Mental Health Matters
MY NAME IS DR. KRISTIN CAMPOS, and for those who don’t know me personally, I am a licensed specialist in school psychology (LSSP) and provide mental health services for six rural school districts in the Texas Panhandle. I am also a member of the Canadian graduating class of 2005. My wish to highlight the importance of mental health comes during the worst week of my professional career, spent helping junior high and high school students process the emotions of burying three boys within the communities of Gray County. With the help of my good friend and classmate Megan Schafer, who is a licensed clinical social worker, we composed this letter.
We are writing this in hopes of reaching the ears and hearts of our hometown, most importantly, the adolescents. After listening to the Tom Brown press conference and the private investigator’s podcast, in particular, the Gabby Petito episode, I am passionately concerned about the misconceptions surrounding mental health that have been portrayed, most importantly, the stigmas and racial biases that were shared. I cannot sit by and allow these stigmas to potentially hinder our youth.
Within the Gabby Petito podcast episode, Mr. Klein referred to her clinical diagnoses of bipolar disorder and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) as “psycho-babble.” It is comments like these that continue to stigmatize mental health and paint a narrative to young minds that their struggles aren’t real and should be swept under a rug.
Regarding the press conference: I am in no way commenting on the Tom Brown case or insinuating that suicide was involved, but given the substantial discussion of suicide and related factors during the press conference, I would like to clear up some of the misconceptions that were shared regarding the subject. With that being said, here are some facts about suicide:
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) WISQARS Leading Causes of Death Reports, in 2019:
•Suicide was the 10th leading cause of death overall in the United States, claiming the lives of over 47,500 people.
•Suicide was the second leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 10 and 34, and the fourth leading cause of death among individuals between the ages of 35 and 44.
•There were nearly 2.5 times as many suicides (47,511) in the United States as there were homicides (19,141).
Risk factors and signs to look for in people struggling with suicidal ideation, according to the Suicide Prevention Resource Center (SPRC), major risk factors for suicide include:
•Prior suicide attempt(s).
•Misuse and abuse of alcohol or other drugs.
•Mental disorders, particularly depression and other mood disorders.
•Access to lethal means.
•Knowing someone who died by suicide, particularly a family member.
•Social isolation.
•Chronic disease or disability.
•Lack of access to behavioral healthcare.
The SPRC also notes precipitating factors, which are stressful events that can trigger a suicidal crisis in a vulnerable person. These examples include:
•End of a relationship.
•Death of a loved one.
•An arrest.
•Serious financial problems.
One specific misleading comment was made regarding the statistics behind the likelihood of certain demographics to attempt or complete suicide. I do not have the exact quote, but the claim was that usually only “Indians and Asians” are the ones to take their own lives due to the pressures of academic perfectionism. The National Center of Biotechnology Information (NCBI), in an article titled “Ethnic Differences in Adolescent Suicide in the United States,” compared 87 publications that studied adolescent (ages 15 to 24) suicide and reported that “most studies still show an overall higher risk for suicidal behavior among Caucasian youth than any other group.” This is a thoughtless comment that presents an inaccurate picture of the impact of race and ethnicity on suicidal ideation and further stigmatizes the subject for our community’s youth, potentially preventing those struggling from seeking appropriate and necessary support.
A question posed many times throughout the evening of the press conference was, “Why would Tom commit suicide?” Mr. Klein identified Tom’s many successes—All-Star athlete, student body president, college-bound, well-liked—as evidence to counter the possibility of suicide. This is also extremely stigmatizing and serves to minimize mental health issues in young people. Generally speaking, outward success does not negate the presence of mental health issues including suicidal ideation, and this type of statement can create additional hurdles for those already struggling.
On a final note, it was quickly mentioned in the press conference that Tom reached out to an adult about his struggles and that adult made an offer to help find therapy or counseling. While I do not know the details of that conversation, it saddens me to think that mental health within our community is so stigmatized that a young person would not feel like they could receive therapy services within a safe space.
There were many young people in the crowd at the press conference, and to portray messages that diminish and misrepresent such important mental health issues can have unforeseen consequences to a generation that is already battling mental health issues like we’ve never seen before, due largely to technological devices offering exposure to global crises at the touch of a finger and social media, which has become a glaring mirror offering an unattainable image of personal perfection. We pray that parents read this and have or continue to have open and honest conversations with their children about mental health; shatter these stigmas; and ensure that a generation of children is healthy, safe, and given the coping skills they need to navigate life.
KRISTIN CAMPOS, Ph.D., LSSP
MEGAN SCHAFER, LCSW
FOR RELATED STORIES, PLEASE READ:
https://www.canadianrecord.com/news/thomas-brown-case-two-investigations
https://www.canadianrecord.com/opinion/two-educators
