The United States is gripped by a mental health crisis that seems to have no end in sight. One of the states that has taken the brunt of this issue is Colorado. As anyone living in the state will know, suicides seem to have become increasingly more common and more and more people (particularly high-schoolers) seem to need mental aid. According to a CBS rating of states with the highest suicide rates, Colorado scored number six. What is the cause of this epidemic? What is the solution?

According to many, there is a total lack of proper mental care within the state.

“You can’t stabilize a mental health crisis with a Band-Aid around the head,” said Scott Glaser, the executive director for the Colorado branch of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Hospital emergency rooms are geared towards handling heart attacks and major wounds, not mental breakdowns. Even so, emergency rooms have been filled with patients suffering panic attacks or suicidal thoughts. Patients who arrive to the emergency room with such issues are usually sent away with contact information for local therapists.

In Denver, the wait to see a psychiatrist is about five months long.

Many individuals in the Colorado Springs area, there is a lack of suitable mental health centers to accommodate their needs. One of the only major facilities in the area is Cedar Springs Hospital, with a less than impressive score of 2.4/5 stars on Google Reviews-

“The facility at Cedar Springs has issues with sanitation and I felt that they were understaffed and inexperienced” said one AAHS student who spent time at Cedar Springs and chose to remain anonymous.

A lack of adequate treatment for those with depression prevents those already with such a mental state from receiving care, but the core of the issue is still unresolved. Why is there such an epidemic of depression within Colorado? Some argue that the “culture” surrounding depression is the primary cause.

“The problem with high school depression, or at least in my experience at Discovery Canyon, is that many students look for attention instead of help,” said another AAHS student who also chose to remain anonymous. “The drama surrounding mental disorders can stress many teens out, and cause them to be overwhelmed. If a depressed teen comes across someone who self-diagnosed themselves, it can push that person into a hole, resulting in the many suicides. Of course, this isn’t always the case, but for all the deaths I’ve been close to, the stories are very similar.”

It is a fairly common opinion in the area that suicide and depression simply aren’t taken as seriously as they should be within the community at large.

In order to dismantle the ongoing mental health epidemic in Colorado, a large community endeavor coupled with efforts to improve opportunities for those with such issues are necessary according to some mental health experts. As awareness of the severity of the issue continues to grow, maybe in the near future we will live in a more joyful society.