Do you know when your teen needs help?

Situations that can arise in the mental health of an adolescent:

Anxiety, Depression, or Panic

Pressures teenagers face:

• Anxiety about good grades or getting admitted to college.

• Need to excel in some sport, arts, or other extracurricular activity.

• Little rest and fun due to difficult schedules.

• Harassment (whether in person, through social media, or both) or any type of discrimination.

• Poverty, lack of opportunities,  lack of stability, and good nutrition.

Warning signs that may indicate that a teenager is facing mental health situations:

• Mood swings, irritability, anger, crying.

• Noticeable changes in sleep, weight, and eating or other daily patterns.

• Loss of interest in activities that they usually enjoy or abandonment of activities that they enjoy or greater withdrawal than usual from friends, family, and the community or cancellation of plans with your closest friends with little or no explanation.

• Academic difficulties that seem different or more intense: for example, failing tests in their favorite subject or refusing to do homework that once seemed easy.

• Constant thoughts or worries that don’t allow for peace.

• A whole new group of friends you've never met.

• Refusal to talk about what's bothering them, even after you've talked about how safe it is to talk.

• Obsession with a certain goal, possible with the belief that if they don't achieve it, their life will never be the same again.

• Signs of drug, alcohol, or other substance use or signs of self-harm such as cuts, burns, bruises, etc., that the adolescent tries to hide or cannot fully and credibly explain.

Having just one symptom on this list doesn't mean your teen is experiencing a full-blown meltdown, as there are also hormonal changes that all teens go through that can affect your child's mood, school performance, or behavior.

Coping Techniques Designed for Parents by the RI Wellness Foundation, when you identify that your adolescent child presents mental health situations:

1. Identify the problem.

2. Find information and get trained.

3. Seek professional help.

4. Communicate with your adolescent in an assertive way.

5. Create a support group.

6. Be positive in dealing with your child's or adolescent's crisis.

Contact us or visit our website so you can learn more about our Mental Health prevention projects.

Sources:

healthychildren.org

https://www.healthychildren.org/Spanish/Paginas/default.aspx