Adolescent people’s lives are filled with emotional ups and downs, despite the common misconception that they are more carefree than adults. The statistics on adolescent and teen mental health make this abundantly clear, with as many as one in five adolescents and teens meeting the requirements for a diagnosable mental disease.
Additionally, by the ages of 14 and 24, respectively, 50 percent and 75 percent of all lifetime instances of mental disorders will emerge.
In terms of mental health issues, anxiety disorders, stress-related disorders, mood disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorders, eating disorders, and disruptive behavioral issues, such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder or oppositional defiant disorder, are the most prevalent in adolescents and young adults. But how do all of these affect a person? Read this article to find out.
How can you address the mental health of adolescents?
Teenagers require tools so that they can discuss their issues and they can respond to their peers. According to research, teenagers are more inclined to discuss their problems with their peers than with an adult. It’s crucial to discuss with teens the difficulties they can encounter as they develop into young adults.
They must understand that it’s acceptable to experience sadness, rage, loneliness, as well as frustration on occasion. However, chronic issues could be an indication of something else, so it’s important to be able to see early warning signals so teenagers can get the care they need as soon as possible.
Many adolescents who struggle with mental health, as well as substance use issues, can recover with the right care and even with proper treatment. Getting assistance is the first step.
If you are willing to learn and understand mental health issues in children as well as adolescents, then the best way to do it is by learning in schools to improve your skills and be able to identify symptoms quickly and, as a result, be able to help children out. You can apply easily for the child and adolescent mental health postgraduate courses online to improve your skills immediately.
Mental Health in Adolescents
In general, the word “mental health” refers to a person’s psychological and emotional state. The phrase is flexible, just like the mental as well as existential experiences it describes and is used to talk about:
• A healthy level of mental and emotional well-being.
• Mental health without sickness.
• The existence of mental abnormalities that impact psychological health in general.
Adolescent mental health is frequently defined by a spectrum of highs and lows in emotional and psychological well-being.
Although having strong emotions is a normal and healthy aspect of growing up, it is also true that many mental health illnesses in adults start in childhood or adolescence.
While there are treatments for diseases available in the mental health area, research on strategies for promoting optimal health is still in its infancy.
How does mental health affect a teen?
One in five young individuals experiences mental health issues at any given moment, and the seriousness of these issues varies substantially. A mental health condition is referred to as a “severe emotional disturbance” when it interferes with daily activities in the family, workplace, and perhaps even community.
However, a child or adolescent rarely has a major mental health condition if they can perform well in at least 2 of these three domains. A major mental disturbance is thought to affect one in ten young individuals in the United States at some point throughout their adolescence or even childhood.
Understanding the warning signs and symptoms of mental health disorders is crucial because timely treatment can help avoid serious, life-altering damage.
Emotional, social, as well as cognitive functioning disruption is a common feature of mental health disorders. The two mental illnesses that affect adolescents most frequently are anxiety disorders, which take the form of phobias, excessive concern or fear, and nervous conditions, plus depression disorders, which are defined by feelings of helplessness or hopelessness that interfere with daily life.
Bipolar illness, conduct disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), learning problems, eating disorders, as well as childhood-onset schizophrenia are further mental health issues that afflict young people.
It is also worth mentioning that mental health issues take a long time to emerge fully or rarely ever happen. They are typically preceded by signs of declining health and performance.
Some of the behaviors that are typical of adolescence may resemble the signs of developing mental problems; the main distinctions between the two are the intensity and length of the symptoms as well as how much everyday living is disrupted.
The degree, length, and amount of disruption of early-onset mental problems can initially be episodic, but they eventually tend to become chronic. Often, the first people to notice early signs are family and friends.
Common Adolescent Mental Health Disorders
Adolescents frequently suffer from anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as well as eating disorders.
1. Anxiety conditions
• Marked by feelings of extreme uneasiness, concern, as well as fear.
• Examples include phobias, social anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder.
• Approximately 32percent of 13 through 18-year-olds have this condition.
• In 2016, over 11 percent of teenagers aged 12 – 17 years and 7 percent of kids aged 6 to 11 were currently diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
• Nearly 1 in 5 teens experienced clinically heightened anxiety symptoms globally during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, underlining the significance of mental health services as well as support for teenagers.
2. Depression
• Depressed mood that interferes with daily tasks like sleeping, eating, as well as working.
• Approximately 13percent of 12- through 17-year-olds have this condition.
• Examples include seasonal affective disorder and even severe depressive disorder.
3. Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
• Characterized by persistent inattention and/or impulsive behavior that disrupts daily life or growth.
• Roughly 9% of 13 to 18-year-olds have this condition.
4. Eating disorders
• Characterized by extreme as well as abnormal eating habits, such as overeating or decreasing one’s food intake.
• Roughly3 percent of 13 through 18-year-olds have this condition.
• Examples include binge eating disorder, bulimia, as well as anorexia nervosa.
Conclusion
Adolescents can be severely impacted by mental health conditions. Adolescents may retreat from friends, family, and/or activities, change their eating and sleeping schedules, show anger or irritation, or express hopelessness as signs of distress.
As a parent or other caregiver, it’s critical to be aware of the child’s emotional as well as behavioral developments.
Although everyone is unique and responds to stress, events, and emotions in various ways, given the high frequency of mental illness in adolescents and young adults, there is a possibility that your child could be impacted. You must help them and make every effort to make things easier for them.