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(Describer) Bridges stretch across the Williamette river and the seal of the City of Portland appears over a glowing marquee sign. As light rail trains and cars move through the city, studio cameras show a panel of kids sitting before a news anchor.

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(Describer) COVID-19 signs encourage mask wearing and physical distancing, and a sign at a rally reads: 'We are stronger than hate.' A title appears in a dialogue bubble: 'Kids Speak Out. Brought to you by Oregon Harbor of Hope.' In the news studio:

The pandemic really, it changed all of us and, like, the way that we deal with anxiety. Like, I didn't really have any social interaction, which was what I really needed. I feel like you should check in on kids, maybe.

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(host) Stress levels for kids are on the rise. We hear about that every day. It started with the COVID pandemic, when many were forced to do school at home. Seeing friends became hard, but why is the anxiety not subsiding? In fact, statistics from around the country suggest it's getting worse. Welcome to "Kids Speak Out: Oregon." I'm Barbara Harrison. Those young voices you just heard were not actors. They were kids, expressing their legitimate concerns regarding mental health issues they face today, many as a lingering result of the isolation they experienced during COVID. According to statistics from Mental Health America, of the 52 states and territories studied, Oregon rates dead last, number 52, having the highest prevalence of youth suffering from mental health issues and the lowest rate of access to mental health care. We have a wonderful panel with us today, who will be sharing their thoughts about this and their perspective on this mental health crisis. Isaac, tell us who you are, and we welcome you. We're glad you're here. My name is Isaac and I'm 12 years old. My name is Evelyn and I'm 13 years old. My name is Jayla and I'm 16 years old. My name is Agamya and I'm 15 years old. My name's Jesse and I'm 18 years old.

[laughs] My name is Seth and I'm 17 years old.

My name is Montral and I'm 17 years old.

(Barbara) We're hearing that kids in your age group, some younger even and older, are going through a crisis, a mental health crisis right now. Maybe you're not on an individual level, but you probably know kids who are. What do you think is causing it? You wanna start, Montral?

(Montral) Yeah, I'll start. Really, being included in things. Maybe a kid who has mental health wants to be involved in things maybe, and wants to know that they have somebody to talk to, and not having that can lead to, like, just, it getting deeper and deeper and deeper. Like, I feel like you should check in on kids, maybe. Like, me as a friend, I tell my friends, within reason, you guys can always text me and I'll try to get what I can get to you. Do you think that you have cliques? Do you have groups that you're part of, and so anybody outside your group isn't somebody that you're really concerned about? -Mm-hm. -(Evelyn) I would say, my school sort of has some, like, cliques, and I think that sometimes that can be, like, a good thing, 'cause you know you have your, like, group of friends that you can really count on, but then in some cases, it can also be something like, oh, you know, my group of friends isn't the popular group or the cool group or whatever, and that can make you feel really like-- -Left out. -Left out! Down on yourself. You've had the same experience, Jayla?

(Jayla) Yeah, I absolutely agree with that. I think that cliques in general can make a lot of people feel left out, and then when people don't have a clique that they're involved in, they feel very lonely, and that can be not a great experience. Like, I feel like I have a group of friends who I can go to, but, like, really only one real friend who I can go to with anything, which kind of, it's not the best, because I want to be able to have more than one person I can talk to if I'm struggling. 'Cause you can't always reach the one person you need to. Agamya, how do kids pick their friends? I mean, is it somebody that lives next door to you, who happens to go to the same school, or how do you choose friends these days?

(Agamya) Yeah, a lot of my friends, I just, we've known each other for so long, but I definitely, like, now that I am making new friends in high school, I try to find people who just make me feel good about myself. They make me feel heard and I just know that I could tell them anything, so I think that's what makes a good friend. Someone that you can always confide in. Isaac, can you tell when somebody feels left out?

(Isaac) Most of the time, yeah. Like, body language. They might be feeling... They might be feeling left out, and so they have bad positions, you know, like, they're not really cowarding away, but they're trying to not be seen, because they're worried about what other people might think. So, body language, definitely.

(Barbara) Well, the American Psychology Association says that you guys in these age groups are really suffering, you really have problems that you're having to deal with. Would you agree with that, Seth?

