People treating mental health problems at Children\u2019s Hospital Colorado don\u2019t have to look at the calendar or the weather to know that April has arrived.<\/p>\n
Kids and teens who previously felt fine are seeking outpatient help, existing outpatients need more support and the number of young people showing up in mental health crisis is growing.<\/p>\n
Typically, emergency department visits for mental health reasons are about 20% higher in April at than the annual average, though last year, that gap narrowed to 12%, said Dr. Lauren Eckhart, director of patient care services for the hospital\u2019s Pediatric Mental Health Institute.<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is something that we talk about a lot every time April rolls around,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Rates of depression and anxiety among youths peaked during the pandemic<\/a>, following gradual increases over the previous decade. Since then, fewer students are reporting distress<\/a>, but the most recent Healthy Kids Colorado Survey<\/a> found about 1 in 4 high school students still said they felt sad enough that they stopped doing normal activities.<\/p>\n Not all parts of the country seem to have the same pattern, although the data points to school breaks as relative lulls. Nationwide, mental health emergencies among youths peak a few weeks after school begins in the fall, and then again in the spring, with dips around Thanksgiving and Christmas, said Dr. Jennifer Hoffman, an attending physician at Lurie Children\u2019s Hospital of Chicago.<\/p>\n The pattern could reflect that schools are one of the major places that identify students\u2019 mental health concerns, as well as the accumulation of academic and social stressors, she said.<\/p>\n Most Colorado schools end classes in May, meaning that, in April, time is running short for students who are trying to raise their grades, and even those who are doing well face a crunch of tests and project deadlines, Eckhart said.<\/p>\n In addition, subsets of students are dealing with standardized testing, transitions to new schools or high-stakes social events such as prom, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cAll our kids are coming in with more stress,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n That rings true to Ayush Vispute, a junior at Rampart High School in Colorado Springs. His friends and classmates are dealing with Advanced Placement course exams and the SAT or ACT. And although most teachers and parents want to help, he hasn\u2019t seen specific programs to counter the stress.<\/p>\n One of the most helpful things is studying as a group, even when that isn\u2019t the most efficient way to review the material, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWorking in solidarity can be the best way to work through stressful times,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Outpatient providers also see a seasonal effect.<\/p>\n Calls to Wellpower\u2019s access center seeking help for children and teens increased 25% from February to March this year, and appear on track to rise again in April, said Dr. Casey Wolf, the Denver mental health center\u2019s medical director and a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Existing patients also struggle as the end of the school year nears, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThis time of year, I just come to work knowing that nobody is doing well,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Young people who are already dealing with some level of anxiety or depression need more support when their academic or social stress increases, Wolf said. On top of that, many struggle to adjust to Daylight Saving Time and sleep less, which interferes with their ability to manage their moods and focus in class, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re going to bed even later, but school starts at the same time,\u201d she said. \u201cWhen people don\u2019t get enough sleep, they don\u2019t think as well.\u201d<\/p>\n In addition to bringing end-of-school stress, something about spring itself seems to trigger distress for a subset of people, said Dr. Ruth Gerson, director of child and adolescent psychiatry at New York University-Brooklyn.<\/p>\n Scientists aren\u2019t certain why that is, with theories including an increase in allergens, different viruses circulating and increased temperature and daylight hours, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think that some people are more vulnerable to whatever these triggers are,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n In adults, suicide rates tend to increase in spring and summer, although the data from UCHealth\u2019s screening offered to all patients suggest the number of people at potentially high risk doesn\u2019t change nearly as much from season to season, said Robert Albrecht, behavioral health supervisor for the emergency department team at University of Colorado Hospital.<\/p>\n