In an effort to strengthen the support the teens require for their mental health problems, the state of Connecticut led by their Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services created a website called TurningPointCT.org. Norwalk's Southwest Regional Health Board will manage the website.
It is designed to provide at-risk high school and college students a forum to share their stories and seek the needed treatment and help for their mental health problems.
The website, which has a youthful vibe to make it more attractive and relatable to their target audience, offers different features. It has a Q&A guide, which offers information on how, when, and where to seek treatment options and the services they can take advantage. The Facts section breaks down the most vital information about the different mental health disorders among teens, including the common myths.
Young adults are also highly encouraged to participate and be proactive by joining the conversations in the Let's Talk forum and submitting their own stories usually in video format.
The website was created based on the suggestion of the Youth Adult Advisory Group. Prior to its inception, a focus group composed of young adults from 16 to 35 years old, all with mental health problems and from different areas of the state, provided feedback about their respective experiences.
In spite their young age, teens can already experience a wide range of mental health problems including but not limited to anxiety, mood, behavioral, personality, eating, psychotic, and developmental disorders.
According to the fact sheets published in the website of National Institute for Mental Health, around 11% of the teens develop depression by the time they reach 18 years old. The risk increases as the sufferer ages. Moreover, in a survey conducted among children from 13 and 18 years old, more than 5% of them reported having anxiety disorder with the symptoms appearing as early as 6 years old. Around 15% of high school students have thought about committing suicide.
Overall, 20% of the young population may develop mental illness, but this group receives small financial and social support.