Signs That Your Teen May be Struggling With Mental Health
By Nicole Chaudhrey, LICSW, Florida Team Lead
Being concerned about your teen’s mental health can be a terrifying and lonely experience for any parent. It’s often hard to distinguish normal teenage behavior from something more concerning, and to know when you just need to be supportive and patient, versus when you need to get outside help. Often, discussions about mental health are focused on diagnoses, but as a parent it’s hard to understand what “major depressive disorder” or “anxiety disorder” really mean in practice for your child.
In the Bradley REACH program, we see children and families that are struggling all the time. First of all, it’s important to trust your gut. Take seriously any behavior that causes you to be alarmed and to feel uncomfortable about them.
Signs of Struggle
Isolating can be a big sign that a teen is struggling. Not talking with you, staying in their room, sleeping all day and not eating are all worrisome. So is isolating from friends, or not having friends.
Issues at school can also be a red flag. Teens failing grades, avoiding school or being bullied are all problems that need to be addressed with school and possibly with outside help. Teens who are struggling often fail to pay attention, are easily distracted, and can be impulsive to the point of disrupting school, academic work and peer connections.
Social media can have a negative impact on adolescent mental health, but how they use it can also be a symptom rather than a cause. If your teen is using social media for hours on end, being overly influenced by it or using it inappropriately it may be a cause for concern.
There are also general emotional signs that something is wrong. If your teen lacks confidence or exhibits low self-esteem, is excessively worried or stressed, or sad, anxious or crying, it’s likely a cause for concern.
All parents should be aware of signs that their teen is self-harming by cutting or engaging in other self-injurious behavior. Similarly, it’s wise to seek help if your teen lets you know that they’re struggling with suicidal thoughts or have done in the past.
Finally, trauma can have a huge impact on teens’ mental health. Adolescents who have been the victim of a sexual assault, gun violence or other community violence are likely to struggle and need extra support. So are teens who have been impacted by the death or illness of a friend or family member, natural disasters or accidents.
Getting Support
Often parents feel hopeless faced with their teenagers’ mental struggles. It can be hard to know where to begin when you’re looking for support. Parents often worry about their kids and their families being “labelled”. It can feel like mental health care costs too much or takes too much time for families already worried about work and school. Many parents have had bad experiences of therapy and medication not working in the past, so assume that getting help won’t work.
But there is good news. Being aware of mental health resources in your community can reduce feelings of isolation and stigma and create a sense of community and validation. Just knowing that support is there can increase your mental and emotional well-being. That can have a positive effect on your whole family too.
It’s often a good idea to talk to school or to your family’s pediatrician to find out about possible resources. They can connect you to outpatient therapists, support groups, or intensive resources like Bradley REACH if needed. Also it’s worth knowing that getting help early, and close to home can prevent problems escalating to the point that your child may reach crisis and require an inpatient hospital stay. Please know that support is out there.
DISCLAIMER:
The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only. No material on this site is intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
If you or your child are in crisis or experiencing mental health problems please seek the advice of a licensed clinician or call 988 or Kids Link in Rhode Island.
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