond to stress and other issues in their life."

This is what we want to do about it. But we need your help

Are kids today struggling with normal feelings and emotions? Are we too quick to prescribe medication to our teenagers? 

Are smartphones and social media fuelling the problem? And are modern parents over-protective?

These are questions our experts want to answer for you (and will, throughout the year).

But we also want to know what questions you have. Perhaps you're a parent, grandparent or teacher. Perhaps you want to help a certain teenager in your life.

The illustrations in this article are by 15-year-old Alexi Belacqua, from Brisbane.