The Vilcek Foundation’s Post

The US Surgeon General shares an essential and much-needed message focusing on the needs of so many parents in our society. “The stress and mental health challenges faced by parents — just like loneliness, workplace well-being and the impact of social media on youth mental health — aren’t always visible, but they can take a steep toll. It’s time to recognize they constitute a serious public health concern for our country. Parents who feel pushed to the brink deserve more than platitudes. They need tangible support.” Keep these considerations in mind at work as 74% of the American workforce are parents with kids under 18. This is especially important if you’re in a leadership position. “Something has to change. It begins with fundamentally shifting how we value parenting, recognizing that the work of raising a child is crucial to the health and well-being of all society. This change must extend to policies, programs and individual actions designed to make this vital work easier.” #parenting #worklifebalance #leadership #employeehealth #hrchallenges https://lnkd.in/eKWkyi9k

Since discovering I was pregnant, I've consistently dedicated hours each searching for reliable information to guide me through this exciting yet overwhelming journey. The sheer volume of advice available online is staggering, but the quality and credibility often leave much to be desired. It's a familiar story - hours spent sifting through contradictory information, only to end up feeling more confused than before. This weekend, the Surgeon General highlighted the pressing issue of parental stress and mental health in The New York Times. While I appreciate the systemic changes he outlined, I believe there's a crucial piece missing—a stronger focus on improving parental education. The need for accessible, evidence-based guidance is real. Social media influencers often disseminate unsupported (sometimes harmful) advice to millions. Many widely available online publications and tools are only minimally better. As a result, many parents, myself included, find themselves navigating this journey without the support and reassurance they desperately need. And, of course, while there are professionals like doulas and lactation consultants available for hire, the lack of insurance coverage often makes their expertise inaccessible to many. Personally speaking... This reality has added a significant layer of stress to my experience as a first-time parent. To those who took heed of the #SurgeonGeneral's call, I urge you to consider investing more resources into enhancing parental education. By providing reliable, science-backed guidance and making professional support more accessible, we can empower parents to navigate this transformative journey with confidence and peace of mind. #ParentalEducation #SupportingParents #NewParents https://lnkd.in/evxKi2RN

The pressures of being a parent can be incredibly stressful, especially in today's world. In this The New York Times opinion piece, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy shares why he just issued an advisory labeling parental stress a significant public health issue. The American Psychological Association reports that 48% of parents feel their stress is overwhelming most days, compared to 26% of other adults. Parents and caregivers need support from government, workplaces, and community programs. The Surgeon General's new advisory offers more insights: surgeongeneral.gov/parents. #MentalHealth #USSurgeonGeneral #Parenting

There's a reason we all know the phrase: It takes a village. It used to be that entire villages understood the value and importance of raising our young people because they would grow into essential members of the society. Today, not much has changed, except our villages aren't quite as obvious. Some have families built in; others have extremely close friends; and there are even those of us who find our village at a daycare center. Parents need to work extra hard to build the villages for our children. The Surgeon General is concerned about the mental health of parents, and lays out in the article below some of the reasons why we are struggling. Make no mistake, if our parents aren't taken care of, then our children aren't either. When creating policies in the interest of a brighter future, let's continue to think about how that helps construct a positive village for our infants, children, and youth. For stressed out parents, the Surgeon General just announced across America that you are not alone. If you find yourself unable to function in the way you would like to due to your mental health, please reach out to your doctor, 2-1-1, or a mental health professional. If you are a resident of Washington County, Wisconsin and have Medicaid or are uninsured, please contact (262) 335-4600 for information on how to access our mental health services. #infantmentalhealth #earlychildhoodmentalhealth #youthmentalhealth #prevention #earlyintervention #parenting #IECMH #NationalPsychotherapyDay #RecoveryMonth #mentalhealth #wellness #ItTakesAVillage

As a pediatric neuropsychologist and founder of ChildNEXUS, I was deeply moved by U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s recent advisory and his powerful article in The New York Times on parental mental health and well-being. The statistics are staggering: 💡 In 2023, 33% of parents reported high stress levels compared to 20% of non-parents. 💡 48% of parents said their stress is often "completely overwhelming," compared to 26% of non-parents. 💡 Nearly 75% of parents are worried that their children will struggle with anxiety or depression. Parents today face both traditional challenges—like financial concerns and ensuring their children’s safety—and new stressors, such as navigating pervasive screens, the youth mental health crisis, and fear about the future. The impact on working parents is particularly severe. Balancing career demands with the complex needs of neurodivergent children can lead to decreased productivity, increased absenteeism, and higher turnover rates, affecting both families and employers. We need a societal shift in how we value and support parenting, otherwise, parents will continue feeling burned out and alone. At ChildNEXUS, we SEE this and are addressing these challenges by offering on-demand support, expert content, virtual learning groups for connection, and, soon, personalized AI-driven recommendations for parents. I am eager to connect with youth service providers, employers, and businesses dedicated to supporting families with neurodivergent children. Interested in helping build stronger support systems so that parents and children can thrive? Reach out! You can read the The New York Times article here - https://lnkd.in/gDVEwbsK #ParentalMentalHealth #NeurodiversityAwareness #ChildMentalHealth #SurgeonGeneralAdvisory #ChildNEXUS #YouthSupport

