Since COVID mental health has increased tremendously, especially in teenagers. According to the CDC, more than 44% of high school students reported that they have experienced persistent sadness or hopelessness since COVID, and more than a third (37%) of them have experienced poor mental health during the pandemic, Mental health can vary, and show up in teens in different ways, and in this article, we will discuss five major signs that your teenager maybe be experiencing mental health issues, and the help that you as their parent could provide to them.
The first sign of mental health issues within teens is conversations about death or suicide attempts. SAM Foundations said that depression is present in 72% of those who die by suicide. One of the ways that parents can tell if their teen is experiencing mental health issues is by depressive attitudes, like sadness or hopelessness, and if the teen speaks about dying or has attempted to take their life. To help parents can visit The Teen Suicide Prevention website or call the 988 Lifeline to speak to someone for more help, both outlets are available 24 hours.
The second sign is a lack of interest, especially if it’s hanging with friends or close family members. Healthy Children.org said that one of the biggest signs that your teen may be dealing with mental health issues is mood swings, loss of interest in things they love, or canceling plans with close family or friends more often than they usually would. In St. Louis Ferguson-Florissant school district expert Counseling Director Jennifer Lane, who has been in the school district for about 22 years, and was named Ferguson-Florissant 2021-2022 Advocate of The Year retweeted a post back in March of this year saying that we often like to tell people how they should feel when they are hurting, instead, we should share our perspective less, and understand their perspective more.
The third sign is restlessness according to Mental Health America or MHA irritability or restlessness is a symptom that parents should look out for along with a change of diet or eating habits. MHA does provide free mental health screening, where parents and teens can take the screening test online for free and it will provide in-depth information on how to help according to the results. Kids Health suggests that teens who have trouble with sleeping try meditating before bed, listening to music, or taking a warm bath or shower before bed.
The fourth sign is a short attention span or what the Mayo Clinic calls attention deficit, which they define as having difficulty with attention or focusing, impulsive behavior, hyperactivity, or a combination of these things. Some help or treatment for short attention span or attention- deficit is psychosocial treatment where once your teen has been medically diagnosed with ADHD, they can start treatments of learning how to socialize with others and develop learning skills that will help keep them focused.
The fifth sign is emotionally detached or showing little emotion. When your teen never expresses any emotion, especially to things they used to love, this is a sign that maybe your teen is experiencing mental health issues, and Mission Harbor Behavioral Health says “that there is a variety of reasons that most teenagers are reluctant to share their emotions, especially negative ones.” They said that in research they did they found that teens who do share their emotions feelings and thoughts are less likely to experience depression. On their Facebook just one day ago they shared a post of 5 Ways To Show Up For Yourself
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