COVID-19 has aggravated children’s mental health issues to the point of a national emergency, according to three pediatric organizations.

There is a rising public health crisis that must be addressed, according to a joint statement issued Tuesday by the American Academy of Pediatric, American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Children’s Hospital Association of America.

Children’s mental health issues and suicide rates had been on the rise for at least a decade before the pandemic, the organizations stated. As of 2018, suicide was the second-leading cause of mortality among people ages 10-24, behind car accidents.

Because of the physical and emotional isolation COVID-19 brought on an already bad situation.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention showed that between March and October 2020, emergency department visits for mental health disorders among children ages 5-11 climbed by 24%. The number of such trips rose by 31% among 12- to 17-year-olds.

Suicide-related emergency room visits for 12- to 17-year-old females increased by 51% in the first three months of 2021, compared to the same time in 2019.

Doctor Gabrielle A. Carlson, president of the American Academy of Pediatrics (AACAP), claimed that pediatricians are observing a significant rise in the prevalence of mental health issues such as melancholy, anxiety, trauma, loneliness, and suicidality.

Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, more than 140,000 children in the United States have lost a primary or secondary caregiver. In the wake of a loved one’s death, children of color have been particularly impacted.

Young people have been through a lot during this pandemic, and while considerable attention has been paid to the physical health repercussions, we cannot neglect the rising mental health crisis facing our patients,” AAP President Dr. Lee Savio Beers said. We must tackle this mental health epidemic as an emergency, and today’s proclamation is an urgent call to policymakers at all levels of government to do so.”

Children and families all around the country have been subjected to “Children and families across our country have experienced enormous adversity and disruption,” according to the declaration issued by the organizations. Children from communities of color have been disproportionately affected by the injustices that come from structural racism.

State of emergency was proclaimed for pediatric mental health in June by the Children’s Hospital Colorado, which was looking for increased help at the state level.

When it comes to the American Rescue Plan, “The first step states should take is to ensure that a significant portion of funding from the American Rescue Plan is earmarked specifically for pediatric mental health,” Jena Hausmann, the health systems’ CEO, wrote in a commentary for USNews & World Report. As far as mental health financing goes, “our children are often left out in the cold.”

Adult mental health may also be declared an emergency by some medical specialists.

Drs. Susan Hata and Thalia Krakower, both internal medicine specialists at Massachusetts General Hospital, asked the American Medical Association to declare a national mental health emergency in an opinion article published by STAT earlier this October.

Over 40% of Americans report having anxiety or depression, and emergency rooms are overflowing with those in distress. An estimated 44,800 Americans died by suicide in 2020, a decrease from the 44,900 deaths in 2019.

Many patients find it difficult to locate a mental health physician and must wait for a long time for their first evaluation. According to a report by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, nearly half of the 60 million Americans with mental health disorders went untreated in 2017. Before the pandemic, that is.

According to Hata and Krakower’s paper, “By declaring a mental health emergency, the AMA could galvanize health administrators and drive the innovation needed to improve the existing mental health system,”

Parents who are concerned about their children’s mental health should make an appointment with a psychiatrist or psychologist who is licensed.

There’s no better way to help a child with mental illness than by learning all you can, according to NAMI. Talk to your child’s school about any additional assistance they may need.

Mental health professionals advise parents to constantly be respectful and sensitive of their children’s feelings and to involve the entire family in becoming an advocate for them.