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JAzmine Casillas, 23, described her mental health struggles as “beautiful”. She was diagnosed with autism, borderline personality disorder, bipolar type 2 comorbid, depression and anxiety. She also struggles with creating long-term memories. “There are cycles where things are going well, but the moment I’m depressed, my life and everything I do slows down,” she says.
She knew she needed a good therapist and medication: “I’m sure if I could get medication for bipolar type 2 and general anxiety, my life would be so much better. I go through cycles a lot and I’m not paralyzed because I’ve made so many adult choices.”
Casillas used to get mental health treatment through the foster care system, but was left alone after she turned 21. Now a freshman in college in Nebraska, she has no health insurance and no care. “Finding a good therapist is very expensive, probably around $500 to $600 a month where I live,” she says. To cope, she relies on her fiance for emotional support – “She helps. a lot ofBut most days it is a struggle to get out of bed.
Casillas is part of a growing group of young people who are reporting higher rates of mental illness than previous generations but are unable to get the help they need.
According to federal data, between 2008 and 2019, the number of teens between 12 and 17 with at least one major depression Almost doubledSuicide rates among people between 10 and 24 have increased. 47%.
A January study It found that between the end of 2019 and the end of 2020, Gen Z respondents were more likely to experience “emotional distress” and were two to three times more likely to report suicidal thoughts. The survey found that Gen Z is the least likely age group to report seeking professional mental health treatment, in part because of the high cost.
“It’s weird,” Casillas said, “you’d think the more people talk about it, the lower the price, but it seems to be getting more expensive over time.
Youth who they are. Insurance will cost more. Although people under the age of 25 make up 36 percent of the U.S. population, they accounted for 42 percent of all health plan-related spending in 2020 for mental health and substance abuse treatment, new data shows. From the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Economist Paul Frontin says that while many employers have added mental health coverage to their benefits, costs have not always decreased. “More employers are switching people’s health plans from low deductibles to high deductibles. [the amount you have to pay before the insurance kicks in]. “This increases the out-of-pocket costs of mental health,” he told the Guardian.
The latest National Survey of Americans in Medicine At Verywell Mind, he found that patients spend $178 a month out of pocket on medical bills alone — plus $40 a month on medications. But while Gen Z is more likely to receive therapy than older generations, the survey found that 57% said they would have to stop therapy if costs increased, and 48% said they were buying therapy with funding from someone else.
Amy Morin, a licensed social worker and editor-in-chief of Varwell Mind, said the increased demand for therapy has led to a limited supply of therapists.
“A lot of therapists are getting burned out,” she told the Guardian. Another issue is underpayment: “As a therapist, sometimes the payments from insurance companies are so low that therapists can’t pay their bills, so many therapists are just taking cash, which has created a shortage.” Most people with insurance.
This problem is acutely felt in sparsely populated areas. “Sometimes insurance companies may have two in-network therapists within a 100-mile radius. So one might find that those two therapists have a very long waiting list because it only takes one or two companies to have a list of many employees who all have the same insurance and all for the same Two therapists are competing,” Morin said. “Or you have the choice of someone who specializes in something specific, like OCD, but the nearest in-network therapist may be hundreds of miles away.
A similar dynamic applies to psychiatrists: 2014 Research According to the Journal of American Medical Association Psychiatry, nearly half of all psychiatrists do not accept insurance due to low out-of-pocket costs. And psychiatrists have little incentive to take on patients with complex mental illnesses, the report says Bloomberg found.
For cash-strapped youth, the option to treat their mental illness is more or less DIY. “A lot of Gen Z copes by being nihilistic and escaping to social media, which only makes things worse,” says Casillas. “But most of the students and people around me seem to rely on a support network of friends, relatives and loved ones, keeping track of their brains and taking mental health days when necessary.”
Casillas hopes to one day find a job with mental health benefits: “I specifically chose to attend high school so that I could find a job after graduation with a health care package that includes mental health.
But for now, there’s not much to do but hang in there. “I can’t really say I’m managing. Just trying to hope for the best until I graduate college and get a job before the next depression hits.”
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