Teens speak about mental health challenges

We all go through problems, but teens often are overlooked when it comes to our mental health. When a child goes home saying they are stressed, often the parent or guardian will belittle them saying “Stressed about what? You don’t pay rent, you don’t work, you’re lazy.” These words may seem little or insignificant but the teen will start thinking it’s their fault for all the stress they are getting. They will start blaming themselves and feel like what their parent/guardian said is true, which will start causing them to have even more stress. 

I interviewed a number of JMS students about their mental health.  For their privacy, students have asked to remain anonymous.

A very common issue in teen life is anxiety. Many middle school students deal with it and many teachers don’t take that in mind. Teens get pressured into having to give an answer in class. Teachers believe “If we make them talk, they will learn” but do they really learn? Or does it just make them even more anxious?

Teachers aren’t the only reason why some teens feel anxious; many feel this way in many different subjects. When a student doesn’t know anything they are afraid of failure. They are afraid they will go home and disappoint their parents. All this thinking can cause a kid in school to do bad and lead them to the wrong path.

Once the kid goes in the wrong path things at home can also get difficult. An example is the parent/guardian will say “You have to try harder. If you don’t you won’t grow up to be an achieving person.” The kid will respond with “I am trying.” But no matter how much they try, their efforts don’t please their parents, which will slowly make them give up. 

Another reason why so many teens start to face a lot of issues at a young age is because they are insecure about the way they look. Because of social media, many teens compare themselves to others and may start doing self harm. Some examples are if a kid sees someone with a perfect body they might start starving themselves.

It’s important to always check up on everyone, even if it seems like they are doing okay in life. No matter how much or how little someone has in life they can still be suffering in silence. Sadly, depression and suicide are also very common among teens. Many people think it’s simple to know who’s dealing with depression, but in reality the happiest person ever could be dealing with it. For example, let’s say your best friend might seem cheerful all the time but have you ever wondered what it might be like to be in their shoes? Have you ever had deep talks with them about how they are doing? Check up on the people you know because you will never know if there will ever be a tomorrow with them.

Anxiety, depression, suicide, insecurities, shame, etc are all things teens face. It’s important to bring awareness and tell everyone about these issues because WE are the future. Teens cant keep getting overlooked just because of their age. Parents and teachers have to learn how to talk to a child, how to gain their trust without adding pressure to them. Being draconian and strict on a child isn’t going to teach them how to deal with real-world problems. It’s just going to make things worse – they will start believing everyone is against them and that nobody can be trusted. Learn how to teach a child to deal with emotions, help them know they are worth living, help them know they are important and needed in this world. Because there is nobody else as unique as them.