(Seth) Yeah, I think, obviously, it depends on the person, you know, but I could agree with that, especially with, you know, there's just a lot of things that people expect of us, I guess. Like, you know, there's just a lot of, like, you know, schoolwork, but also, you know, things that you have -to do outside of school. -A lot of pressure. -Yeah, like, you know. -I'm wondering, is there more pressure since the pandemic on feeling good about yourself? -What do you say, Jesse? -(Jesse) Absolutely. I would say that, like, I think a lotta kids either developed, like, social anxiety during the period of COVID and then after, and I think that a lot of kids needed help, especially being stuck at home, having only yourself to sit with for hours and hours. And I think days started to blend together, that a lot of people didn't really feel like they were living for something, they were just kinda, like, going through each day. And I think, like, it was an issue for trying to get help during those times as well, because all these treatment facilities, inpatient/outpatient programs, wilderness programs were backed up. And especially how expensive it is to get treatment is insane and that needs to be... Well, social media kinda took over too during COVID, didn't it? Most of you were interacting with your friends via text messaging and I guess maybe cellphone calls.

(Montral) There were a lot of different ways to communicate over, like, the pandemic. It may look different for people in some ways, some people are still somewhat getting together with masks, going outside, having little gatherings, video games, texting and FaceTime, just finding different ways and trying to find new ways to interact with our friends -each and every day. -But do you think a lot of kids did not find themselves in a group that were part of a texting group, and maybe they really felt left out and didn't know -how to climb into the group? -For sure, yeah.

(Jesse) Absolutely, yeah.

(Montral) Maybe being at school is different versus being on a text bubble. Like, when you're at school, you're around people and you've maybe become somewhat comfortable to interact with them, but when it comes to a phone and text and maybe gaming or whatever it may be, it's different.

(Seth) Yeah, and I think that really shows with how people sort of, like, interact. A lot of people just don't know how to act anymore, because, you know, we spent so much time, like, you know, secluded from everybody, so now that we've come back to it, everybody's, like-- -I feel like- -Adjusting. -Oh, sorry. -No, you're good, you're good.

(Montral) I feel like also not knowing how long we were gonna be, I feel like we can all say we went to Spring Break that week.

(Jess) The uncertainty, absolutely.

(Seth) "No, we'll be back in two weeks."

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-Turns into two years. -We went to Spring Break and it turned into two years. And, like, I think about two months into the Spring Break, they finally said, let's do online school, so now kids who are already stressed out about something. Now you have online school to deal with, and you don't wanna deal with it.

(Jesse) I think what also wasn't talked about is, like, online school and how that applies to mental health. Some people typically don't have their brains wired in a way where they can actually learn and feel supported in an education system when it's online, and that was also not talked about. It was like, well, our hands are tied, like, you have to do online, and it's just like, I think there was no other alternatives for kids who aren't the typical A-type of student that school systems make for those students. -Right. -Yeah. Evelyn?

(Evelyn) I feel like, sort of, I am a very, like, social person, and so that, like, switch sort of from, you know, being able to talk to my friends every day, being able to see them, you know, even being able to talk to people who I wouldn't, like, text or, strike up a conversation with, just like my tablemates and just kids at school, I feel like that was a really, that really hurt me, sort of, it was really hard for me. And then especially, everybody in my grade except for me transitioned from online school to half-day in-person learning at the end of my fifth grade year, and I was the only kid who, was chosen to stay online, and it was really, like... I had to go into, a different, school online system and that was really, it didn't-- Why did you choose to stay online?

(Evelyn) A number of reasons. I think, I really wanted to go back to in-person school, but it was you know, it was a family decision and, you know, my parents ultimately decided that-- Did you fight with them about it? Did you argue? -Yeah. -But they won.

[group laughing]

(Evelyn) Yeah, I mean, they had the final say, but it got really hard for me, to the point where I was just... I'm a social person, so I would've made friends in that situation if I was in in-person school, but I wasn't, I was online and there wasn't really a way for me to-- I didn't really have any social interaction, which was what I really needed in that.

(Seth) Yeah, and there was also, a certain fear of missing out, 'cause, some people were going back to school, right? And when your parents were oh, no, you gotta stay in school, rightfully so, I mean, you know, safety, whatever, but you're also, "Well, damn, everybody else is hanging out." -I know. -[group laughing] Isaac, what about you? The transition was very hard, but being online, I feel in some ways, it also kinda helped with mental health, because they're less bullying, you know? Because they're online, so they don't really have that much time to be able to bully people, so I feel like that also helped.

(Seth) I found it to be more isolating -and, honestly, weirdly... -Definitely I mean, maybe, you know, if I live that differently, but I feel honestly, I sort of weirdly preferred the bullying, 'cause then I would've had, actual, interaction. -Interaction, yeah. -Yeah.

(Montral) And there's pros and cons to everything, and different types of mental health. Mental health can be from the bullying, so that's a pro to being on online school. You're there and you're more so isolated, and now your problem has been resolved, but like I said, different types of mental health. For kids who got bullied, online school probably -was really, convenient. -A real relief. And what kinds of things were going on? What kind of bullying was being done online?

