AES#86 Mental Health & The Bumpy Journey of Teenagers

Mental health is something that we need to pay attention to, but is often overlooked. Particularly among teens, we’re busy doing this and that, and forget to invest in our mental health.

WHO: Mental health is a state of well-being in which an individual realizes his or her own abilities, can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and is able to make a contribution to his or her community.

Check out these teen mental health facts!

• 20% of adolescents may experience a mental health problem in any given year.
• 50% of mental health problems are established by age 14 and 75% by age 24.
• 10% of children and young people (aged 5-16 years) have a clinically diagnosable mental problem, yet 70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.

Problems That Are Common in Teenagers

• The feeling of inferiority when seeing their peers made an achievement.
• Self-consciousness and insecurity due to physical changes during puberty.
• Worried about everyday matters (e.g., school work, friendships, romantic relationships).
• Emotional instability due to hormonal changes.

Experiencing these problems is normal. However, these problems may grow into a disorder if someone doesn’t have proper protective factors such as a good support system, a good self-esteem, and financial stability.

Trigger Warning: Mention of Eating Disorders, Self-Harm, and Suicide.

Disclaimer: All information presented on our page is provided solely for educational reasons. If you are experiencing psychological symptoms, please consult a qualified doctor.

One of the changes that teenagers have to endure is the physical change. For girls, mostly, this can lead to body dissatisfaction, especially when society often expects girls to be thin without reminding them that increased body fat during puberty is normal.

If their concern with weight control and body image is excessive, they might develop eating disorders such as:

• Anorexia Nervosa : Self-starvation.
• Bulimia Nervosa : Binge eating, then excessively purging the calories through unhealthy techniques.

According to the WHO, around 62,000 teenagers died due to self-harm in 2016. Suicide is also the third highest cause of death among older adolescents (15-19 years), particularly in low-and middle-income countries.

Some of the risk factors include:

• Harmful use of alcohol.
• Childhood abuse.
• Stigma against help-seeking.
• Inaccessible mental health services.

Your mental health and wellbeing is just as important as your physical health. A good mental health and wellbeing enables you to function well, have meaningful social connections, positive self-esteem, and  enables you to cope with life’s ups and downs. 

Here are tips to keep your mental health: 

• Take time out.
• Get enough sleep.
• Feed yourself proper nutrition.
• Try to balance your work and leisure time.
• Spend time with your support systems.