Youth Mental Health Surge: ADHD, Anxiety & Depression Rising in Georgia

Georgia parents are watching their teens struggle more than ever with mental health challenges. 

In 2023, nearly 40% of high school students nationwide reported persistent sadness or hopelessness, while Georgia’s diagnosed child mental health conditions hit 20.6%, exceeding the national average. 

This article examines the data behind the youth mental health surge in Georgia, explains what’s driving increases in ADHD, anxiety, and depression among teens, and shows you what resources can help right now.

Georgia Youth Mental Health Surge: The Numbers

The youth mental health surge data Georgia families are seeing reflects both national trends and state-specific patterns. Between 2013 and 2023, adolescent mental health indicators climbed steadily across the United States, with Georgia mirroring and sometimes exceeding these troubling increases.

In 2022 and 2023, 20.6% of Georgia children ages 3 to 17 had a diagnosed mental health condition, including ADHD, depression, anxiety, or behavioral problems. That figure sits above the national average of 19.9% and ranks Georgia 17th among states. Meanwhile, the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that 39.7% of high school students experienced persistent sadness or hopelessness, 28.5% reported poor mental health, and 20.4% seriously considered suicide.

Georgia also documented 1,626 suicide deaths in 2022, and crisis line contacts through the Georgia Crisis and Access Line surged from roughly 209,000 in fiscal year 2020 to 275,000 in fiscal year 2021. These numbers tell a story of rising distress and increased demand for support systems across the state.

The data shows modest improvements since the 2021 pandemic peak, but levels remain substantially worse than a decade ago. For Georgia families, this means more teens need help, and they need it faster than ever.

Why Are ADHD Diagnoses Climbing in Georgia Teens?

Youth ADHD trends in Georgia reflect both better detection and a real shift in how clinicians diagnose the condition. Nationally, current ADHD prevalence among children ages 3 to 17 reached 10.5% in 2022, with nearly 78% of those children having at least one other co-occurring disorder like anxiety or depression.

A major driver of rising ADHD identification is the change in diagnostic criteria. When the DSM-5 extended the age of onset requirement from under 7 to under 12 years, adolescent ADHD prevalence jumped from 7.4% to 10.8% in national surveys. This change captured later onset cases with comparable severity and impairment, especially inattentive type ADHD that often shows up more clearly in middle and high school when academic demands increase.

Georgia’s robust school surveillance through the Georgia Student Health Survey and the Georgia Apex Program means more teens are being screened and referred for evaluation. While some view this as overdiagnosis, the evidence suggests these newly identified teens show real functional impairment and often benefit from treatment.

The challenge is that 30% of children with ADHD receive no ADHD specific treatment at all, and fewer than half get behavioral therapy. In Georgia, where overall child mental health diagnosis rates already exceed the national average, this treatment gap means many teens struggle with untreated symptoms that can worsen anxiety and depression.

Anxiety and Depression: What’s Driving the Rise?

Youth anxiety trends in Georgia and youth depression trends in Georgia follow similar patterns, shaped by overlapping risk factors that intensified over the past decade. While pandemic disruptions accelerated some indicators in 2021, the underlying drivers were already building before COVID-19.

Female students and LGBTQ+ youth bear the heaviest burden. In 2023, 53% of female high school students reported persistent sadness compared to 28% of males, and 13% of females attempted suicide versus 6% of males. Among LGBTQ+ students, the numbers are even more stark: 65% reported persistent sadness and 20% attempted suicide, compared to 31% and 6% respectively for cisgender, heterosexual peers.

Experiences of racism in school emerged as a significant risk factor when first measured in the 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Students who reported racism in school showed higher rates of poor mental health, suicidal thoughts, and risk behaviors across all racial and ethnic groups. Similarly, those who experienced unfair discipline reported worse mental health outcomes.

