THE ON-DECK CIRCLE
Jennifer Axelband, DO, FACOEP
A STATE OF COMPLEXITY: TEENAGE MENTAL HEALTH
A
s I pen my first Pulse communication as President Elect, I must thank the membership, my mentors and the board for all the support and encouragement I have received as I embark into this new role. Leading a college is challenging, communicating with the written word with a goal to strike a sense of importance is humbling. In my attempt to write, a flight of ideas crossed my mind, what does the membership want to read? Do I write about the year ACOEP has had with our accomplishments and goals? Should I write about what my focus and aspirations are? Do I address current events such as healthcare news, legislation, and advocacy? I then realized the deluge of topics in my head was not a flight of ideas, it was writers block. An overwhelming feeling of being stuck in the writing process without the ability to move forward and write anything new. Everything that came to mind has been highlighted in the past. The solution, I need to get personal. On September 14, 2023 my son came home from school, he’s 16 years old and attends a public high school. As a teenager, he sees me and my
Improving Access to Children’s Mental Health Care.
husband as annoying adults who he cannot have a meaningful conversation with because we do not understand his generation. His daily routine after school is to come into the house, eat every morsel of junk food he can find and then take a nap after an exhausting day of school and socializing. Usually I get a “Hi mom” or “What are you making for dinner?” from him. I ask how his day was and his reply is typical, alternating between “fine” or “boring”. September 14, a Thursday afternoon was different. My son called me from the bus and asked if I was home and said he needed to talk to me. My first thoughts were, how many days of detention, how much money or which class is he failing. I was not prepared for what came next. As he entered the house he said “She’s dead”, those were his words. I must have looked confused and shocked because he kept talking, talking and pacing, as he told me the story of his friend. They have known each other since middle school. They “dated” for a brief time in 6th grade, the equivalent of holding hands in school and calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend. With the pandemic and changes
Rates of Mental and Behavioral Health Service Providers by County, 2015.
Last reviewed March 8, 2023.
Last reviewed March 8, 2023.
Accessed September 30, 2023.
Accessed September 30, 2023.
in school attendance they stayed friends, stayed in the same friend group and social media circles. They texted or snapped or whatever regularly. He told me he was talking to her in school earlier in the week. He then told me what happened at the end of the school day. Her close girl friends were brought into the administrative office during the last period of school, 30 minutes later he and some other friends saw her friends leave the office crying hysterically and yelling “she’s dead”. His friend was not in school that day and no one had heard from her. My son’s face was a picture of disbelief, sadness and anger. My first thought was, is this true? The loss of a young bright life is tragic, you wouldn’t think it could get worse, but it did. That day the news channels and the internet exploded with the reality of the event, a double homicide. As the hours passed and one day lead into another more information was released to the public and formal announcements were made at school confirming his friend’s death. Sharp force trauma, the cause of death, was stated by the coroner and reported in the local news, to both his friend and her
When Your Child, Teenager, or Adult Son or Daughter has a Mental Illness or Substance Use Disorder, Including Opioid Addiction: What Parents Need to Know about HIPAA. Published January 2018. Accessed September 30, 2023.
6 | THE PULSE FALL 2023/WINTER 2024
RESOU
