More mental health issues as young Manitobans struggle to cope with pandemic: emergency doctor

When Jordan Dearsley thinks about going back to school in September, she starts to feel a bit overwhelmed.

After months of a combination of online learning and much smaller class sizes, the future Grade 12 student at Winnipeg's West Kildonan Collegiate says the idea of socializing in group sizes she hasn't seen in nearly two years is stressful.

"I haven't seen all these kids in a while and all of a sudden we'll all just be crammed into classrooms and we'll be expected to go back to everything as normal," Dearsley said.

"Just the thought of that right now is kind of overwhelming."

Dearsley, who says she's suffered from panic attacks during the pandemic, is just one of a number of young people wrestling with mental health concerns stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.  

Dr. Jeff Burzynski, a pediatric emergency and intensive care physician at Winnipeg's Children's Hospital, says he's seen an increase in the number of young people showing up at the emergency room for mental health-related problems, like suicide attempts or suicidal thoughts and panic attacks.

"I think our numbers have gone up at least 50 per cent, if not 60 to 70 per cent increases at times," he said.

Burzynski believes many young people don't know how to cope with the pandemic restrictions that have severely limited their social interactions.

"Social isolation and school closures have really led to a number of kids that have had to experience some feelings and emotions that they're not used to," he said.

"I think this has really shown that face-to-face [interaction] and the interpersonal connection is so important for that age group that they just have missed out on completely over the last 15 months."

The restrictions, including a move to remote learning for many schools, have also meant that unhealthy family dynamics are made worse. Burzynski says he sees that every day.

"We do see a good number of patients that don't have stable home environments to begin with and that just becomes much more disastrous problem," he said.

Social anxiety in transition period

Anxiety and depression don't just manifest during periods of isolation, says Jo Ann Unger, a clinical psychologist in Winnipeg.

Social anxiety and a lack of confidence may creep in as kids and teens move from being mostly indoors with family to a pandemic summer where many are being vaccinated and restrictions are loosening.

Unger says she's heard anecdotally that many children and teens are feeling some social anxiety going into this summer.

"This is a time where they're really working on their social skills and moving toward developing those relationships outside of their family of origin," she said in an interview with CBC Manitoba's Information Radio on Wednesday.

Aside from virtual connections, "they haven't had a lot of access to social information … that assures them that their friends still like them, still approve of them, and [they've had] less opportunity to practise those social skills," Unger said.

Young people may have less confidence in their ability to make and maintain friendships, and that can lead to feelings of anxiety, especially if they had social anxiety before the pandemic, she says.

It's sometimes hard to tell when children and youth are struggling with their mental health, but it can manifest physically.

There may be changes in sleep and eating patterns and lower energy levels, Unger said. They also may spend more time in their room, be more irritable than normal and avoid social situations they may have engaged in before.

There are a few ways young people and their support networks can navigate this transition period, Unger says.

It starts with remembering that everyone feels a little weird and anxious as things start to go back to normal.

"Distancing in friendships would have been a natural reaction to this time of physical or social isolation that we've experienced," Unger said.

"Everyone's going to have that feeling a little bit that maybe … we don't feel as connected to people, and that doesn't necessarily mean that the friendship is no longer going to be close or can't be close in the future."

If you start to become overwhelmed with unrealistic fears or worries, it's important to challenge them and remember what life was like before COVID-19, Unger says.

Burzynski wants to see public health officials find safe ways for children and youth to get together and do things to help improve their mental health.

"We're still in a very strict lockdown now with respect to indoor sports and activities that I think would be nice to revisit more expeditiously to sort of help this problem."

If you're experiencing suicidal thoughts or having a mental health crisis, there is help out there.

Contact the Manitoba Suicide Prevention and Support Line toll-free at 1-877-435-7170 (1-877-HELP170) or the Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.

You can also text CONNECT to 686868 and get immediate support from a crisis responder through the Crisis Text Line, powered by Kids Help Phone.