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Kim krisberg  is an reporter, writer and also a editor that mainly makes articles about public health valeting in people like adults and children they also make many papers for a sortable company as " the nationals health " .I found surprising that many students who live in a low income house end up being in worst mental states and do at the end many Wrong actions like getting pregnant at an early age and also getting in gangs ect. A thing I found interesting is that deppresion and anxiety are main struggles that many student and teens have.Also something I found troubling is that Multiply kids stress about looking good when they go to school and also doing their most best in school

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Major Depression By John Hopkins University Medicine  

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Major Depression By John Hopkins University Medicine  

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The ranked #1 in Maryland and #4 in the nation on U.S. News & World Report's Best Hospitals 2021–22, John Hopkins University medicine emphasizes how depression affects the whole body involving you mood and your beliefs. They also emphasize ways for people to go about to better their mental health. What surprised me about this text was that there are alot of ways for depression to be handled/ take better care of. What is interesting to me is the fact that this is posted online but it isn't taken into practice in my personal opinion. There aren't that many facilities were they specialize in mental health. Also, this is only in Maryland, how can they make it international to the other states in order for them to follow similarly the same path of helping there with mental health. Another thing that interest me was how John Hopkins has a number to call for an appointment to help with these issues! One thing that troubled me was that there wasn't any experiences or experiments being done to show statistics of the depression being presented. I feel like if there's evidence to back these up, like an experiment they conducted to show us, then I feel like it would've been a more informational.

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What is depression?

Depression is a serious mood disorder that affects your whole body including your mood and thoughts. It touches every part of your life. It's important to know that depression is not a weakness or character flaw. It's a chemical imbalance in your brain that needs to be treated.

If you have one episode of depression, you are at risk of having more throughout life. If you don't get treatment, depression can happen more often and be more serious.

What causes depression?

Depression is caused by an imbalance of brain chemicals. Other factors also play a role. It also tends to run in families. Depression can be triggered by life events or certain illnesses. It can also develop without a clear trigger.

What are the symptoms of depression?

While each person may experience symptoms differently, these are the most common symptoms of depression:

Lasting sad, anxious, or "empty" mood

Loss of interest in almost all activities

Appetite and weight changes

Changes in sleep patterns, such as inability to sleep or sleeping too much

Slowing of physical activity, speech, and thinking OR agitation, increased restlessness, and irritability

Decreased energy, feeling tired or "slowed down" almost every day

Ongoing feelings of worthlessness and/or feelings of undue guilt

Trouble concentrating or making decisions

Repeating thoughts of death or suicide, wishing to die, or attempting suicide ( Note: This needs emergency treatment)

If you have 5 or more of these symptoms for at least 2 weeks, you may be diagnosed with depression. These feelings are a noticeable change from what's "normal" for you.

The symptoms of depression may look like other mental health conditions. Always see a healthcare provider for a diagnosis.

How is depression diagnosed?

Depression can happen along with other medical conditions. These include heart disease, or cancer, as well as other mental health conditions. Early diagnosis and treatment is key to recovery.

A diagnosis is made after a careful mental health exam and medical history done. This is usually done by a mental health professional.

How is depression treated?

Treatment for depression may include one or a combination of the following:

Medicine. Antidepressants work by affecting the brain chemicals. Know that it takes 4 to 6 weeks for these medicines to have a full effect. Keep taking the medicine, even if it doesn't seem to be working at first. Never stop taking your medicine without first talking to your healthcare provider. Some people have to switch medicines or add medicines to get results. Work closely with your healthcare provider to find treatment that works for you.

Therapy. This is most often cognitive behavioral and/or interpersonal therapy. It focuses on changing the distorted views you have of yourself and your situation. It also works to improve relationships, and identify and manage stressors in your life.

Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). This treatment may be used to treat severe, life-threatening depression that has not responded to medicines. A mild electrical current is passed through the brain. This triggers a brief seizure. For unknown reasons, the seizures help restore the normal balance of chemicals in the brain and ease symptoms.

With treatment, you should feel better within a few weeks. Without treatment, symptoms can last for weeks, months, or even years. Continued treatment may help to prevent depression from appearing again.

Depression can make you feel exhausted, worthless, helpless, and hopeless. It's important to realize that these negative views are part of the depression and do not reflect reality. Negative thinking fades as treatment begins to take effect. Meanwhile, consider the following:

Get help. If you think you may be depressed, see a healthcare provider as soon as possible.

Set realistic goals in light of the depression and don't take on too much.

Break large tasks into small ones. Set priorities, and do what you can as you can.

Try to be with other people and confide in someone. It's usually better than being alone and secretive.

Do things that make you feel better. Going to a movie, gardening, or taking part in religious, social, or other activities may help. Doing something nice for someone else can also help you feel better.

Get regular exercise.

Expect your mood to get better slowly, not right away. Feeling better takes time.

