Mental health in your average, everyday teen
You’re standing in the hallway looking for a place to eat lunch, when you get a sinking feeling in your stomach. You start to shake and feel as though your walls are crumbling down. Your eyes are watering and if just one person says ‘hi,’ you’ll burst into tears.
Here’s the catch, you have no clue why you’re having a panic attack.
Now, this is just one person’s point of view. Mental health is a growing topic, it’s recently become more accepted, but it’s also more common. Being someone with such issues, a point of view from your average teenager, may be helpful.
As someone who struggles with it, shedding some light may be useful, not only to teens but to their parents as well.
As a teenager, life is pretty complicated. Adulthood is just around the corner and you’re finding out who you are and what you want to do with your life. No pressure, but there’s something else, too: Suzy talked to John even though you told her not to. How dare she.
Seriously though, it’s a stressful time, but you aren’t the only one. Think of it this way: a teenager has a lot of stressors (not that adults don’t), then you add on a mental health problem. It makes it hard. You tend to then lose focus in class and sometimes can do the wrong thing. The wrong thing isn’t always drugs or something along those lines, it could just be unknowingly hurting your family. Honestly, it happens a lot. It’s when all of a sudden, everything is too much to deal with, and you start falling down an endless pit.
A key point is to simply recognize it.
Recognize when you’re starting to slip.
This isn’t just for one kind of situation, but for everyone. Of course, it can be hard, but usually you can feel it. When you do, talk about it. It can be anyone, a friend, family members or someone you trust.
Also important is, don’t hide in your room. Go and eat dinner with the family. Do something you enjoy. That’s something no one could recommend more, go do the things you love.
However, you may say “she’s not a doctor.” Correct. ‘She’s’ just a teenage girl who knows, from experience, that this helps tremendously. So maybe, get it off your chest, don’t overthink it and distract yourself. Lean on the ones who love you, and don’t be afraid of asking for help. Yes, yes you’ve heard it a million times, but what do you have to lose?
Additionally, family members, support your teen. Ask them if they want to go for a walk when they look like they’re feeling down. Better yet watch their favourite movie with them. There’s nothing better than to sit down watch the best movie in history and eat popcorn.
OK so you’ve done those things, now what? Repeat. It seems that every so often you will fall down a hole, you just need to keep climbing back up. It’s hard, it sucks, but it’s worth it! Remember you aren’t alone. There are thousands of people with mental health issues. After all, mental health isn’t just one thing. There are so many things out there, anything from depression, to eating disorders, to schizophrenia. Now, these all sound scary, and they are, but here’s the thing, if you have one of these, it’s not your fault. It’s a chemical imbalance in the brain. You didn’t choose this. Stay strong.