Exploring Mental Health Challenges During Adolescence

The teenage years can be hard enough to manage without the additional challenges mental health conditions can present. Still, approximately 14% of the world’s teenagers experience mental health challenges daily; according to the World Health Organization, one in seven adolescents between the ages of 10 and 19 may experience a mental disorder. Leading causes of illness and disability among teens usually include depression, anxiety disorders, and behavioral disorders. There may be no single cause of mental illness, and it can affect anyone. For professional help with your teen’s mental health, consider working with a licensed therapist in person or online.

What is mental health?

According to the Centers for Disease Control, mental health can be seen as a generic term encompassing human social, emotional, and psychological well-being. A person’s mental health can affect how they think, feel, and act. 

A mental health disorder can be defined as a psychological condition that alters a person's mood, behavior, thinking, or perception. It can interfere with their ability to function in one or more areas of their lives. Adolescents generally establish the patterns they use for emotional regulation, resilience, and coping during their teenage years. Untreated mental disorders can interfere with that development. 

How does adolescent mental health affect mood and behavior?

• Mental health can alter how teens perceive themselves and others. It can impact their thoughts and ideas, including how they see the world and their place in it. 
• Mental health disorders may cause your teen to lose interest in activities they used to enjoy. 
• Your teen may start avoiding certain activities, places, or people. 
• They might feel increasingly isolated, misunderstood, or outcast.
• Adverse reactions to mental health symptoms and stigmas, such as shame, for instance, may cause teens to hide their emotional problems rather than seek help. 

Recognizing the warning signs of adolescent mental health concerns

Mental illness can look different from one disorder and individual to another. Still, there are some common warning signs psychologists recommend parents and guardians watch for in their adolescent children. These can indicate the need for mental health services:

• Anhedonia, the inability to experience pleasure, or a loss of interest in things they used to enjoy
• Persistently low energy levels
• Drastic changes in sleep patterns, including sleeping too much or too little
• Avoiding social contact with friends or family, or spending increasing amounts of time alone
• Intense fear of gaining weight; excessive diet or exercise
• Self-harming behavior, such as burning or cutting
• Using alcohol, tobacco, or recreational substances
• Engaging in risky or self-destructive behavior
• Cycles where they seem to have elevated energy and require much less sleep
• Delusional ideas and beliefs
• Hearing or seeing things others do not
• Feeling disconnected from themselves or reality in general
• Lingering feelings of worry, guilt, anxiety, stress, fear, sadness, worthlessness, hopelessness, or other emotions with adverse effects for two weeks or longer
• Trouble thinking or concentrating, leading to difficulty functioning at school, work, or in relationships
• Intrusive suicidal thoughts or behaviors

Common mental health disorders in adolescents

According to the United States Department of Health and Human Services, most adolescents with a mental health condition experience either an anxiety disorder, mood disorder, behavioral disorder, or eating disorder. 

Anxiety disorders (32% of adolescents 13-18)

Anxiety disorders, such as generalized anxiety disorder, tend to be the most common type of mental health disorder in adolescents. These disorders may involve overwhelming feelings of fear, worry, and uneasiness that can interfere with a person's ability to function in one or more areas of life. 

Mood disorders (13% of adolescents 12-17)

Many teenagers experience mood disorders and related symptoms. Major depressive disorder and other mood disorders can affect how your teen thinks, feels, and functions day-to-day. As a result, it can significantly affect their overall health and wellness. 

Behavioral disorders (9% of adolescents 13-18)

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is typically the most common behavioral disorder diagnosed in adolescence. This condition is often characterized by persistent trouble focusing or paying attention and impulsive behavior, with or without hyperactivity. 

Eating disorders (3% of adolescents 13-18)

While developing their sense of identity, many teenagers experience problems with their self-image. They may experience an overwhelming desire to be seen as thin and attractive, for example. Eating disorders usually involve abnormal or extreme food-related behaviors. These can include excessive dieting or binge eating, for example. 

Mental health risk factors in children and adolescents

In general, there are some risk factors to be aware of when considering your teen’s mental health: 

• Genetics
• Neurochemical imbalance and physical brain differences
• Physical, emotional, and social changes
• Exposure to poverty, neglect, abuse*, violence, or trauma
• Lack of sleep or nutrition
• Under-developed sense of emotional intelligence, awareness, or literacy
• Inadequate support or protection from caregivers
• Media influence
• Gender, cultural, and societal norms
• Quality of family and peer relationships
• Social isolation
• Stigma, exclusion, or discrimination
• Comorbid physical, cognitive, neurological, or mental health disorders 

How can parents support their adolescent’s mental health?

Consider these tips to support your child’s adolescent development and mental health. 

Model and teach healthy emotional regulation

It may be helpful to remember that you are your child’s first role model. Consider letting them see you using healthy emotional regulation, coping, and management skills. You could also offer age-appropriate lessons to help them recognize and name their feelings, understand how they affect mood and behavior, and communicate their needs and emotions to others. A strong sense of emotional intelligence has been linked with good mental health.

Foster emotional resilience, communication, compromise, and conflict-resolution

Well-adjusted, emotionally healthy adults tend to learn many of their skills in childhood and master them during adolescence. Consider teaching your teenager to build their emotional resilience, so they can bounce back after facing challenges. Communication can alleviate many aspects of a problem—or solve it altogether. Teaching teenagers the importance of compromise can help them balance empathy, disappointment, and negotiation. Learning these healthy conflict resolution methods now can improve their chances of forging successful relationships in the future.   

Provide children and adolescents with support and guidance

As your child matures, it may be beneficial to provide them with loving emotional support and guidance while giving them age-appropriate responsibility, boundaries, expectations, and consequences.

Practice and encourage daily self-care

Consider letting your teenager see you taking care of yourself. Encourage them to make self-care a part of their daily routine. 

Mental health services for adolescents

Most mental health services involve psychotherapy (talk therapy), medication, or a combination of the two. It can be essential to remember that not every mental health professional can prescribe medication, and medication may not always be the most effective treatment option. 

Potential treatment approaches utilized by adolescent mental health services

Depending on your teenager's diagnosable mental health disorder, one of the following treatment approaches may be used to help them manage the condition: 

• Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
• Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
• Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)
• Family Therapy
• Group Therapy
• Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)
• Mentalization-Based Therapy (MBT)
• Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT)
• Play Therapy
• Psychodynamic Psychotherapy
• Psychoanalysis
• Supportive Therapy

Benefits of online therapy in coping with mental health challenges during adolescence

Parenting can be difficult, and parenting teenagers is often considered one of the most challenging tasks for a caregiver. While traditional therapy can provide support, it can be difficult for busy parents to make time for these in-office appointments. Consider working with a licensed therapist online through a teletherapy platform like BetterHelp for the support and guidance of a mental health professional without the commute. Treatment can teach you valuable parenting, communication, conflict resolution, and coping skills to help you safeguard your own mental health, relate to your child, and maintain healthy family dynamics. 

Effectiveness of online therapy for youth mental health concerns

A growing body of evidence suggests that online and in-person therapy tend to produce the same client outcomes. Meanwhile, a 2023 meta-analysis investigating the efficacy of an online parenting intervention for parents of children and adolescents with mental health disorders found that “online parent programs have positive effects on reducing emotional symptoms in children and adolescents.”