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Almost 3 decades ago, the only factors that were a huge threat to a teen’s health were binge drinking, drunken driving, teenage pregnancy, cigarettes, and illicit drugs. Now, we see that those factors have been pushed to the side and anxiety, depression, suicide, self-harm, and other serious mental health disorders are taking over. Teenagers today struggle with asking for help because they would rather just suffer in silence, then seem weak to people to once called them strong. With teens not receiving proper treatment for their mental state, they turn to self-harming methods, which soon lead to death which is mainly caused by suicide. To help prevent these circumstances from happening, parents and loved one’s should look out for signs and symptoms that someone who struggles with mental health present. These symptoms and signs don’t always look like abnormal behavior. Many seem to be common in teens today, like excessive sleep or insomnia and loss of interest in activities that they used to once love. Some teens may even isolate themselves from people they once cared about. To prevent these actions from happening, someone who is close to the victim should try to have a conversation with them as soon as the signs are present. By having conversations earlier into the time that they symptoms begin to show, you start the process to prevent further damage that the teen may do to themselves. By showing that you love and support them is one step closer to coping with pain. The teen begins to see that someone around them cares. The conversation may lead to possible solutions to help them, such as counseling and natural remedies. Although these solutions may seem temporary, they allow the teen to have time to think and process their thoughts and emotions of self-harm and give themselves time to heal.

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Anxiety: A feeling of fear, dread and uneasiness.

Depression: A constant feeling of sadness and loss of interest, which stops you from doing your normal activities.

Suicide: The act of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally.

Self-Harm: Deliberate injury to oneself, typically as a manifestation of a mental condition.

Mental Disorder: Characterized by a clinically significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, emotional regulation, or behavior.

Mental Health: A person's condition with regard to their psychological and emotional well-being.

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What are the signs of a teen struggling with mental health?

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What are the signs of a teen struggling with mental health?

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A teen struggling with mental health would often show symptoms like changes in their behavior. For example, one may have shown interest in a particular activity and you may see them drifting away from it. They may also stop or find themselves unable to stop eat food, or you may see your teen start to sleep more or less. Although many teenagers go through this and you may just consider it "teenage mood swings", they are all possible signs of someone who struggles with mental health.

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How to discuss with a teen who may be struggling.

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How to discuss with a teen who may be struggling.

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Discussing how one's mental state is, is difficult. A teen could deny how they're feeling and come up with excuses for said issue. When confronting a teen who may be experiencing signs of bad mental health, it is best to be clear and direct. Instead of shying away from difficult questions, you should stay open to have a deep, meaningful conversation. When talking about one's mental health, you want the conversation to get to the point, but you have to be compassionate and gentle.

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One coping method for teens struggling with mental health is medication. The medication a psychiatrist can prescribe is powerful and effective. Although medication doesn't fully take away the pain one may be feeling, it allows the person to cope with their stress and thoughts easier.

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Natural remedies for coping with mental health are safe, but not always reliable. The way to have these be effective is to find the one that best suits your needs.

Natural remedies include:

Sleep

Intense exercise

Meditation

Breathing Exercises

Calling a friend

Walking outdoors

Journaling

Cold water on body

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Medication is risky. It can be addictive and have severe side effects on one's self.

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I didn’t really know what I wanted to do my project three research on. I was struggling to choose a topic, but then it struck me to stick with what I know. I chose to research what I want to do with my future, which is help people who struggle with metal health. During my research for project three, I came across many coping mechanisms that teens should try to use when struggling with their mental health. I have tried a few of these methods myself. Only a few had worked for me, but other methods may be suitable for different people. As a teen girl who struggled with mental health herself, doing research on this topic was informative for me on different things that I haven’t known. I was surprised to see how the things that huge threats to teens were lives 3 decades ago have changed severely. Instead of drinking and driving, which is still major, has been changed to depression and anxiety. On top of finding certain things interesting in my research, it was difficult to come across this information. I searched through many articles and saw that this one fit the requirements best. I plan to learn about how these different coping methods work with the brain. I am curious about how walking outside can help clear the mind, alone with putting cold water on the body. I hope to get more information and statistics of the number of deaths in teens caused by suicide and how many used these coping mechanisms while struggling. I want to figure out the most effective way to cope.

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https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/11/magazine/why-are-more-american-teenagers-than-ever-suffering-from-severe-anxiety.html

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/08/opinion/exercise-depression-anxiety-trauma.html

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This episode contains discussions about suicide, self-harm and mental health issues.
In decades past, the public health risks teenagers in the United States faced were different. They were externalized risks that were happening in the physical world.

Now, a new set of risks has emerged.

In 2019, 13 percent of adolescents reported having a major depressive episode, a 60 percent increase from 2007. And suicide rates, which had been stable from 2000 to 2007 among this group, leaped nearly 60 percent by 2018.

We explore why this mental health crisis has become so widespread, and why many people have been unprepared to handle it.

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C, a young person in Utah, started experiencing feelings of restlessness, depressions and anxiety as early as the third grade. Credit... Annie Flanagan for The New York Times

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Original audio from Kassie Bracken, Elliot deBruyn and Ben Laffin.

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Inside the Adolescent Mental Health Crisis

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Send any friend a story As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Anyone can read what you share. Read in app This episode contains discussions about suicide, self-harm and mental health issues. In decades past, the public health risks teenagers in the United States faced were different.