WISCONSIN — Over half of all Wisconsin students reported significant problems with anxiety and a third with depression, according to 2021 Wisconsin Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
These issues can often be exacerbated by not having someone to talk to.
Breiny Lipskier is a teen who started a podcast earlier this year called “Wish You Knew,” through her internship at Friendship Circle of Wisconsin. The podcast is a platform for teens to talk to teens about mental health challenges they’re experiencing.
“Through all the different interviews that I’ve had so far there were teens that spoke about eating disorders, anxiety, depression, some people who were suicidal, and what we do is once they share their story, we offer resources as well,” said Lipskier.
Lipskier said her focus is on helping her peers break the stigmas around mental health struggles.
“I think that for a teen who struggles alone, which is unfortunately very common, they have this as an outlet to hear that they are not alone,” she said.
Jenna Kasal is a Milwaukee teen who has been interviewed by Lipskier. She shared her story about living with PANDAS Syndrome, which is short for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections.
Kasal said there are many obstacles that can come with the disease. She said she struggles most with OCD, anxiety and depression.
“I struggled with them in silence for so long and I never really talked to anybody about them but once I started talking to other people, I realized that it’s okay and it’s not something I should be ashamed of which I had felt previously,” said Kasal.
Leah Stein is the chief operating officer of Friendship Circle of Wisconsin.
She said she is excited about the opportunity for teens to talk to their peers who can identify with each other.
“It’s really the friends, the peers, that are going through the same thing that when they talk to each other so much can happen,” said Stein.
Lipskier said she hopes her podcast will give teens the confidence to seek help and teach people about signs to look for in friends who might be suffering in silence.
“Something that I’ve gained, and I think a lot of people gain is that you realize how much you don’t know about what’s going on in other people’s lives and I think that when everybody really realizes that it just creates so much more kindness and empathy towards people,” she said.