ORLANDO, Fla. (Ivanhoe Newswire) — Even before the pandemic, teens’ mental well-being had declined. The most recent CDC survey found 19.9 percent of all teens reported having seriously considered attempting suicide. Fifty five percent reported having experienced emotional abuse at home. The US Surgeon General says there is a “devastating” mental health crisis among American teens. Ivanhoe has details on a new guideline for parents on how to support their teens’ emotional and mental health.
Grades, friends, the future. There’s a lot that teens worry about.
Miami University student, Amitoj Kaur comments, “There’s been countless moments of depression, anxiety, imposter syndrome.”
Lakota West High School former student, Rachel Curry states, “Like everyone puts on a mask and not everyone is okay.”
More than one in three high school students experience persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness and one in six youth reported making a suicide plan in the past year. Experts say one of best things parents can do is talk to your teen about their emotions.
Brandon Stratford, PhD, MSW, Director of Education Research, says, “I just wanted to talk to you about how things are going. Even the new school year can be another great opportunity to say, you know, I just want to check in.”
Parents may also increase positive emotions and manage difficult feelings by getting their teens to follow SEEDS. SEEDS stands for Sleep, Exercise, Education, Diet, and Self-care. Practicing elements of SEEDS, such as self-care, which focuses on hygiene, can increase confidence, boosts self-esteem, and reduce feelings of sadness.
The SEEDS guideline was created by Mind Chicago as an emphasis for kids to take care of their minds by taking care of their bodies. According to the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, a new three digit dialing code is being launched July 16. It is 9-8-8.
Contributors to this news report include: Milvionne Chery, Producer; Roque Correa, Editor and Videographer
Sources:
www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org
TEEN MENTAL HEALTH CRISIS: HOW PARENTS CAN PLANT “SEEDS”
REPORT #2981
BACKGROUND: Adolescence is a time when physical, emotional, and social changes, including exposure to poverty, abuse, or violence, can make adolescents vulnerable to mental health problems. It’s vital to protect adolescents from adversity, promoting socio-emotional learning and psychological well-being, and ensuring access to mental health care for their well-being during adolescence and adulthood. It is estimated that 1 in 7 between the ages of 10 to 19 experience mental health conditions that go unrecognized and untreated. Adolescents with mental health conditions are particularly vulnerable to social exclusion, discrimination, stigma, educational difficulties, risk-taking behaviors, physical ill-health, and human rights violations.
(Source: https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/adolescent-mental-health)
TIPS, SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS: For many teenagers, pressure can lead to one or more of a variety of mental health disorders which are all concerning and some even life-threatening. Children should know that they can talk to you about anything, and you must be committed to initiating topics of concern and do so openly. Arm yourself with information about the most common mental health disorders so you are aware and able to discuss informatively with your teen. And be attentive to your teen’s behavior. Watch for symptoms like excessive sleeping, beyond usual teenage fatigue, which could indicate depression or substance abuse; loss of self-esteem; abandonment or loss of interest in favorite pastimes; unexpected and dramatic decline in academic performance; weight loss and loss of appetite; and personality shifts and changes, such as aggressiveness and excess anger that are sharply out of character and could indicate psychological, drug, or sexual problems.
NEW STUDY REVEALS DISRUPTED DEVELOPMENT: Researchers at the University of California, Irvine are conducting ground-breaking research into the concept that unpredictable parental behaviors, together with unpredictable environment, such as lack of routines and frequent disasters, disrupt optimal emotional brain circuit development in children. They are finding this increases the vulnerability to mental illness and substance abuse. “This perspective starts from basic principles of how the brain’s sensory — audio and visual — and motor circuits are established and refined, and we apply those to emotional circuits that govern reward-, stress- and fear-related behaviors. It’s not only positive or negative parental signals, but also the patterns of these behaviors and especially their predictability or unpredictability, that are linked to adverse outcomes such as poor emotional control in later life,” said Tallie Z. Baram, MD, corresponding author and UCI distinguished professor in the Departments of Anatomy & Neurobiology, Pediatrics, Neurology, and Physiology & Biophysics. Research involving infants and children suggests that unpredictable patterns of maternal behaviors are associated with later deficits in emotional control and behaviors. The team is continuing to build on their research.
(Source: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220602140807.htm)
* For More Information, Contact: Mind Chicago
Free weekly e-mail on Medical Breakthroughs from Ivanhoe. To sign up: http://www.ivanhoe.com/ftk
