OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) — The people behind a Nebraska-focused mental health app are spreading the word about the tool after the Centers for Disease Control released "alarming" data on how many teenagers are contemplating suicide.
The 2021 CDC survey, released this February, showed that 22% of high school students "students seriously considered attempting suicide during the past year."
Three of every 10 high school girls had seriously considered suicide, and 14% of boys did. Of non-heterosexual high school students, 45% seriously considered suicide, and 15% of heterosexual students did.
It shows "an alarming amount increase in teenage depression and anxiety," said Dave Miers, the founder of the Nebraska State Suicide Prevention Coalition and Bryan Health's Director of Behavioral Health Services. "But we're seeing that in all ages, to be honest with you."
The National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline number is 988.
After the findings, Miers and the coalition are spreading the word about the mental health app: My Companion.
The app offers a way to journal through "reflections" and focuses on connection by allowing users to input "allies" and log interactions with them. It also offers local resources and FAQs.
The app currently offers resources specific to the Lincoln area if you live there and Miers expects other areas of the state to be added in the future.
In its first year, about 700 people used the app.
The idea came from a Lincoln police officer who knew of a similar app in Utah, Miers said. Lincoln's Don't Panic Labs developed the app.
Miers says it's aged for 15-24-year-olds, but it's "really for any age group."
"Connectedness is really the theme behind the app," he said. "The more connected that we are in society, the less likely it is that we're going to act out towards ourselves or act out towards others."
Tech has played a role in reducing connection, Miers said, but this does the opposite.
The Kim Foundation provided a grant to create the app.
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