(Jesse) Well, I would speak on just, what you were talking about with online and stuff, I think a lot of kids were discredited for not a typical way of living. Some kids didn't have technology to go online, some kids already struggled with attendance. So it's they could just not open their computer for the day, and I think it was also easier for kids who have substance abuse issues to fall into addiction and go down a deeper spiral, because there wasn't as much need to be doing in-person things-- you couldn't do in-person things. So there wasn't things to do other than being at home. In my experience, I didn't really find bullying to be the issue during COVID, it was a lot more, like-

(Evelyn) A lot of FOMO.

(Seth) Yeah, a lot of either fear of missing out, or even when it began, I'd worked the year, I had, -I'm not really good at school. -[group laughing] But the year before my freshman year, I worked really hard, because I was doing fairly well in my classes and I worked hard to get into, a higher level math class. And then COVID happened and I wasn't used to online learning and I guess it just wasn't really the way I learned, so then I ended up failing the class that I worked so hard to get into. And then that just made me feel terrible about myself, -'cause I was like-- -Yeah.

(Montral) With kids with mental health, them feeling isolated, another positive thing that happened on online school, a lot of kids weren't really interactive with their teachers, so if you were able to kinda speak out, you now got the one-on-one, that kinda was helpful for me over online school. I got, a lot of one-on-one time with my teachers versus them having 24, 25 kids in a classroom that they have to attend to. We're in breakout rooms or, like, just simply just in a workspace and you can come off of mute and ask your teacher for help, and you guys go to a breakout room, you guys have, a 20, 30-minute work period, and that was very helpful. Like I said, pros and cons.

(Evelyn) I feel like that was really, yeah, some kids really thrived in that environment, and a lot of kids are still, doing online learning, but I think I was definitely not one of those people. And, you know, there's two sides to the coin and, you know, some people really thrived and some people really, didn't, and-- Did you think that some of your friends became depressed because they weren't seeing each other during the online school period?

(Jayla) Yeah, I think a lot of kids, including myself, I went through a dark period, because at the beginning of COVID, it was Spring Break and, you know, me and my mom, we were already gonna go to Virginia to see my sister for Spring Break. And so we were yay, an extra week! And then we got stuck in Virginia for eight months. -And what was that like? -Oh, my god! -That was, it was hard. -Damn. Well, you didn't know anybody there, except your sister.

(Seth) Yeah, no, that's ten times worse, yeah. Uh-uh. -(Jayla) We were staying inside. -Double Jeopardy. My dad wasn't there, 'cause he wasn't traveling, -so we didn't get to see him. -Aww!

(Barbara) Well, we've got a lot more to talk about. There's a lot of us who wanna know what's going on with you right now. We're gonna talk about that when we come right back. We'll take a break, we'll be right back.

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(Barbara) We're back, and we're talking about the mental health issues that a lot of kids are dealing with all across the country, maybe all across the world, as a matter of fact. How are you doing, Isaac?

(Isaac) I think that the quarantine and the pandemic hit students really quickly, which... it was very shocking. One day, I was at school, it was normal, and then the next day, there were some people wearing masks, you know, already. So, I think it came really quick and as a shock. For all of us, even for adults, but I know for you kids, it was really different because you were used to going to school every day. Evelyn, how are you now? Everything better?

(Evelyn) I mean, yeah, I think that there's still some lasting, lingering effects from the pandemic and a lot of kids are, you know, figuring out how to deal with that, but I also think, you know, life's still, getting back to normal and, you know, can still be really stressful and, like-- Well, that's what life is like. But I know for you guys who have had to go through this, and it was really, a really crazy experience, wasn't it? To suddenly be watching your teacher talk-- is that how it was for you, Jayla?

(Jayla) Yeah, it was--

(Barbara) On TV or on your computer?

(Jayla) It was very, very sudden. You know, one day, you're at school, you're hearing, oh, in some other countries, there's something that's called COVID, and then the next day, you're not in school anymore. -[Jesse laughing] -Yeah. Yeah, and then the next day, you're not in school anymore, because this virus has essentially taken over. And it's not really safe to be around the other people that you normally socialize with. And so, I think a lot of people, myself included, ended up having some sort of effect with, social anxiety and not be able to, you know, get in touch with a therapist right away and be able to deal with that and have coping skills to be able to go back when things got normal, to be able to deal with that. What did the anxiety feel like? Anybody able to describe it?