Eat healthy, well-balanced meals.

Stay away from alcohol and drugs. These can make depression worse.

It is best to delay important decisions until the depression has lifted. Before deciding to make a big change --change jobs, get married or divorced -- discuss it with others who know you well and have a more objective view of your situation.

Remember: People don't "snap out of" a depression. But they can feel a little better day-by-day.

Try to be patient and focus on the positives. This may help replace the negative thinking that is part of the depression. The negative thoughts will fade as your depression responds to treatment.

Let your family and friends help you.

When to call your healthcare provider

If you have 5 or more of these symptoms for at least 2 weeks, call your healthcare provider:

Lasting sad, anxious, or "empty" mood

Loss of interest in almost all activities

Appetite and weight changes

Changes in sleep patterns, such as inability to sleep or sleeping too much

Slowing of physical activity, speech, and thinking OR agitation, increased restlessness, and irritability

Decreased energy, feeling tired or "slowed down" almost every day

Ongoing feelings of worthlessness and/or feelings of undue guilt

Trouble concentrating or making decisions

Repeating thoughts of death or suicide, wishing to die, or attempting suicide ( Note: This needs emergency treatment )

Key points about depression

Depression is a serious mood disorder that affects your whole body including your mood and thoughts.

It's caused by a chemical imbalance in the brain. Some types of depression seem to run in families.

Depression causes ongoing, extreme feelings of sadness, helplessness, hopeless, and irritability. These feelings are usually a noticeable change from what's "normal" for you, and they last for more than two weeks.

Depression may be diagnosed after a careful psychiatric exam and medical history done by a mental health professional.

Depression is most often treated with medicine or therapy, or a combination of both.

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Depression is a serious mood disorder. It touches every part of your life and is caused by a chemical imbalance in your brain. Treatment involves medicine and counseling.

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Children and Teens Struggling with Mental Health During COVID-19 Pandemic

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Children and Teens Struggling with Mental Health During COVID-19 Pandemic

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Joan Stephenson, A consulting editor at JAMA Health Forum and JAMA, reports about the challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic have exacted a considerable toll on their emotional and mental health. What interests me is that the brief points for the evidence indicates that adolescents, young children, LGBTQ young people, and children of color may be especially vulnerable to pandemic-related mental health consequences, such as anxiety and depression. What surprised me is that several factors potentially contribute to the worsening mental health outcomes in children and adolescents, the KFF brief explains, including school closures, social distancing, and stay-at-home orders, which could lead to loneliness and isolation. What is troubling to me is that the poor mental health itself might be a contributing factor to negative mental health outcomes for the children. Shortly after the pandemic began, the KFF brief explains, more than 1 in 4 high school students reported worsened emotional and cognitive health, and in a more recent survey, only one-third said they were able to cope with such sources of stress as strained mental health and peer relationships.

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The emails and phone calls that come into therapist Jonathan Caspi's practice in Montclair and Hazlet are often from families on the brink of combustion, largely propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic now closing in on two weary years.

And all Caspi can do at this point is politely decline to take them on. His practice has been at capacity for months.

"I used to refer them to other therapists, but they're all full, too," he said.

New Jersey's mental health system has been stretched so thin over the course of the pandemic that getting help is a months-long wait for many.

For almost two years, most mental health counselors have been inundated with increased caseloads by people suffering from depression, anxiety and a host of other ailments brought on or exacerbated by the pandemic.

Now the new, highly contagious omicron variant is causing further problems. As has been seen in other health care settings, omicron has begun to deplete some mental health professionals who were still giving in-person counseling.

Those seeking help in New Jersey are seeing a 30- to 60-day wait for a private practice counselor - if they can get in at all - and a three- to five-month wait to see an agency therapist, said Jennifer Thompson, executive director of the National Association of Social Workers' New Jersey chapter.

"Everywhere you turn, everyone is at capacity," she said. "We're in a crisis situation. There are a lot of people seeking help who can't get it when they need it the most."

Omicron hits an addiction center hard

Unlike so many other providers, an addiction center in Camden County has seen its roster of clients decrease during the pandemic for many reasons - including one no counselor wants to see.

"We're seeing a lot of relapse, and those people aren't coming in anymore," said Ashley Roselli, director of substance abuse at Delaware Valley Medical in Pennsauken. "We're fighting an epidemic in a pandemic."

Statistics are still being compiled for November and December, but New Jersey was on track to record 3,200 overdose deaths last year - the most since the state started keeping track in 2012, despite having a lower rate than other states.

Throughout much of the pandemic, the staff at Delaware Valley Medical has maintained in-person counseling at about 80%. Their patients run the socioeconomic gamut, but many are poor or homeless, and do not have regular access to a phone or computer.
HEALTH: NEW JERSEY: COVID hospitalizations surpass 6,000 for first time since April 2020 NJ kids say they're stressed out. Crisis Text Line puts help right on their smartphones
While the center has been able to keep its staff protected for much of the pandemic, the highly contagious omicron variant has changed that.

