The CDC’s newest Youth Risk Behavior Survey brought a headline we rarely get on teen mental health: improvement. Persistent sadness among high school students dropped from 40% in 2023 to 33% in 2025. The share of students seriously considering suicide fell from 20% to 14%, and reported attempts declined from 9% to 6%. For families in Waxahachie and across Ellis County, that’s a meaningful shift in a trend that had been stuck in place for a decade.

Dr. Dave Anderson, a psychologist at the Child Mind Institute, says he’s cautiously optimistic. His caution is rooted in the long view: over ten years, the numbers have stayed fairly even, so this decline could be a correction after the pandemic years rather than a permanent change. The data also shows ninth graders are more at risk than seniors, a pattern Anderson attributes to the social pressure of entering high school and trying to find where you fit.

One number keeps the celebration in check. One in three high schoolers still reports persistent sadness or hopelessness, and female students report these struggles more often than male students. If you’re a parent, that means the check-ins still matter, the car rides home, the dinners, the questions asked without an agenda. What’s your go-to way to get your teen talking?