Are you the parent of a teen? It can be a challenging time, as the hormones rage and their mood swings swing on a pendulum. It’s lovely to watch them emerge into the awesome adults they will soon become, however.
But how do you know if your teen needs help with their mental health or if they’re just being a typical moody or rebellious adolescent? What should parents do to help teens if they’re struggling and need additional support? This article will cover how parents can identify when their teenager is struggling with their mental health, and we’ll look at the signs of a struggling teen.
Is Your Teen Depressed?
One issue that teens face is depression. Depression is a clinically diagnosed mood disorder that can cause persistent feelings of sadness, consistently low mood, and a major loss of interest in everyday activities such as school and social relationships. Also known as major depressive disorder or clinical depression, it affects how a teen feels, thinks, and behaves, and can lead to a plethora of emotional and physical problems in high school kids.
If your teen is depressed, they may have trouble performing normal day-to-day activities such as getting out of bed, showering, looking after their dental hygiene, and engaging in regular activities. And sometimes, they may feel as if life isn’t worth living. In severe cases, depression can lead to suicidal ideation and attempts.
Depression is more than just a period of the blues or being sad over a breakup or friendship loss – and depression isn’t simply a weakness or a deficit, and kids can’t simply “snap out” of it or change the way they feel if they’re depressed. Depression may require long-term treatment from a qualified mental health professional, whether that’s a psychiatrist, mental health counselor, or nurse practitioner with the requisite online psych nurse practitioner degree.
Some teens develop what is known as anxiety disorders. It is important to note that everyone experiences the feeling of anxiety on occasion. Every day worries or mild anxiety can be even motivating — it can help teen kids with things such as getting to school on time or studying for an important test, or exam.
But in some teen kids, anxious feelings don’t go away, are way out of proportion to the situation at hand, and can have a negative impact on their lives at school and at home. High levels of anxiety affect teens’ ability to concentrate, sleep normally, and carry out ordinary tasks such as attending school, sports, or making friendships.
Having an anxiety disorder is not just a matter of feeling anxious sometimes. Teens with anxiety disorders have ongoing, irrational fears that cause them significant distress and stop them from doing things they want to and should be doing, like performing well at school and engaging in social and extracurricular activities.
Again, if you suspect that your teen has an anxiety disorder, it’s important to seek help from a qualified mental health professional who can assist them to navigate these feelings and explore solutions such as medication, therapy, and other treatments.
Some Signs that Your Teen Needs Help
There are some warning signs that your teen needs help for their mental health, which could point to either depression, anxiety, or even a major mood or personality disorder, such as bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, borderline personality disorder, or an eating disorder. These include:
- Decreased interest in activities they previously enjoyed, including sports, socializing, or creative pursuits
- Trouble sleeping, including insomnia, sleeping more than usual, or being overly fatigued
- Poor academic performance, falling grades, or school refusal
- Impaired self-care, such as ceasing usual grooming habits or not bathing
- Refusing to eat, or binging and purging
- Excessive anxiety, worry, or fear
- Grief caused by the loss of a friendship or romantic relationship, the death of a loved one, or another big life event
- Substance abuse beyond recreational dabbling
- Major changes in behavior that are out of the ordinary, such as excessive mood swings, anger, rage, isolation, and social withdrawal
- Violent and aggressive behavior
- Intrusive thoughts and obsessive and compulsive behavior
- Any sudden or unusual difficulties with memory or concentration
- Panic attacks
- Unexplained physical health issues, such as headaches, rashes, tummy upset, or pain
- Becoming verbally abusive to peers, siblings, or parents.
If your teen experiences any of these or a combination of them, it could be a warning sign that there is something wrong with their mental health beyond the usual moodiness of a teenager.
How to Support Your Teen’s Mental Health
As we’ve stated above, the most important thing you can do if you suspect your teen has a mental health issue is to seek immediate help from a qualified mental health practitioner such as a psychologist, psychiatrist, mental health nurse, or counselor. Your first port of call may be your primary care physician, who can refer you to an appropriate mental health support service. Once they see someone, it may be a combination of medication, therapy, and other support to help them get back on track.
Anxiety and mood disorders are typically treated with a combination of psychotherapy, delivered by a qualified psychologist, counselor, or therapist, and medication prescribed by a doctor or psychiatrist. The most common form of therapy for anxiety and depression is what is called cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). This therapy aims to change thought patterns that may be maladaptive or disordered and change the associated behavior that connects to the thoughts. It is evidence-based and effective at treating anxiety and depression.
Also read:
Why Group Therapy Benefits Teens
How to Choose the Right Therapeutic School
Image credit: Freepik
