New Mexico ranks 47th in overall youth mental health, according to figures from Mental Health America, a community-based nonprofit organization.
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. — As New Mexico students return to class, mental health will be a focus.
New Mexico ranks 47th in overall youth mental health, according to figures from Mental Health America, a community-based nonprofit organization. data It also shows that 18.6% of New Mexico youth have experienced at least one major depressive episode in the past year.
“There's a lot of addiction in New Mexico that comes with trauma, right? Sometimes that trauma is the main kind of root cause, and addiction is kind of the symptom of that,” says a local certified counselor. said one Kelsey Jimenez.
One possible reason is trauma. Another may be access to medical care.
Thirty of New Mexico's 33 counties are facing a shortage of medical professionals. Jimenez said this is due to rising demand as younger generations begin to accept mental health issues and seek help for them.
“Stigma is slowly fading away, but it's okay to ask for help. And people are asking for help. And they seem to want to break those generational patterns,” Jimenez said. Told.
I often hear social media influencers discussing and preaching self-care. Jimenez says he can categorize self-care into seven different types.
- mental
- Emotional
- physically
- environment
- spiritual
- recreational use
- socializing
“Finding what's right for you is different for everyone. No, it doesn't have to be this way. As long as I'm consistent, I think that's the important thing,” Jimenez said.
No matter where you are in your mental health journey, Jimenez encourages you to always give yourself grace.
“The key is to take things slowly, one step at a time, and to be really compassionate with yourself and evaluate why you want to make certain changes,” she said.
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