Shea Alexander remembers being dragged to her first martial arts class a year ago. It was her parents' idea.
At the time, Alexander wasn't in the best state of mind.
What You Need To Know
A mental health crisis among youth has been ongoing and worsened by the pandemic
The owner of Fight Flow Academy in Raleigh has seen more youth enrolling in martial arts classes
Teen Shea Alexander says the classes have provided her with a positive outlet
"I was in a very toxic school environment. I was suicidal. I had anxiety and depression," Alexander said.
Today, the 14-year-old is in therapy and has come out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community. Coming to the class, she says, feels more like a safe haven than it does a chore.
"I didn't know it was OK to be myself. I didn't know it was OK to be gay. It made me feel heard and accepted. Because everyone here is really nice, and it made me feel like I had a place," she said.
Alexander's sparring partner, Brodie Jackson, joined the class about a month ago. Jackson says it's a place she feels comfortable being herself after years of being bullied.
"People called me pretty mean names. Made me feel like pretty discouraged to go back to school. After my first grade year, I didn't want to go back to school ever again," said Jackson.
The 9-year-old now says she feels stronger both mentally and physically. And is no longer afraid, especially of bullies.
"I can stand up to these people, yeah definitely. It makes me feel way more confident than I was before," she said.
Stressful school situations and mental health challenges are reasons owner of Fight Flow Academy Scott Johnson is seeing more youth enroll in his martial arts classes than ever before.
Johnson says it's not about teaching kids to fight other kids, it's about self defense and de-escalation. But if fighting is the only option, he wants them to be prepared.
"Oftentimes, how successful we can be or happy we are or how we deal with our relationships with people, a lot [of] that relates to how we deal with stressful situations and can we deal with this stressful situation in a constructive way," Johnson said.
Johnson says facing challenges on the mat helps kids build resilience and overcome conflicts in their daily lives, although the perfect uppercut or jab can feel meaningless without a team watching and cheering you on.
"It feels good to come here every day and see the people you train with and are working on things together," he said.
"I feel like I have a purpose. Part of the reason I feel like I'm still alive is because of my family and everyone here. They are part of the reason I was encouraged to keep going," Alexander said.
The latest CDC data from 2021 shows 44% of high school students reported "persistently" feeling sad or hopeless, and more than 37% of students experienced poor mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Girls and LGBTQ+ youth experienced greater levels of poor mental health and reported more suicide attempts than others.