Across Canada, more young people in distress are reaching out for help at night, when schools are closed, their friends are asleep and their parents are asleep, and there is nobody else. According to CBC News, Kids Help Phone noticed a 24 percent increase in overnight texts in the first half of this year, with anxiety and stress predominantly the number one issue.
Against that backdrop, a new snapshot of Ontario teenagers points in a more hopeful direction. CBC reports that a study on Ontario teens shows signs of progress, drawing on responses from more than 11,000 students from grades 7 to 12 who completed an anonymous online survey by the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.
The central number captures both the scale of the problem and the improvement. According to the survey, 46 percent reported experiencing a moderate to serious level of psychological distress, and in this case that figure represents a decrease, with the numbers seen in 2025 more similar to those recorded in 2019, before the pandemic.
Experts offered a possible explanation for the shift, while cautioning against reading too much into it. According to the report, the improvement may reflect reduced stigma around seeking help, but psychological distress levels are still nearly double what they were more than a decade ago, well before the pandemic.
Some sources of stress, meanwhile, are moving in the wrong direction. CBC reports that CAMH found a tenfold rise in online sports betting since 2017, while Kids Help Phone says other concerns among young people range from forest fires and social media to their very futures.
There was also a sign that more teenagers are looking for support in the places they spend their days. According to the report, the survey showed an increase in young people accessing mental health services at school, pointing to schools as a growing avenue for help.
For some young people, the path through distress has been deeply personal. CBC highlighted Hannah Grover, who said isolation during the pandemic had an impact but that she had family support, and that journaling and poetry helped her cope, an experience that inspired her to create a youth-led arts program to help others; as she put it, that feeling of anxiety and helplessness is very difficult to transition out of if you do not have accessible support.