School violence indicators rose between 2021 and 2023, countering gains in other areas. Students who felt unsafe or skipped school due to safety concerns showed elevated anxiety and depression symptoms. This erosion of school connectedness matters deeply, because feeling connected to school is one of the strongest protective factors against poor mental health and suicidality.

The Role of Social Media and School Climate

The 2023 Youth Risk Behavior Survey added questions about social media use for the first time, revealing concerning patterns. More than three quarters of students reported frequent social media use, and this intensity correlated with increased experiences of bullying, persistent sadness and hopelessness, and suicide risk.

The connection appears especially strong for girls and LGBTQ+ youth, who face higher rates of online harassment and spend more time on platforms that can amplify social comparison and negative self-perception. Social media use also displaces time that might otherwise be spent on in-person connections, sleep, physical activity, and other activities that buffer against anxiety and depression.

School climate factors compound these digital stressors. Georgia schools participate in the Georgia Student Health Survey, which tracks mental health indicators, victimization, and protective factors statewide. This annual survey of students in grades 3 through 12 helps districts identify where interventions are most needed.

About 62% of students reported feeling connected to their school in 2021, meaning nearly 40% lack this crucial protective factor. Students with higher school connectedness show lower rates of sadness, hopelessness, and suicidal behavior, with benefits that persist into adulthood. Creating environments where teens feel seen, heard, and supported by adults and peers can meaningfully reduce anxiety and depression trajectories.

Rural vs Urban: Geography Matters

Where a Georgia teen lives influences both their mental health risks and their access to care. Research examining emergency department visits for self-harm found that youth in rural and small metro areas had significantly higher visit rates than those in large metro areas. Most concerning, self-inflicted firearm injuries showed roughly three times higher emergency department rates in rural youth compared to urban youth.

Georgia experienced an 8.3% increase in rural suicides between 2019 and 2020, a pattern driven partly by greater access to lethal means, especially firearms, and partly by limited access to ongoing mental health services. Rural teens in crisis may face hour-long drives to the nearest therapist or psychiatrist, making consistent treatment difficult even when a family has insurance.

The state’s crisis response infrastructure provides some mitigation. Mobile crisis teams can reach rural communities 24/7, and crisis stabilization units offer alternatives to hospitalization. Georgia’s integration with the 988 suicide and crisis lifeline means that more than 80% of crisis calls are resolved by phone, avoiding unnecessary emergency room visits.

Still, the ecological risk remains. Rural youth dealing with depression or anxiety need not just crisis intervention but sustained outpatient care including therapy, medication management when appropriate, and school support. Virtual care options and school-based programs like Apex are helping close these gaps, but rural access constraints continue to shape outcomes.

How is Georgia Responding?

Georgia has built one of the more comprehensive youth mental health systems in the Southeast, anchored by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities. The Georgia Crisis and Access Line serves as both a 24/7 crisis hotline and a navigation service, helping families schedule appointments with community providers and coordinating mobile crisis response when needed.

Crisis stabilization units provide short-term residential alternatives to inpatient hospitalization, with average stays around six days. These units stabilize youth in acute distress and connect them to outpatient care, preventing some psychiatric hospitalizations while ensuring safety.

The Georgia Apex Program embeds mental health counselors in schools from pre-K through grade 12, providing early identification, individual and family counseling, case management, and linkage to community services. This school-based approach reduces barriers like transportation and stigma while catching problems early, before they escalate to crisis.

Georgia’s 2022 Mental Health Parity Act strengthened enforcement of insurance coverage rules, expanded co-responder programs pairing mental health professionals with law enforcement, and created oversight structures to coordinate behavioral health policy. The law includes provisions to assess children’s mental health services, rates, and access barriers.

Workforce investments authorized in 2022 aim to increase the number of child and adolescent mental health professionals through training supports, licensure modifications, and loan repayment programs. These are multi-year efforts, but they signal recognition that Georgia needs more therapists and psychiatrists who specialize in treating youth.

What Parents Can Do Now?

