A Guide to Teen Mental Disorders
Mental health is as important as physical health but sadly not many people understand the importance of it, until and unless they themselves face it or their loved ones. And this happens because a lot of people don’t know what is Mental Health and it’s importance thus let’s quickly have a look at what Mental Health is?
Mental Health – According to WHO (World Health Organisation) mental health is defined as ‘the state of well - being in which an individual realises his or her own abilities, can cope with normal amount of stress, can work properly without facing any issues, is productive and is able to make contributions to his/her community.’
Now that we know about what is mental health let’s have quick look at some important tips and knowledge about mental health when it comes to teens. With the ongoing pandemic and the increase in economic problems, teens are subject to degrading mental health conditions nowadays. Thus, it becomes extremely important for parents as well as for other to know more about mental disorders in teens, so that we can help them out accordingly.
#7 Mental Health Disorders in Teens that I needs to know…
Major Depression – Major Depression or Major Depressive Disorder or Clinical Depression is one of the forms of depression that has one of the most severe symptoms. Major Depressive Disorder is characterized by persistently depressed moods or loss of interest in daily activities also causing significant impairment in daily life.
According to a report presented by Newport Academy, one of the most common mental health disorders among teens in the U.S is depression. Further the report also mentions that cases of major depression have risen by 33% since 2013, and it is going to rise by 47% among millennials. (47% for boys and 65% for girls) And these numbers show that how teens are and will be greatly affected by major depression in the near future.
Some of the causes of Major depression are as follows:
Combination of biological, social and psychological distress.
Change in brain functions.
Altered activity of certain neutral circuits in brain.
Teen Anxiety – Anxiety (mild) is a feeling of uneasiness or nervousness. But when it changes to more intense anxiety it can turn into a feeling of fear, panic and dread. And when it comes to teen Anxiety GAD (Generalized Anxiety Disorder) is the most common anxiety disorder. And GAD includes excessive anxiety or worry over everyday events, and this type of anxiety also lasts for a prolonged period of time.
According to a report presented by www.healthychildren.org (National Institutes of Health) 1 out of 3 of all adolescents from age 13 to 18 will experience an Anxiety Disorder.
Eating Disorders (in teens) – Eating disorders in teens include Anorexia, bulimia, and binge eating disorder.
Anorexia – Anorexia Nervous or simply Anorexia is the disorder when teens don’t eat properly in order to lose weight (often try to maintain a below average weight) and achieve a perfect figure. Anorexia has the highest number of death rate among any other mental disorder which results from starvation, metabolic collapse, or suicide.
Bulimia – Bulimia Nervosa or simply Bulimia is the disorder when teens follow methods to avoid weight gain. People with bulimia have the habit of binge eating and also vomit out the food eaten in order to lose weight.
Binge Eating Disorder – People with binge eating disorder often end up eating food in large quantity unable to stop themselves from eating.
Substance Use Disorder – People with SUD (Substance Use Disorder) often tend to use substances such as alcohol, drugs, or tobacco in so much quantity that at a point a person’s ability to function in daily life becomes impaired. This disorder makes changes in the brain structure and function which causes people to have intense cravings, change in personality, and behaviour. This disorder can also have long lasting effect on the person’s behaviour and moods. Teens of tend to SUD because of the workload from school, office or even social situations at times.
Borderline Personality Disorder in Teens – Individuals (teens) with Borderline Personality Disorder lack a stable sense of self. People suffering from BPD have problems accessing emotions, have extreme emotional instability, and don’t often have a firm identity. They also feel chaotic, anxious and also end up being lonely, depressed and isolated thus having issues to mingle with others. And thus even simple and easy scenarios become difficult to handle for people with BPD (Borderline Personality Disorder). Also most importantly BPD usually develops in adolescence and young adulthood.
Some of the symptoms may include:
Fear of abandonment
Rapid changes in self-identity and self-image
Adaptation of impulsive and risky behaviours like gambling, unsafe sex, binge eating, drug abuse, spending sprees and so on.
Suicidal threats and wide range of emotional mood swings often hard to handle
Teenage Schizophrenia – It is often seen that Schizophrenia occurs in old people but here we are talking about Teenage Schizophrenia. According to National institute of Mental Health symptoms of Schizophrenia often starts to appear in individuals below the age of 30 and individuals with Schizophrenia have difficulty in processing personal emotions thus becoming completely detached from reality. Schizophrenia also causes changes in the brain structures, chemical make-up and processing abilities. People with TS (Teenage Schizophrenia) also have issues in understanding information thus unable to process later.
Teen Trauma or PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) – Teen trauma or Post Traumatic Disorder is caused when an individual encounters a tragic incident which leave a long lasting and dark impact on their minds. PTSD includes traumas of incidents of fire, accidents, crimes, child abuse, gang rape, loss of a loved one, and so on. PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder) can last up to days, weeks, months or even years. At times PTSD can cause an individual to draw away from the things or people that has caused them the pain and stress. They try and avoid places, incidents that can trigger the stress and anxiety caused by the past incident and if any such thing happens, then it also becomes quite difficult to calm them down.
Following these seven most important types of mental health disorder in teens, there are also some minor disorders like,
Narcissist Personality Disorder (NPD)
OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
Histrionic Personality Disorder (HPD)
DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder)
Gaming Disorder (GD)
Some of the causes of these personality and mental health disorder in teens can be:
Excessive use of technology
Peer pressure
Academic pressure
Excessive use of social media
Nature deficit disorder – Teens don’t go out much instead spend their time on screens
Immature prefrontal cortex
Fewer coping skills
Lack of reading and excessive exposure to various media and outside world of money and luxury.
Thus the above mentioned personality or mental health disorders are caused by the mentioned causes often but there are exceptions as well. And in order to keep your teenagers safe and sound make sure that your teenagers are not cooped up inside the house and have locked their eyes with the screens 24/7, instead make sure to give them a chance to explore the nature and make them understand the side and negative effects of being on the screen for long.
Ref: A Guide to Teen Mental Disorders | Newport Academy