Common | Be Authentic

The Most Common Mental

Health Issues

Mental health is a pressing issue that affects a large amount of the youth today. Mental health issues are nothing to be ashamed of and are incredibly common as seen in the image on the left. A large percent of the mental issues in teens are from one of the following disorders: depression, anxiety or stress.

Stress is faced by almost everyone on the planet - and can sometimes be a good thing unless it starts impacting your daily life. If stress becomes too much it can manifest into much more serious things. This may trigger anxiety, depression, withdrawal or drug and alcohol use.

Exercise and eat regularly.
Get enough sleep and have a good sleep routine.
Avoid excess caffeine which can increase feelings of anxiety and agitation.
Avoid illegal drugs, alcohol, and tobacco.
Learn relaxation exercises (abdominal breathing and muscle relaxation techniques).
Develop assertiveness training skills. For example, state feelings in polite, firm, and not overly aggressive or passive ways: ("I feel angry when you yell at me.” "Please stop yelling.”)
Rehearse and practice situations which cause stress. One example is taking a speech class if talking in front of a class makes you anxious.
Learn practical coping skills. For example, break a large task into smaller, more attainable tasks.
Decrease negative self-talk: challenge negative thoughts - with alternative, neutral, or positive thoughts. "My life will never get better” can be transformed into "I may feel hopeless now, but my life will probably get better if I work at it and get some help.”
Learn to feel good about doing a competent or "good enough” job rather than demanding perfection from yourself and others.
Take a break from stressful situations. Activities like listening to music, talking to a friend, drawing, writing, or spending time with a pet can reduce stress

To decrease stress, use the following techniques and behavioral attitudes which are all from “Stress Management and Teens” by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry https://www.aacap.org/AACAP/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/FFF-Guide/Helping-Teenagers-With-Stress-066.aspx

Build a network of friends who help you cope in a positive way.”
Stress is created in painful or difficult situations and triggers your “fight or flight” response. Once the changes which help us respond to danger have gone away and the danger has relieved, then we turn off our stress. This is called the Relaxation Response. This is the decrease of your heart rate and no more shortness of breath. By practicing the techniques mentioned above, you will have more management over and better develop your relaxation response. If you are facing stress, be sure to take the time to deal with it to improve your quality of life and stop yourself from being at risk of falling into something more serious.

Something which may, or may not, be triggered by stress is anxiety. According to https://raisingchildren.net.au/teens/mental-health-physical-health/stress-anxiety-depression/anxiety “Anxiety can include body signals like ‘butterflies’, a sinking feeling, tense or uncomfortable feelings, or ‘nerves’ and can be good in stressful situations but if it becomes ongoing and affects your daily life, this is a sign you may be battling with general anxiety disorder.

“Generalized anxiety disorder symptoms can vary. According to https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/generalized-anxiety-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20360803, they may include:

Persistent worrying or anxiety about a number of areas that are out of proportion to the impact of the events
Overthinking plans and solutions to all possible worst-case outcomes
Perceiving situations and events as threatening, even when they aren't
Difficulty handling uncertainty
Indecisiveness and fear of making the wrong decision
Inability to set aside or let go of a worry
Inability to relax, feeling restless, and feeling keyed up or on edge
Difficulty concentrating, or the feeling that your mind "goes blank"

Other physical symptoms may include:

Tiredness, feeling shaky, difficulty falling asleep, nausea, irritability, unexplainable sweating and body/muscle aches

However, in teens symptoms may be worrying over a sporting or school event or fitting in.

To deal with anxiety here are some simple steps to aim to work through:

Acknowledge your fear, understand it.
Encourage yourself to do what you are worried about, do it gently but by doing it you may be taking the first step in overcoming your fear.
Set yourself small goals about what you're anxious about, overcome it bit by bit.
Do not put yourself down or fuss if you take or avoid an anxiety generating situation

If you suffer from one of the strands of anxiety most common in teenagers, social anxiety, to better understand your symptoms and how this disorder affects you in daily life, visit this website https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/social-anxiety-disorder/symptoms-causes/syc-20353561

Finally, the most common mental health issue which affects around 300 million people is depression. Issues such as peer pressure, changing bodies and academics can cause ups and downs in teens, for those with depression, it causes more than just a normal down feeling. However, this feeling isn't something that can be overcome with willpower and will likely only get worse if left untreated. Treatments can help overcome depression and ease the pain of having to fight it. To help understand depression and how it may manifest itself, the following list shows the symptoms of depression.

Symptoms of depression:

Emotional function

Feeling sad, (crying for no reason)
Frustration or feelings of anger even over small

things

Feeling hopeless, empty, worthless, guilty, irritable
Loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities
Low self esteem
Fixation on past failures
Over self blame and criticism
Extreme sensitivity (to rejection or failure)
Need for excessive reassurance
Trouble thinking, deciding, remembering,

concentrating

Thinks that life and future is bleak, thoughts of

suicide and or death

Behavioral changes:

Tiredness
Loss of energy
Insomnia or oversleeping
Changes in appetite
Use of alcohol or drugs
Agitation or restlessness
Slowed movement (thinking, speaking)
Frequent complaints of unexplained aches
Social isolation
Poor school performance or absences
Less attention to hygiene or appearance
Angry outbursts, disruptive or risky behaviour, acting out
Self harm

If you think you are suffering from depression, do not try and keep it to yourself, symptoms won't get better by themselves, go to your pediatrician, seek help at school or just reach out to a friend.