(Agamya) The pandemic really, it changed all of us and, the way that we deal with anxiety, and I think it brought a lot to a lot of people. For me, it's just with social anxiety has come up a lot, and with meeting new people, it's a lot harder now. those years that you were, at home, when you didn't get to have those connections, when you go to a classroom, you go to a new school, you didn't get to make those friendships or connections, and so it's really tough now and I think it's made it a lot harder to, kinda re-learn how to do that, and how to interact with people like that.

(Jesse) I think it was also really hard, for people with younger siblings, I have a little brother, and watching him at a young age go through that, and then trying to move back into being in bigger groups, he had so much anxiety about that. And I think watching that happen kinda made me sad, 'cause I was he should not be having to have this level of anxiety and stress about just being at a gathering and having fun, you know? -Like-- -(Montral) At such a young age.

(Barbara) How about for you? Did you have any problems readjusting?

(Jesse) I think it was just more like I had so much that happened in my life from the beginning of COVID to then end of it that I was just trying to find myself and redefine, what I wanted to do. Do you feel that most kids have gotten comfortable now, being back in school, -being back with old friends? -I think so.

(Seth) I think it depends. I think we're getting there, for sure, but I think there's still a few people who are still struggling with that. -I mean, rightfully so. -Yeah, it's gonna take -a while to fully recover. -Rightfully so.

(Montral) I feel as if it's like a 50/50. There are a lot of positives in in-person school and there's a lot of positive in online school.

(Seth) Yeah, for sure. Were you all able to find your friends again or did you stay in touch with 'em during the pandemic?

(Montral) It was hard. Some friends, probably didn't even have a phone. some friends still didn't have phones. Maybe you just didn't have their number and didn't have no way to contact them, so you lost the touch over two years. I remember, I seen a girl that I went to school with my eighth grade year, and me and her walked past each other, my mom was like, "Don't you know her?" I said, "Mom, it's been, a year and a half since we've been in school," I said. "We talked at school, but it's now we haven't seen each other in a year, we've lost that connection." What do you guys worry about now? What are you worried about? -We understand that kids... -Everything. -The future. -[group laughing] -...are worried. -Another pandemic.

(Agamya) A lot of kids are worried about the future. I think that's, a big thing people worry about, and just, how it's gonna turn out and how you can prepare for it.

(Montral) If you're in, a dark moment, the thing that, not a dark moment, but, a tough time, I feel like the best thing to do, something that's helped me, is think ahead of that. -That's true. -Yeah. Like, nothing is gonna last forever. -For sure. -Yeah.

(Jesse) I think the most important thing with mental health is finding your coping skills. Ways that you can pull yourself out of it, because it's so easy to just accept your mental health, whether that's anxiety or depression, it's so easy to just kind of enable it and let it happen. I think the biggest advice I could give to someone who struggles with mental illness is find what gives you purpose and find what helps you cope. For me, that's music. I think everyone just needs an outlet to cope. So, Evelyn, do you have any advice or coping skills for someone who may be listening, who is experiencing depression or may be worried?

(Evelyn) I mean, find your people. And whether that's-- for me, for a long time, I had my friends, but then I also had, you know, my books and,

[laughs] honestly, that was, a big part of,

who I was, my fictional people-- you know, my friends that I could go home and, read them do the same things over and over again. It was predictable, it was easy, I didn't have to worry about it, like. And were you as into books before COVID as you are now? I'd say yeah, but also, you know, a lot of free time was on my hand in the pandemic and it was a big coping outlet for me, and I'd have to say, a lot of my friends during the pandemic or a lot of, the people that I would spend the most time with were fictional or on a screen or, you know, on YouTube, on social media. the people that I would just, sort of idealize and, you know, sort of be, that's, my perfect friend or whatever, you know. -The character in the book? -[laughs] Yeah. -(Montral) At that time-- -I know how that is. Let me ask you, Isaac, do you have any advice for people who may be feeling down right now?

Probably asking for help. [clears throat]

I get that it can be really stressful, trying to think about, who can I trust? who do I know is gonna help me and keep my secret, you know? So, I think finding people to talk to, like a really good friend or parents, but sometimes people don't have those, so just being able to trust people to be able to communicate the way that you feel, because the feelings were a big thing for us for COVID, mental health, -so it's important. -And loneliness is a thing? Loneliness-- Did you wanna say something about that?

