MEMPHIS, Tenn. — The summer season can be one of the most exciting times of the year. School is out, vacations are on the horizon and there are plenty of fun events all over Memphis. However, the change in schedules have proven to be jarring to people's mental health.
“Never struggle in silence,” said Jennifer Griffin, clinical therapist at Connections Wellness Group (CWG).
For Griffin, this has been a growing mental health concern in children, proven to have intensified in recent years by the pandemic. The change to an expectation to be carefree, or even go back to school has seen some children feeling anxious or depressed according to health care professionals.
“What we have seen is that a lot of the adolescents...struggling in school and just making that transition back into school,” Griffin said.
The American Academy of Pediatrics estimates around one in four children suffer from depression, while one in five suffer from anxiety. With schedules now thrown out of whack during summer vacation, therapists like Griffin want to be part of the solution, including helping out with Connections Wellness Group's Summer Mental Health Program.
“They’re being able to be in a group setting that is modified so they will be able to increase and know how to have peer-on-peer interactions,” Griffin said.
Registration for the program is now open. It runs from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. on Tuesdays through Thursdays at at 6060 Primacy Parkway, Suite 400, in Memphis. You can contact CWG over the phone at (901) 746-9438.
On top of potential programming, experts like Karole Shorter with Methodist Le Bonheur Healthcare recommend checking in on your loved ones' mental health if you notice any change in their behavior.
“Just paying attention to what your needs are…What my needs are may differ from what my husband’s needs are,” Shorter said.
Outside of day to day interactions, Shorter told ABC24 she recommends making sure you make enough time to exercise and get enough rest.
“If we’re not okay emotionally, it tends to wear us down and our immune system," said Shorter. "If we’re paying attention to our bodies, they’re telling us something.”