How climate and pandemic anxiety is overwhelming Ontario teens

Guest: Nadine Yousif, mental health reporter

A recent survey conducted by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health (CAMH) has found disturbing trends. More than half of the 2,200 kids in grades 7-12 surveyed are not just reeling from the effects of the pandemic, they are anxious about climate change and the future. This is an eye-opening glimpse into how young people across Ontario have been coping over the last two years and is a snapshot of a generation that has grown up with the knowledge that they are set to inherit the Earth’s worsening natural disasters. The Star’s mental health reporter Nadine Yousif explains the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey.

If you are thinking of suicide or know someone who is, there is help. Resources are available online at crisisservicescanada.ca or you can connect to the national suicide prevention helpline at 1-833-456-4566, or the Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.

This episode was produced by Saba Eitizaz, Alexis Green and Matthew Hearn