(Seth) Oh, yeah, I recently moved here from Florida. I made a joke about this, not bringing this up, but, a year ago, so I lived in Florida, almost a year ago. And I had a really close group of friends, which I was really lucky to have, 'cause we just got outta COVID. But I had a pretty good group of friends, and when I moved, I kinda just lost that. And it was hard, 'cause I mean even now, it still feels like I'm alone sometimes, but I just surround myself with work, you know, school and acting and stuff like that, just stuff that I like doing, and it makes it a little better. But I guess what really just... I worry about a lot is whether or not I'm either setting my expectations too low or too high, just, in general of, everything.

(Barbara) Do any of you feel comfortable talking to your parents or not really?

(Evelyn) I'd say, yeah, I do, but I also think that, sometimes you need an extra point of view that is sort of removed from the situation. -Yeah. -[group laughing] Like, and that could be a therapist or, you know, a friend that lives out of town, someone that you can just sort of, talk to without having their own... You know, my parents know most of my friends and they know the people I'd be ranting about or whatever, and so I do feel like I could talk to them. But also, you know, I feel like it's also easier to just sort of rant about someone that, you know, to someone who doesn't know them and, you know, can just sort of agree with me. -(Isaac) Multiple sources. -Yeah, exactly. But do you think most of your parents get you? Are you worried about them listening to what -you're saying right now? -[group laughing] But do they understand you?

(Seth) It's... I feel like they do, but also they kinda don't. -They know you, -[group laughing] 'cause obviously, you're their kid and stuff, they've raised you, they know you. But also there's some times where you're, "What are you talking about?" -Where I'm like- -[group laughing] You think they grew up in another era? -Yeah. -Yeah. They don't know what you guys have been through? -Yeah. -(Montral) How we talked about the pandemic and, just anxiety, people are still finding out or still trying to figure out, your after-- how you came out of it, how you're feeling after it. And I feel like COVID affected everybody in ways and that's what I was getting at, people still have to figure out how it affected them. Not everybody has figured that out yet. 'Cause you know it affected your parents too. -One way or another. -Right.

(Barbara) But your parents care about you, they worry about you and if you seem to be doing okay, they think you are.

(Jesse) I think people expect, when they hear depression or anxiety, that it's just, the extreme, and it's a spectrum. All mental health is a spectrum. And I think, teen depression versus adult depression is very different, and I think parents will look at adult depression symptoms in a child and they're like, "That's not what you're experiencing, you're a child," and it's, yeah. -They make excuses? -(all) Yeah. And you think they may not really see -what's really happening? -Exactly, yeah.

(Seth) And sometimes it's a lot of, I'm not speaking about my parents-- -Shout out, Mom and Dad. -[group laughing] But sometimes, you know, parents, they will go through, depression or something, but they grew up in a time where, you know-- -Wasn't talked about. -It wasn't talked about or it was, you know, buffoonery. -So, like-- -[group laughing] I like that word.

(Montral) Putting on that happy face is, I will say, easy for me. What I would give-- The advice I would give to somebody is don't be scared to find your friends, because what helps me is, the days I feel like I'm gonna go to school and not talk to anybody, I have friends just like me who wanna be, -who wanna make people laugh. -Dead-ass, dead-ass. -Yeah, I know the feeling. -You go to school and you're like, I'm not gonna say anything, I'm not gonna do this, I'm not gonna do that, but you have your friends around you--

(Jesse) And they're like, "Cool, me too." -Right. -[group laughing] A lot of you, I'm sure, tell your friends things that you wouldn't necessarily share with your parents. -Yeah. -Right. But remember, your parents love you, they want you to be the best that you can be, and they want you to be happy. And we are so glad that we had such a great panel today. I've learned a lot from you. And I'm so happy that you all said yes to coming to "Kids Speak Out." Yeah. Thank you for having us. [laughs] -Thank you. -This was fun. Our panel has given us some really good insights into the mental health struggles that many say kids are dealing with these days, and they had some good suggestions for helping, coping. But if you need more information, need to know how to get help, check out our website, kidsspeakoutoregon.me. -Thank you, guys. -Thank you. -Thank you. -[upbeat music]

(Barbara) Next time on "Kids Speak Out: Oregon," conversations with Oregonians who have actually experienced homelessness.

(Describer) 'This has been a Koin-6 special presentation of Kids Speak Out: Oregon. Brought to you by W. Glen Boyd Charitable Foundation, Oregon Harbor of Hope, and Barbara Harrison Media.'

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Accessibility provided by the U.S. Department of Education.

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(Describer) This week's panel: Evelyn, Jayla, Agamya, Isaac, Seth, Jesse, and Montral Jr. Special thanks to Strategic Print and Promotions LLC, Beyond Well Media, and Hopscotch Foundation. Nexstar Media Group 2023.' Accessibility provided by the US Department of Education.