Hi, it's Jen. And just a heads up before we start the show.

Today, we're discussing teen mental health. And we just want to remind you that if you or anyone

you know is in crisis, you can call or text the suicide and crisis lifeline by dialing 988.

And thank you for listening.

The COVID-19 pandemic has many young people struggling.

While many of us are no longer physically isolating, some young people still feel things are just

different. Hi, my name is Delani. I'm a senior in high school. And I think the reason that the

pandemic messed with mental health of me and somebody of my peers so much was because we were so

lonely. That's kind of obvious, but we went from seeing so many people to saying just got no one

every day. And it really makes you depressed. It makes you so sad in a way that none of us had ever

really experienced or realized before. And so we did what everyone else did. We turned to social

media. It became this echo chamber of all the bad things happening in the world. And so by the time

I got back to school my junior year, I was just so sad. And I didn't really not have socialized

with anyone else. So that gave me even more anxiety. And it was just really scary. And it still

kind of freaked me out.

Delani, thanks for that message. It's no secret that the pandemic is taking a toll on the mental

health of people of all ages. But data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's

Youth Behavior Survey is shedding light on just how fragile teens are feeling. The survey

released last month showed that two in five US high schoolers experienced persistent feelings of

sadness or hopelessness in 2021. And nearly a quarter of those surveys seriously considered suicide.

Rates of sadness were most pronounced in teen girls and LGBTQ youth. It's the highest rates

reported in a decade. So what's driving these numbers? And how can parents help their teens navigate

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