Publication 2: Mental Health in Teens
Teens are especially vulnerable to developing mental Health problems because they are going from a child to an adult and with that can come a great amount of stress. Teens can struggle with mental health more for many reasons like not feeling as if they fit in, wanting to be independent but still relying on parents, or even doing well in school and trying to get good grades. These are all ways Teens can have stress and it is important that we recognize mental health problems in teens so that they can get the help they need.
Not only can teens suffer from mental issues when dealing with all of this stress but they can also have physical symptoms. Childhood is an important time in a persons life because of everything going on in the brain and the body. This is a time where you build and keep habits. But if a child is feeling pain and thinking negative thoughts because of all of the stress they are experiencing then they will never develop good habits and can even risk developing bad ones. Some important habits for teens to build are a healthy sleep pattern, regular exercise, good problem solving skills, and good coping skills. Unsafe or unhealthy home life, unhealthy relationships with peers, violence, and sexual violence can all be factors that can contribute to poor mental health. One thing that is important when helping a child develop as a parent is communication. A safe and loving home environment is one of the key factors in boosting mental health in teens. Another risk we have with teens in developing mental health issues is bullying. Bullying has been around for ever and can make someone feel unsafe and unloved. Sadly it is still an issue in todays society but can also be done in a different way. We now have social media where teens spend hours at a time scrolling though photos, posts, and messages. With that we have to worry about teenagers getting hateful or cruel messages and photos being sent to them and spread around online.
We must do everything we can to provide our teens with a healthy and safe home life. Try to understand and be there for them and keep them out of danger. Thanks for reading and be sure to tune in next week for the 3rd Publication.
Ehmke, Rachel. “How Using Social Media Affects Teenagers.” Child Mind Institute, 16 June 2020, childmind.org/article/how-using-social-media-affects-teenagers/.
“Adolescent Mental Health.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health.
