Arizona’s Mental Health Is In A Crisis

Mental health is an issue this country has ignored for far too long. We've begun to see the ramifications of it take its toll on the population, most specifically, our youth.

Arizona's started garnering national attention, not for its care, but lack thereof, and changes need to be made.

Arizona's Mental Health Decline

Over the past few years, a troubling trend has begun amongst Arizona youth: their mental health has been declining rapidly. Last October, the Arizona Department of Health Services released a report on adolescent mental health, and the numbers aren't good.

Since 2017, self harm among adolescents jumped by 33%, while unhealthy weight control among the same age group increased by a whopping 48%. This obviously shows a massive decline in mental health care across the state, but it also leads into something much more worrying.

Get our free mobile app

Read More:

Arizona Has America's Most Unique License Plates

Substance Abuse is Rising

Walking hand-in-hand with declining mental health, is substance abuse. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration determined that within the past month, at least 10.8% of youth aged 12 to 17 have used an illicit drug.

This places Arizona at 49th in the country for substance abuse prevention, the second worst in the nation. That is nowhere near where we want to be, and the answer almost seems to simple to be true. We can beat this, and give our children the lives they deserve by investing in mental health care and abuse prevention. Even if you don't have the ability to give your children the best care, mental health care starts at home, and by listening to their problems, you can help make Arizona a healthier and safer state for our children.

[Northeast Valley News][America's Health Rankings][AZ Adolescent Mental Health Report]