TALLAHASSEE, FL - May is Mental Health Awareness Month.
It was founded by Mental Health America in 1949 to raise awareness about the crisis that occurs when we fail to address it early and effectively.
Family Therapist Jane Marks hosts this week's Teen Talk on Sunrise in 'Teens and Mental Health Awareness.'
Question: As a parent of five teenagers, I know that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Can you offer us a look at mental health issues from a teen perspective?
Answer: IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT TEENS TODAY HAVE SO MUCH TO MANAGE.
They are faced with demands and expectations at school, conflicts at home, and relationship problems, career choices, not to exclude other issues that crop up which would include divorce in many families, personal moves, financial demands, and blended families. When you couple this with their choices for managing stress which include drinking and driving aggressively, over shopping, overeating, overspending, over computer use, certainly mental health issues are likely to crop up. So for parents, key points for you to be mindful of are;
1. ONGOING CONVERSATIONS AND STAYING ABREAST OF WHAT'S HAPPENING IN YOUR TEEN'S LIFE is critical your awareness of their mental health.
2. UNDERSTAND THAT YOUR YOUNG TEEN MAY BE AT RISK FOR POSSIBLE MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES and so it is very important that you have a good relationship with their primary care physician in the event that there are either physical or psychological issues that may require some support.
3. BE ATTENTIVE TO YOUR TEEN'S BEHAVIOR. Red flags that should be noted include excessive sleeping beyond usual teenage fatigue, depression, substance abuse, loss of self-esteem, abandonment of loss of interest in favorite activities, unexpected and dramatic decline in academic performance; i.e. failing grades, missing school, weight loss and loss of appetite which could include eating disorders, personality shifts and changes such as aggressiveness and excess anger that are sharply out of character and could indicate either psychological problems, drug problems or sexual problems. Unexpected weeping or excessive moodiness is also important to look at. Expressions of hopelessness or worthlessness, paranoia, excessive secrecy, self-mutilation, obsessive body image concerns, excessive isolation.
4. RATES OF DEPRESSION AND ANXIETY AMONG TEENAGERS HAVE INCREASED BY 70% IN THE PAST TWENTY FIVE YEARS. This may seem like an epidemic of young people at odds with the world, but more importantly it just means that as parents it is important to be vigilant of these issues.
5. PTSD CAN BE A MAJOR TRIGGER OF DEPRESSION especially when an unexpected trauma has happened in the life of a young teen; the loss of a friend, a car accident. This can also trigger a major mental health reaction.
6. REMEMBER, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN NORMAL EMOTIONAL ADOLESCENT BEHAVIORS AND MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES occur when the emotional issues interfere with a young person's daily life.
7. PARENTS HAVE TO BE VERY CAREFUL ABOUT USING MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES AS A STIGMA. Basically what we are simply talking about is for the most part treatable. So to have an awareness of these kinds of issues is critically important given the fact that so many teenagers need our support during times when they are navigating identity issues, forming experiences and exposing themselves to life events.
8. PARENTS, PAY ATTENTION TO CUES. Pay attention to what potentially could be a mental health issue as opposed to self-discovery and rebellion.
9. RESOURCES TO BE AWARE OF INCLUDE; Kids Help Line, Headspace, Reachout.com, LifeLine and in our own community 211.
Hopefully these tips will bring awareness to a very special month but from a teenage perspective.
