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Mental Health Stigma and Teens

Without proper treatment, mental health disorders can cause disabling symptoms, which can impact academics, social life, and relationships. Mental health stigma and teens is an unhealthy combination, as fears about reaching out for help can outweigh a teen’s desire to get better. Conditions like depression can cause you to isolate yourself from friends and loved ones, while anxiety can make it difficult to interact with others. Sometimes, it can be difficult to spot symptoms of mental health conditions, especially in teens and young adults. While mood changes are a characteristic of maturation and puberty, mental health disorders create invasive symptoms that interfere with your daily life.

Mental Health Stigma and Teens

20% of teens and adolescents struggle with a mental health disorder. Some of the most common mental health disorders that afflict teens include:

Mental health stigma and teens struggling with their emotional wellbeing can create significant barriers to recovery. Since many mental health conditions can get worse without treatment, neglecting emotional needs can make it difficult to live a healthy life. Struggling with depression, for instance, can lead to losing interest in hobbies and avoiding friends and family members. Teens may also struggle with communicating their emotions, especially if intense emotions occur without a direct cause. Other times, mental health stigma and teens experiencing anxiety can make it hard to reach out for help. Things like expressing difficult emotions, or asking for help, can trigger anxiety symptoms, which is why it’s important to offer support to your teen if they’re struggling to find ways to cope with overwhelming or troubling emotions.

How Mental Health Disorders are Treated

When you notice symptoms of a mental health disorder, early treatment is essential. The first step in the treatment process is obtaining a diagnosis, after which the focus becomes centered on developing an effective treatment plan. Like medical conditions, it can take time to find the right combination of therapies to alleviate and reduce symptoms of a mental health condition. That means that it may take a few attempts to discover which medications work best. Mental health disorders are usually treated with both medication and therapy. Therapeutic techniques, like cognitive and dialectical behavioral therapy, work by helping you identify and change negative thoughts, feelings, and behaviors. Understanding triggers is another important part of recovery. Triggers can be people, places, or things that aggravate symptoms. Learning how to cope with them healthily is central to mental health treatment. Holistic therapies, like meditation and Yoga, improve mood and decrease stress, making them an excellent way to handle triggers healthily.  

Finding Help Today

Mental health stigma and teens can create a toxic mix. Because stereotypes about mental health discourage teens from sharing their symptoms, it’s important to recognize symptoms of mental health disorders. But while mental health disorders can create a litany of symptoms, recovery is always possible. To find out more about mental health stigmas and teens, or to talk about our teen treatment programs, contact us today at [Direct.]