ST. GEORGE — For one night, a high school volleyball match wasn’t entirely about the fight against each other but the battle against depression and mental health challenges.

Desert Hills hosted Pine View Thursday night, and green was the universal team color – fans and coaching staff all wore green shirts, while the players donned green ribbons and other small green items. 

The universal sea of green was designed to help raise awareness of this increasing health concern, especially among youth. All held a moment of silence for those suffering from mental health illnesses.

“It has touched my family,” Desert Hills Thunder Head Coach Craig Allred said. “I know it has touched many families, not just at Desert Hills but throughout the community.

“We were really excited about the opportunity to just kind of focus on the awareness of it and let people know if you are not doing well, there are people who love you, people who care for you, people who want to help you out.”

Desert Hills won the match 25-8, 25-17, 25-18, but the objective was to promote awareness of the essential need to be “kinder to everyone and understand the need to be understanding,” Allred said.

The sentiment extended across the net to Desert Hills’ allies in this cause.

“Awareness precedes tolerance and compassion, without which charity cannot happen,” Pine View Head Coach Duke Sam Fong said. “We were happy to do our part in bringing awareness to mental health,”

In May, the Utah Department of Health and Human Services and the Utah State Board of Education released statistics on mental health and substance abuse among children, especially teens, in the publication  “Mental Health Concerns Increase while Substance Use Declines for Utah Adolescents.”

Accordingly to the publication, mental health issues like depression have steadily increased since 2013. The report included increased youth feeling sad and hopeless more often, psychological distress, social isolation, self-harm, suicidal ideation, suicide plans and suicide attempts.

The 2021 Utah Adolescent Health Report supports this data, with 35.1% of students reporting feeling sad or hopeless. Meanwhile, 27.1% of the students reported experiencing psychological distress.

The statistics pertinent to suicide also increased within a year. Some 19% of students reported seriously considering suicide at least once during 2021. Of that 19%, 14.4% made suicide plans, and 7% made one or more suicide attempts.

Meanwhile, 18.6% of students reported performing actions of self-harm, whether it was by actions of cutting, burning or banging. Cutting is used to cutting parts of the body, usually the wrists. Burning is the term for burning parts of the body. Lastly, the banging includes punching walls or “banging” one’s head against a hard surface. There are more self-harm actions.

Both governmental agency studies use the School Health and Risk Prevention survey and the Prevention Needs Assessment to compile the statistics. Both surveys are given to a random sampling of students. T

Newport Academy, a national-based organization that offers treatment facilities for adolescents in seven states, including Utah, helps define self-harm and patterned behaviors. According to Newport Academy, self-harm is a coping mechanism that is very unhealthy and can lead to addictive behavior, which is usually associated with an underlying severe mental health condition. These include such things as Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, personality disorders, eating disorders, and more.

According to one medical research study cited by Newport Academy, 70% of adolescents who participated in non-suicidal self-harm attempted suicide once. In contrast, 55% of those made multiple attempts.

Multiple studies have shown social media and the internet affect youth feeling depressed and suicidal.

Teens reported for one medical study using social media for 1.86 hours while TV use was 2.44 hours per day. About 20% of students were picked on or bullied by another student on school property., while 27.2% were threatened or harassed over the internet, by email or by someone using a cell phone. This was an increase of 5.1% since 2019. 

Multiple medical studies show a correlation between social media and depression, as well as narcissism. One such study concluded that “correlation analyses revealed that individuals higher in narcissism and lower in self-esteem were related to greater online activity as well as some self-promotional content.”

According to the 2021 Utah Adolescent Report, “16.8% of students met the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommendations for physical activity (60 or more minutes per day). Males (22.9%) were physically active significantly more than females (11.3%), and physical activity decreased with increasing grade level.”

According to the same 2017 report, 26.1% of high school students participate in at least 60 minutes per day of physical activity. Within five years, youth properly exercising dropped by 9.3%.

If you or someone you know is in danger because of suicidal thoughts or actions, call 911. Suicide is an emergency that requires help by trained medical professionals and should always be treated seriously.

Nationwide suicide hotlines, 1-800-SUICIDE (1-800-784-2433) and 1-800-273-TALK (8255), have counselors available 24/7. The Southwest Behavioral Health Center also offers help for Southern Utah residents; call 800-574-6763 or 435-634-5600.

Other resources include Suicide.org, the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and the American Association of Suicidology. All provide comprehensive information and help on the issue of suicide, from prevention to treatment to coping with loss.

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