I have held titles throughout my life and career that reinforce my commitment to healthcare and caring. I’m the chief medical officer at Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, former director of the Arizona Department of Health Services and, above all, I am a mom.
So when I read statistics like this, from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s latest Youth Behavioral Risk Survey, my heart sinks: In 2021, 42% of high school students felt so sad or hopeless almost every day for at least two weeks in a row that they stopped doing their usual activities.
Kids and adolescents usually radiate more optimism, liveliness and energy than any other age group. Instead, research shows us that nearly half of all teenagers in the U.S. are experiencing a sense of hopelessness.
It is a mental struggle I hope my kids and loved ones never face, and no Arizonan