Happiness levels in adolescence are steadily decreasing. Adolescents are increasingly unhappy, anxious, and depressed. Of great concern is the fact that today’s adolescents are much more prone to self-harm, the development of eating disorders, or suicidal ideation.
Harvard Medical School warns of a child mental health crisis in the U.S., calling it a national emergency.1 In the UK, more than 400,000 children are treated monthly for mental health problems, indicating an unprecedented crisis of well-being and well-being among children and adolescents.2 Meanwhile, UNICEF reports a decline in mental health in Europe and points out that suicide is now the second leading cause of death among Europeans
Strengthening young people’s stress tolerance
These days, adolescent mental health is a social problem. If mental health disorders are not treated in adolescence, they will stay with the person into adulthood. As a result, psychological and physical health will suffer and one will not be able to make full use of the opportunities provided by life. This is not only a tragedy for the individual – it has enormous implications for families, society, the health system and the economy.
Problems affecting the mental health of adolescents need to be addressed immediately to prevent a growing adult mental health crisis. A whole-of-society effort is needed to improve the stress tolerance of young people. There are many ways to accomplish this goal.
The Role of Parenting
Parents play a key role in the prevention of adolescent mental health problems. Numerous studies prove that proper parental involvement in a child’s life, including adolescence, has a positive impact on their well-being.
Parenting methods are a significant factor. In particular, parental warmth and kindness have been shown to have a positive effect on a child’s psychological well-being, while parental disapproval and hyper-parenting reduce self-esteem and increase psychological inflexibility.
Overprotective care is rarely considered detrimental to a child’s health, but overprotection prevents children from learning to cope with anxiety-inducing situations. Overprotection, even with the best of intentions, can have negative consequences.
Overprotective, critical and dismissive attitudes of parents affect a child’s self-esteem.
Mental health disorders are usually inherited. For family members and caregivers, this means having to deal with problems related to their own mental health. This is to set an example to follow. Don’t be afraid to talk to your children/adolescents about their mental health. However, try to avoid labels. Replace the word “depression” with “sadness,” the word “anxiety” with “fear.”
Early Identification of Problems
Early identification, accurate diagnosis, and effective treatment of mental health problems in adolescents is critical to preventing mental health problems as adults.
Parents should be able to recognize children’s mental health disorders early and know what steps to take when a problem is suspected. All adults involved in an adolescent’s life can help by having a dialogue with them, knowing what signs to look out for, and being a role model for mental health.
Teachers and youth workers also need to be on the alert and teach young people the art of self-care well in advance.
Adolescence is often a time of confusion and loss of direction. All the adults in a teenager’s life need to actively listen to him or her. Creating appropriate spaces for communication can help with this. It is important to ask open-ended questions and to allow adolescents to speak up at home, in appropriate social interaction situations and in the course of their studies.
In addition, parents and caregivers should actively support the treatment plan. Research has shown that a caregiver’s involvement in the treatment of a child’s mental health problems has a direct impact on successful outcomes.
The Role of Education in Protecting Mental Health
Schools play a vital role in fostering favorable mental health and are uniquely positioned to work with all children. In addition, schools have fewer barriers to intervention compared to what is offered by society or the health care system outside of educational settings.
A sense of belonging to the school community, also called “connectedness to school,” is considered an important indicator of mental health.6 It is about relationships with teachers, school staff, and peers, and reflects how accepted, recognized, and involved students feel in the community.
Research shows that good relationships in school, including attachment to teachers, connection to school, and a sense of community, have a direct impact on good mental health and life satisfaction.
Authorities and private school educators need to revise educational policies to reflect the growing need for mental health supports. There is strong evidence that school interventions can improve learning outcomes, increase stress tolerance and self-esteem, reduce anxiety and depression, and prevent aggressive and challenging behavior.
A study of the effectiveness of a universal mental health program in schools in six European countries found that the program increased social and emotional competence and improved prosocial behavior, and reduced behavioral problems of internalizing and externalizing students.
UNICEF identifies five main areas of mental health promotion and protection in education and learning.
These include:
- Creating a supportive learning environment for good mental health and well-being
- Guaranteeing the availability of early intervention, mental health care and support for mental health
- Improving the well-being of teachers Improving mental health and psychosocial support (MHPSS) for educators
- Ensuring effective collaboration between school, family, and community to create a safe and supportive learning environment
Value of Mental Health Awareness Campaigns
Adolescent mental health is an important public health issue. Campaigns that raise public awareness about mental health play a key role in helping parents, caregivers, educators, policymakers and adolescents gain relevant knowledge and understanding about supportive practices.
For example, in the U.K., the Time to Change and Young Minds campaigns have been inspirational in supporting mental health. And the National Health Service (NHS) in London recently launched a new mental health campaign for young people called London, You Good?
Promoting better self-care
A fundamental starting point for addressing adolescent mental health disorders is to empower teens to take better care of themselves. Of course, this is primarily a task for parents, but it should also be addressed in public education policy and public health ideas. In addition, the issue of teen mental health would cease to be an embarrassment if discussions about it were commonplace in all extracurricular activities.
Parents should ensure that time spent watching TV does not exceed time spent playing sports, exercising or taking walks. Family dinners are also important, even if they don’t happen every day: Children who regularly sit down to dinner with their family experience less anxiety, are less depressed, have a more extensive vocabulary, tend to eat healthier foods, and have higher self-esteem.
Improving Access to Mental Health Care
One of the most important factors for parents, caregivers, and the young men and women themselves is understanding that it’s time to seek professional help. Governments have an obligation to improve the availability of mental health care. In most developed societies, we are much more likely to seek help for physical complaints, but much less likely to seek help for mental health problems.
Providing treatment as early as possible will allow young people to recover quickly so they can take advantage of their education, build positive relationships, get jobs, and generally live more meaningful and productive lives.