Chicago Tribune

Commentary: Teenage mental health crisis: The kids are not OK

The CDC reports that“ 60% of female students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year and nearly 25% made a suicide plan.… Close to 70% of LGBQ+ students experienced persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness during the past year and more than 50% had poor mental health during the past 30 days.

Recently, my suicidal 15-year-old grandson ingested and smoked a cocktail of several drugs. His loving parents found him nonresponsive, with a heart rate near 200 beats per minute. The emergency responders and doctors saved his life. Sadly, it was not his first attempt.

He is now a ward of the state, deemed a danger to himself, and awaits a bed in a facility. Apparently, beds are hard to come by because so many American teenagers — the ones for whom we prescribe many pacifying drugs — are in need of

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