It’s back-to-school season in Northeast Georgia, and after a difficult year and a half, one local psychiatrist said a lot of children dealing with mental health struggles are feeling excited about the new school year.
Dr. Andrea Huntley, a child and adolescent psychiatrist with Northeast Georgia Physicians Group, said that while she was practicing in another region before the COVID-19 pandemic, she noticed a big increase in anxiety in Northeast Georgia once she started practicing in the area last year.
“Not just kids, also families,” Dr. Huntley said. “A lot of our anxious kids have struggled; we’ve seen kids that probably would never have seen a psychiatrist before coming to see me.”
Dr. Huntley said she has noticed kids who have participated in virtual learning have struggled more with mental health over the past year compared to those attending classes in person.
However, Dr. Huntley said getting back into the classroom last fall and earlier this year has helped children who deal with anxiety symptoms.
“It also helped the entire family unit, because they kind of got back on a schedule,” Dr. Huntley said.
COVID-19 cases have recently been on the rise across the United States, which Dr. Huntley said has caused more cases of anxiety in children in Northeast Georgia.
Still, Dr. Huntley said kids are ready to return to the classroom after the summer break.
“The majority that I am seeing are excited,” Dr. Huntley said. “We did this last year, and I don’t think the kids are as fearful … last year there were so many unknowns, there was no vaccination and things to that extent.”
For parents that are worried about their child’s mental health as classes get back underway, Dr. Huntley said there are a few signs to watch out for.
“Struggling with academics … kids that are isolating more, not doing things that they enjoy,” Dr. Huntley said.
Dr. Huntley said parents should speak to their child’s primary care doctor if they notice any of these symptoms.