If your teen is in immediate crisis with suicidal thoughts, severe panic, or aggressive behavior, call or text 988 or call the Georgia Crisis and Access Line at 1-800-715-4225. These services operate 24/7 and can dispatch a mobile crisis team to meet you where you are, provide assessment, and coordinate next steps including crisis stabilization if needed.

For non-crisis situations where your child is struggling with ADHD symptoms, persistent anxiety, or depression, start with your pediatrician. Many can provide initial assessments and connect you to Georgia Mental Health Access in Pediatrics, which offers same-day psychiatric consultation to pediatricians managing medications and diagnostic questions. Your doctor can also refer you to appropriate specialists.

If your child has Medicaid through Georgia Families, contact your managed care plan directly. Plans like Amerigroup allow you to access behavioral health providers without a referral, reducing delays. Ask for their in-network child therapists and psychiatrists, request care management support, and inquire about intensive outpatient programs if standard weekly therapy isn’t enough.

Community Service Boards offer open access intake with no referral required. Many provide walk-in assessments, telehealth options, and sliding-fee scales. These safety net providers serve as the backbone of Georgia’s public mental health system and can start treatment quickly when private providers have long waitlists.

Check whether your school participates in the Georgia Apex Program. Apex counselors provide therapy right at school, coordinate with teachers and administrators, and help connect families to additional services when needed. This eliminates transportation barriers and integrates mental health support into your child’s daily routine.

For moderate to severe symptoms where weekly outpatient therapy isn’t providing enough structure, intensive outpatient programs and partial hospitalization programs offer several hours of therapy multiple days per week. These programs typically include individual therapy, group skills training, family sessions, and medication management in a coordinated package.

Remember that youth often have mixed feelings about therapy and may not initially disclose negative experiences to their therapist or to you. Choose clinicians who specialize in adolescents, use evidence-based approaches like cognitive behavioral therapy or dialectical behavior therapy, and actively involve you in treatment planning. Ask about treatment goals, expected timelines, and how progress will be measured.

Moving Forward Together

The youth mental health surge in Georgia reflects a complex intersection of better detection and genuine increases in distress. ADHD identification rose partly due to diagnostic changes that capture clinically significant cases previously missed. Anxiety and depression increased due to intensified school and online stressors, persistent inequities affecting LGBTQ+ youth and marginalized groups, and uneven access to sustained care.

Georgia has responded with crisis infrastructure, school-based programs, policy reforms, and workforce investments. These efforts matter and show early signs of impact, with modest improvements in some indicators since 2021. Yet the state’s youth mental health indicators remain substantially elevated compared to a decade ago, and significant disparities persist.

The path forward requires parents, schools, healthcare providers, and policymakers working together. Schools must strengthen connectedness, address racism and unfair discipline, and expand evidence-based mental health programming. Healthcare systems need to close treatment gaps, ensuring that teens diagnosed with ADHD, anxiety, or depression actually receive appropriate therapy and medication management. Crisis systems must be paired with robust outpatient capacity so families can access care before and after crises, not just during them.

For Georgia families facing these challenges today, the system offers real pathways to help. Use the crisis line not just for emergencies but as a navigation tool to find appointments faster. Leverage your insurance or Medicaid plan’s networks and care management. Tap into school-based services. Consider intensive programs when outpatient care isn’t enough. Most importantly, keep advocating for your child until you find the right fit and the right level of support.

The data shows Georgia teens are struggling, but it also shows they’re reaching out for help in record numbers. With coordinated effort and sustained investment, we can meet that need and reverse these troubling trends. Every teen who gets connected to effective care represents not just a crisis averted but a life trajectory improved, a family strengthened, and a community made more resilient.

If your teen is showing signs of ADHD, anxiety, or depression, you don’t have to navigate this alone. Reach out to our mental health professionals who specialize in evidence-based treatment for adolescents and can provide the support your family needs.