The center, with a staff of 40, is seeing seven to 10 employees out each week, Roselli said. Staff members are out for a minimum of five days if they are asymptomatic, based on new guidelines issued late last month from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Counselors are filling in for their infected co-workers and working extra hours, but it's taking a toll.

"It adds another layer of chaos that we have to deal with," Roselli said. "The thing that gives us hope is seeing our clients working so hard to maintain their recovery. That keeps our spirits up."

Remote counseling challenges

Omicron has also ensured that remote treatment through videoconferences is not going away - a drawback for many seeking help.

"Every time we think of going back to in-person, we have these surges," said Nancy Graham, a social worker and executive at the Renfrew Center, an eating disorder clinic with locations in several states.

Renfrew's Paramus clinic has been doing only virtual treatment since the pandemic began. There are some benefits such as giving access to people who don't live near a provider and a decrease in absenteeism. A survey by Renfrew showed high levels of satisfaction among its patients for virtual counseling.

But there are limitations.

Video counseling makes it difficult to assess non-verbal cues such as body language. Group therapy can also be challenging because it can be hard to maintain everyone's attention with tiles on a screen as opposed to sitting in the same room together. In the case of eating disorders, a lot of counseling is done during mealtimes, when in-person supervision is important.

And then there is the worst-case scenario. Renfrew has checks in place if someone appears to be suicidal during a remote session, but it is a much easier situation to deal with when a if the patient is sitting in front of a therapist.

"When they are with us, and we think they're suicidal or want to do self-harm, we can get them help immediately," Graham said. "That can be tricky now. If they disappear from the screen, and we think they're suicidal, we have to have someone nearby that we can call to make sure they're safe."

Licensing delays

Another problem has been getting new social workers and counselors licensed, which has helped cause a significant delay for those seeking help.

Normally it would take the State Board of Social Work Examiners three months to approve a "perfect" application, which includes criminal background checks, college transcripts, examinations and more.

That ballooned to a six-month to nearly two-year wait during the worst of the pandemic, said Thompson, head of the 7,000-member social workers group.

"We still have people waiting from early in the pandemic," she said.

Most state workers have been forced to work from home for more than a year, including those with the Division of Consumer Affairs' licensing boards who evaluate applications. Phones were rarely answered and emails went unanswered, Thompson said.

Gema de las Heras, a spokeswoman for the division, said steps such as upgrading online application systems and reassigning staff to process applications resulted in 2,250 licenses issued in 2021, the most ever in one year, although she did not say how many were still awaiting a decision. The board has issued temporary emergency licenses to 3,400 out-of-state social workers to help bolster the state's mental health capabilities, de las Heras said.

Although the slow return to the office has helped with some of the backlog, Thompson said, New Jersey is still much slower than other states, which are issuing licenses in 30 days.

"They are processing some in three months, but those with issues are taking up to 12 to 18 months," Thompson said. "One thing that's a challenge is that people who are reaching out for help get one piece of an answer and no follow-up, so they sit in limbo for months or until they show up at a board meeting and speak in public."

Turning away new patients

Caspi has never seen the demand for his services so high.

An author and longtime professor of family and child studies at Montclair State University, Caspi has maintained a small private practice focusing on family, couples and singles therapy. But he hasn't taken on a new patient in months.

"Sometimes the phone calls or emails are heartbreaking," he said. "I don't want to take them if I can't devote the time needed to help them."

He has made one exception: taking on former patients who requested his help during the pandemic.

Job stress and overall anxiety are cascading from adults to children, he said. Bickering that was once occasional and annoying has become frequent and intolerable. More people are retreating to their smartphones and other devices in lieu of real human contact. Feelings of intense isolation are strong among older singles - especially widows and divorcees.

The duration of the pandemic and its roller-coaster ways - a decline in COVID numbers followed by dispiriting surges - has added to the problems.

"They get hopeful that it's going to get good, and then the rug is pulled out and there is anger," Caspi said. "It's sapping people's endurance."
Suicide prevention

The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255

NJ Hope Line: 855-654-6735

Addiction General mental health and emotional support Scott Fallon has covered the COVID-19 pandemic since its onset in March 2020. To get unlimited access to the latest news about the pandemic's impact on New Jersey, please subscribe or activate your digital account today. Email: fallon@northjersey.com
How to get help

There are mental health providers and specialists throughout New Jersey. Here are some statewide resources and hotlines.

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'Crisis situation': Mental health services in NJ stretched thin as pandemic boosts demand

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The emails and phone calls that come into therapist Jonathan Caspi's practice in Montclair and Hazlet are often from families on the brink of combustion, largely propelled by the COVID-19 pandemic now closing in on two weary years. And all Caspi can do at this point is politely decline to take them on.