The correlation between mental health and physical health is obvious in research, and yet, we still compartmentalize them into separate categories and treatment plans, forgetting the relationship they have with each other. Numerous research studies show that anxiety has a direct impact on health outcomes for individuals. This particular article from the Journal of Pediatric Nursing focuses on how anxiety is associated with higher HbA1c level, a lab test measuring the amount of glucose attached to the red blood cells and used as a way to monitor a diabetic's health risks and assess health status over the past couple of months. This study found that youth with Type 1 Diabetes with higher anxiety, were found to have higher HbA1c levels, poorer self-management, poorer coping, depressive symptoms, fear of hypoglycemia, and lower blood glucose monitoring frequency. This is why mental health support is critical for children and teens facing a chronic diagnosis. Not only does every child deserve access to the health care they need, but every child also deserves easy access to mental health care to improve their health outcomes. Don't wait until your child becomes anxious or depressed to seek services. Early intervention and proactive mental health support can help your child maintain a healthy coping status, and thus maintain or improve their health status. Child life specialists are child development experts who specialize in supporting children and teens through medically complex challenges. Connect with one of our child life specialists today to learn more! 💜 #diabetes #diabetesawareness #type1diabetes #type2diabetes #t1d #t2d #type1 #type2 #type1diabetesmom #diabetesmanagement #diabetestype1 #diabetescommunity #t1dmom #t1ddad #type1diabetesdad #t1dkids #t2dkids #type1kids #type2kids #diabetessupport #diabeteseducation #parentsupport #parenttips #familysupport #childlife #pediatricdiabetes #mentalhealthishealth #mentalhealthawareness #mentalhealthaccess #childlife #mentalhealthsupport

The results from our recent study published in the “Aging & Mental Health” journal, show that more hopeful adults are more likely to engage in healthy behaviors. Mather Institute’s Mushira Mohsin Khan, PhD and Cate O'Brien, PhD, in collaboration with Patrick Hill from Washington University in St. Louis, explored the gap in our understanding of hope and its association with healthy lifestyle behaviors among community-dwelling adults 55 and better. Utilizing measures like the Adult Dispositional Hope Scale and the Herth Hope Index, these findings underscore the need to promote hope in older adults to enhance overall well-being. Read more about what the research reveals about “Hope and Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Older Adulthood”: https://lnkd.in/gk6iPGYA

The parents and caregivers are not all right. A new advisory from U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy reveals the overwhelming stress that many parents and caregivers face in America. Financial pressures, time demands, worry over kids’ health and safety, loneliness and social isolation, technology and social media, busy schedules, work commitments, family obligations. The list goes on. And on. And on. When you're spread so thin, it's no wonder so many parents are stressed and struggling. Carving out even 10 or 20 minutes to work on improving your mental health can feel impossible. But here’s the thing: parents and caregivers can’t show up for others if they don’t first show up for themselves.     At ieso, we’re parents and caregivers, too. Our team of clinicians, neuroscientists, and technologists combine data science with clinical expertise in our scalable, effective, and personalized digital mental health programs; programs that fit into busy lives and empower people to live lighter and feel better.    Learn more about our evidence-based approach in the U.S. and get in touch: https://lnkd.in/e4xbMvvA     For more from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and the U.S. Surgeon General’s Advisory on the Mental Health and Well-Being of Parents, click here: https://lnkd.in/g5KqiDkM     #MentalHealth #ParentalStress #PublicHealth #Caregiving #DigitalHealth   

3 years ago I launched Center for Mental Health & Aging to ensure #therapists and professionals working with older adults have the tools they need to meet the mental health needs of older adults. Here’s why this is so important: When mental health concerns go untreated among older adults… … physical health problems worsen … medical hospital stays lengthen … more medication is needed to manage physical health conditions … there are more health care costs (meaning more financial strain) … there’s increased caregiver strain … risk for dementia disorders increase … risk for suicide increases. Now for the good news! Mental health care is effective for older adults (despite what stereotypes would have you believe). Every professional working with older adults (from aging services professionals to therapists to physicians) should have basic tools for meeting the mental health needs of older adults To date, 8165 professionals have signed up to receive weekly resources to meet the mental health needs of older adults with our newsletter and have taken our online #continuingeducation courses. Join us in the mission to improve mental health care for older adults by enrolling for our live webinar on OLDER ADULTS AND SUICIDE PREVENTION 9/27/24 12-1pm EST (recording available to those who register; link to register in comments) #mentalhealth #olderadults #brainhealth #aging #therapy #seniorcare

The Surgeon General has declared parental health a public health issue. This follows on from declaring loneliness and social media use as public health issues. I'm tired of the declarations and ready to see some real, meaningful action. We—the individuals feeling caregiver stress, battling loneliness, and scrolling on our phones—are not the problem. The problem is Old Happy culture, coming from our systems of individualism, capitalism, and domination, and seeping into every element of our society. When are we going to take responsibility for the culture we have created and start to change it? https://lnkd.in/eytNCCWg (You can learn all about Old Happy in my book, which is based on 10 years of research breaking down why we are so unhappy and how to fix it: www.thenewhappy.com/book)