In November 2022, Juan Esteban González, 19, who had finished his last year of high school in New York just a few months ago, began to behave aggressively and irritably towards his mother. He would sometimes become absorbed in himself and look sad and hopeless.
Although the teenager used to be “rebellious” since he was a child, according to the single mother, little by little, after reaching the age of majority, the young man began to exhibit attitudes that turned the home “upside down.”
The Colombian confesses that at first she thought that her son was using drugs or that “his constant euphoria and arrogance” could be typical of his age. She claims that she tried to “run the party in peace, until she couldn’t,” but in a matter of months, things escalated. One day, she felt that she could not handle the situation and full of fear she called 911 for help. Juan Esteban was not using drugs, nor was he simply being rebellious, nor was he behaving erratically due to his age. The teenager was diagnosed with bipolar affective disorder, a condition present on the list of mental illnesses that currently affects thousands of people in the Big Apple.
And mental health in New York City has become one of the great concerns of the authorities, as more and more adults and minors present symptoms of mental conditions, ranging from mild to severe. This is confirmed by a report presented this month by the City Health Department, which reveals with concern that almost 1 in four adults in the five boroughs suffer from mental health problems, that is, 1.5 million New Yorkers over the age of 18; For children ages 3 to 13, 15% have a mental health diagnosis: 8% anxiety and 3% depression, while 48% of adolescents experience depressive symptoms ranging from mild (27% ) to serious (11%), as happened with Juan Esteban González.
“My son had days when he didn’t want to do anything, he would get out of bed very late and he would fight with me all the time about anything. Sometimes it was the opposite, he didn’t sleep at night and was still gone in the morning. He played music at full volume, he had excessive energy. One day he made me so desperate, because he started to get delirious, he said that he was famous, that he had a lot of money hidden and that he was going to save the world from poverty and bad people. I was very scared and had a nervous breakdown. I turned off his music and when I asked him if he was doing drugs, he lost his mind. He became angry, and started breaking things, and shouting that he was not a drug addict. He said bad words and horrible insults to me, he spat at me and even pushed me, something he had never done before,” says the immigrant mother, who at that moment called the emergency line.
“I hid in the bathroom and called 911. A psychiatric team with police quickly arrived at the house. I was afraid because of so many things that one sees in which the police kill people who are in that state, but they were very professional. They helped him calm down and took him to the emergency room. He was committed to a psychiatric unit in Manhattan for three weeks. There they gave him medication and told me that my son had mental problems. They gave her an initial diagnosis, and then another,” says the Latina, who claims she is calmer now.
“One believes that this is death, because of the idea that one has of people with mental problems and crazy people, but little by little we have understood that there is no need to be afraid or ashamed of this. They are lifelong diseases like diabetes or asthma, but with care from psychiatrists and medications, my son is trying to lead a normal life. “Sometimes he gets desperate, because he would not want to take medication, but he understands that he has to do it for his well-being and that of the people around him,” he said.
The new report on the mental health of New Yorkers further details that “deep inequalities in access to treatment still persist,” despite the general improvements that have been implemented after the COVID-19 pandemic. Latinos bear the brunt in several areas: 18% of Hispanic children suffer from diagnosed mental health problems more than other groups,
31% of Latino adolescents with depression present severe or moderate symptoms, and 10% of Latino adults in the Big Apple are more likely to experience serious psychological distress, above blacks, who register 8% and almost 50% more than whites.
Another revealing fact from the report is that adolescent girls in schools are more likely to report feelings of sadness and hopelessness, at 48%, compared to 28% of adolescent boys. 28% of adolescents who use social networks daily present moderate to severe depressive symptoms and 34% of diagnosed patients do not receive desired or easily accessible treatment.
Despite the worrying mental health panorama in the Big Apple, the New York Health Commissioner, Dr. Ashwin Vasan, assured that knowledge of the data will help mental support providers to better manage the situation and help more New Yorkers have well-being.
“A clear understanding of the mental health of New Yorkers and the factors that shape their well-being improves our ability to better meet the needs of the 8.5 million people we serve,” the official said, noting that although more While 2/3 of New Yorkers diagnosed with mental health conditions receive help, thousands remain without access to any type of support.
