In December 2021, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy issued a rare warning: Mental health challenges were leading to “devastating effects” among young people. His statement came as the suicide rate for young Americans ages 10 to 19 jumped by 40 percent from 2001 to 2019, while emergency room visits for self-harm rose by 88 percent.
Lately, Dr. Murthy has been using his position to highlight the issue, much as Dr. C. Everett Koop, who was surgeon general in the 1980s, famously addressed the dangers associated with smoking. Dr. Murthy has been on a listening tour of sorts, speaking with students, health care workers and community groups across the country
He recently spoke with The New York Times about the growing intensity of his focus on this issue. This conversation has been edited for clarity and brevity.
You have described mental health as “the defining public health crisis of our time.” Why?
I think of mental health as the fuel that allows us to show up for our communities, our friends, our family and our lives. And when that fuel tank is low, it compromises our ability to be who we can be in our best moments and to show up at work or in school.