Mental Health for Teens: Challenges and Opportunities to Provide Support

A person’s mental health affects much of how they function in daily life. The same is true when we’re talking about mental health for teens. There’s a school of thought suggesting that mental health doesn’t matter; that whatever comes your way, you just need a stiff upper lip and to simply push through it or past it. Resilience is a good thing, but it must be part of a healthy approach to one’s well-being, which includes mental health.

Teens may seem quite carefree, with ‘seem’ being the operative word. Teens may not face the same challenges that people in other age groups do, but that doesn’t mean they don’t experience similar challenges, or challenges that are particular to their stage of life. Knowing what good mental health is, and how to nurture it can be helpful to teens and to their parents or caregivers.

Defining Good Mental Health for Teens

Mental health is about more than just whether you have a healthy brain or your mind is in good working order. One good way to think of mental health is holistically. It’s about your capacity to handle life’s adversities, how you view yourself, and how adaptable you are to life’s many ups and downs.

A person with good mental health can manage stress effectively. The ability to adapt to changes and challenges is also a sign of good mental health. You can be said to be in good mental health if you’re able to initiate and maintain fulfilling and healthy relationships with others. Making sound decisions that promote your well-being and help you accomplish your goals is also a part of having good mental health.

Other facets of good mental health include the ability to enjoy life and have a positive self-image. How you view yourself, and how you treat and relate to yourself, are all part of mental health. If you don’t value yourself or see your self-worth and dignity as a creature made in God’s image, it affects your mental health. It will impact how you treat yourself and relate to others.

Lastly, good mental health is also about having emotional resilience. That’s the ability to bounce back from hardship and weather the storms of life. Life will always give us lemons. After all, we live in a fallen and broken world. We experience loss, grief, rejection, disappointment, and many other things. The ability to go on despite these realities is called resilience, and it’s also an aspect of good mental health.

Some Challenges for Teen Mental Health

Having good mental health doesn’t mean you won’t face problems or that you won’t struggle. Rather, good mental health means that when you face those challenges, you’re able to face them well. You might get knocked down, but you’ll be able to get up again, and again, and again.

There are some significant challenges when it comes to mental health for teens. Teens face the same issues as adults, like dealing with the loss of loved ones or feeling overwhelmed by life’s pressures. They do, however, face issues more specific to their stage of life. As their parent or caregiver, there may be parallels to your own past experiences, which can help you empathize with them.

Some of the unique and main challenges that teens face that can negatively impact their mental well-being include the following:

Social and interpersonal dynamics Unfortunately, the teen years can be fraught with issues such as bullying, whether in person or online. Teens may experience, acutely and perhaps for the first time, peer pressure and the deep desire to fit in. No one wants to stand out for the wrong reasons, and that feeling is quite pronounced during the teen years.

Family concerns Teen mental health can also be affected by issues within their family. Examples include family financial difficulties that change their circumstances drastically, their parents getting divorced, or family conflict. Conflict can be a huge source of stress.

Academic pressures Teens also face enormous amounts of stress from exams, grades, working toward future career prospects, performing well academically, and participating in their extracurricular activities. Many young people also carry a burden for the future, and they want the world to change. This can become overwhelming.

Social media and technology Being connected to the world 24/7 via social and other media can be a huge burden. Not only is cyberbullying and the nastiness spread across the internet a thing to contend with, but there’s also exposure to highly unrealistic and damaging standards of beauty or fitness found online. This can feed deep discontent with one’s body or lifestyle, especially in this stage wrought with change.

Development of personal identity As a period of transitions and massive changes, the teen years are a time of trying to understand huge questions such as “Who am I? What do I believe in? What matters most to me?” A teen may struggle with their mental well-being as they wrestle with questions of their racial or cultural identity, and as they try to make sense of their sexuality or questions about their gender identity.

Might your teen be in poor mental health? Signs to Look Out For

When you live with a teen, you may get your fair share of surly responses, anger outbursts, changes in their behavior, adjustments to arrangements, and so on. They are growing up, and that means they’re renegotiating their place in the world. Friction can sometimes result from this process, and tempers can flare up. How do you tell the difference between this, and signs of distress in your teen?

Some of the signs that your teen might be struggling and not in good mental health would include these:

Reckless behaviors If your teen is engaging in risky behaviors such as self-harm (cutting, biting, scratching themselves, and so on), substance abuse (drugs, alcohol, or other substances), or being reckless with their own well-being through speeding or otherwise endangering themselves, that might be a sign of poor mental health.

Mood disruptions If your teen is experiencing irritability, persistent sadness, or mood swings that last for a long while, that might also point to an issue with their mental health. If they are experiencing excessive anxiety that prevents them from going to school or socializing with others, it’s a cause for concern.

Changes in behavior If your teen has changes that are sudden, drastic, and seem detrimental to well-being, it’s worth paying attention to. Such changes could include a loss of interest in activities they once enjoyed, marked changes in sleeping and eating habits that lead to negative life outcomes, or withdrawal from loved ones.

Signs of cognitive decline If your teen shows signs of their cognitive abilities being impacted negatively, they could point to deeper underlying issues. These could include your teen having difficulty making decisions, their academic performance declining drastically without an identifiable reason, or having difficulty remembering things, concentrating, and completing tasks.

Physical complaints If your teen has physical symptoms like stomachaches, fatigue, or unexplained headaches, these may suggest deeper concerns. That’s more significant if these ailments don’t respond to the typical treatments for them.

Providing Support to Nurture Your Teen’s Mental Health

Parents, caregivers, and other leaders have a positive, significant role to play when it comes to mental health for teens. You can play a role by being aware of how and why poor mental health can occur in an individual’s life. Notice things like:

• A family history of poor mental health and health disorders
• Environmental stressors like abuse, neglect, or trauma
• A lack of support
• Physical health issues, such as being sick or having a chronic health condition
• Hormonal fluctuations that come with adolescence

Being aware of what’s happening in a teen’s life can make a difference.

Parents and caregivers can provide support to their teen by being vigilant, empathetic, and proactively involved in their teen’s life. Learning about mental health for teens can help. Apart from being educated, paying attention and being observant so that you notice changes in mood or behavior also matters. You can slowly and gently introduce new, healthy habits, like good sleep hygiene, reducing time on devices, eating healthy, or getting physical exercise.

It can take time to break old habits, such as poor listening, overcoming past conflict, and a lack of understanding. Give it time and keep trying. It takes time and consistency to build trust. That consistency is not just showing up consistently, but showing up with love, patience, understanding, and a gentle truthfulness (Ephesians 4:15; 29). This creates a safe space for your teen to be themselves and a willingness to share who they are.

You can also use professional counseling for support. Your teen can go for individual or group counseling to address particular concerns, or your family can go for family therapy if there are dynamics that are contributing to poor mental health. Your teen’s mental health matters. Reach out and talk with a Christian counselor to help your teen work through their challenges and grow into the young person the Lord intends them to be.