Mental health problems affect 1 in 4 adults in NYC. Photo: Edwin Martinez
“What we see in the data is that mental health is not static or homogeneous. We see a deep crisis in some communities, while we observe relative well-being in others. “We also see an evolution of the post-COVID-19 landscape in which New Yorkers recover from some of the worst impacts of the pandemic and the long-term effects are still developing,” highlighted the medical expert. “This report represents a historic moment, the beginning of a process in which the city’s mental health is routinely considered a civic responsibility.”
Likewise, Dr. H. Jean Wright, Deputy Executive Commissioner of Mental Hygiene, insisted that having a clearer understanding of mental health problems in the Big Apple will contribute to better addressing the challenges of New Yorkers who suffer from a condition.
“Expanding our awareness of the mental health of New Yorkers and the many environmental factors that shape their daily lives will help us better meet the diverse needs of our neighbors,” the official said.
Differences in mental health impact were also evident in adulthood, with younger adults (18-24) reporting more severe psychological distress, social isolation, and unmet mental health needs, while New Yorkers ages 65 and older were the who struggled least with these issues, the report added.
Among the illnesses that afflict New Yorkers in terms of mental health, there are schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or psychosis, with 1%, bipolar disorder, mania or manic depression, with 3%, post-traumatic stress disorder, 5%, severe depression , 11% and anxiety 18%.
The report points out that the lack of access to help and treatment may be due to cost or stigma, and highlights that although Latinos with mental problems are also affected by the lack of access to professionals, it is Asian New Yorkers who access the least. to the atenttion.
And as a final recommendation, the study warns that “the nature of health care delivery and a fragmented mental health system have created gaps in services, including cost barriers, stigma, workforce shortages, and inequities, such as gaps in provision of services for specific populations”, so having the new data at hand should serve to implement improvements.
“These include prevention by fostering a healthier environment for young people to strengthen resilience and coping skills, establishing standard screening for risk factors in youth, addressing the potential harms of social media as an exposure toxic and ensuring that online spaces are safe for children and young people; address stigma in organizational policies, prioritizing policies focused on improving the factors that shape an individual’s health, such as access to education, affordable housing, and healthy eating; expand the peer-to-peer workforce; and increase access and availability of medications for opioid use disorder,” health authorities highlighted.
One of the main challenges is improving access to mental health care. Photo Edwin Martinez
“Many of these are already seeing the early stages of implementation as the city works to expand commitments to address the comprehensive needs of New Yorkers and promote a healthier environment. Efforts include mindfulness exercises in public schools, the launch of the city’s first telemental health service for adolescents, the expansion of club services and access to treatment for substance use disorder,” they concluded.
Mental health in NYC by the numbers
- 1.5 million New York adults suffer from mental health problems
- 1 in 4 New Yorkers experiences a mental disorder
- 15% of children ages 3 to 13 have a mental health diagnosis: 8% anxiety and 3% depression
- 18% of Latino children suffer from diagnosed mental health problems more than other groups
- 48% of adolescents experienced depressive symptoms ranging from mild (27%) to severe (11%)
- 31% of Latino adolescents with depression present severe or moderate symptoms
- 28% of adolescents who use social networks daily present moderate to severe depressive symptoms
- 48% of adolescent girls in schools report feelings of sadness and hopelessness
- 28% of adolescent males in schools report feelings of sadness and hopelessness
- 34% of diagnosed patients do not receive desired treatment or easy access
- 53% of adults with mental problems reported not receiving help
- 10% of Latino adults were more likely to experience serious psychological distress
- 8% of black adults were more likely to experience serious psychological distress
- 7% white adults were more likely to experience serious psychological distress
- 2/3 of adults with a diagnosis received treatment in the past year
- 1% of diagnosed patients suffer from schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder or psychosis
- 3% suffer from bipolar disorder, mania or manic depression
- 5% suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder
- 11% suffer from severe depression
- 18% have anxiety
- 2/3 of adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities suffer from multiple mental health diagnoses
- 21% of adults report binge drinking in a month
- 23% report cannabis use
- 14% of New Yorkers suffered from serious psychological disorders during the pandemic
- 5% was the number of adults with serious psychological disorders before the pandemic
- The increase in psychological disorders as a result of the pandemic was almost 200%
- 8% of adult New Yorkers had recently experienced serious psychological distress in the past year.