Anxiety Disorders In Teens

In the United States, suicide is the third-leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide; 13.6% made a suicide plan; 8.0% attempted suicide; and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way suicide is handled in today’s society. In order to alleviate the devastating consequences of teenage suicide, it is important to get at the root of what causes it all: mental illness. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Protection (2013), mental illness is the imbalance of thinking, state of mind, and mood. Approximately 90% of all suicides are committed by people with mental illnesses (NAMI, n.d.). This shows that there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide. If mental illnesses are not treated, deadly consequences could occur. It would make sense that if there is a correlation between mental illness and suicide across all ages, the same should be thought for adolescents. Approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009). If mental illnesses are not found and treated in teenagers, some of them may pay the ultimate price.

In the United States, suicide is the third leading cause of death for 10 to 14-year-olds (CDC, 2015) and for 15 to 19-year-olds (Friedman, 2008). In 2013, 17.0% of students grades 9 to 12 in the United States seriously thought about committing suicide, 13.6% made a suicide plan, 8.0% attempted suicide, and 2.7% attempted suicide in which required medical attention (CDC, 2015). These alarming statistics show that there is something wrong with the way mental illness is handled in today’s society. Also, approximately 21% of all teenagers have a treatable mental illness (Friedman, 2008), although 60% do not receive the help that they need (Horowitz, Ballard, & Pao, 2009).

The rate of suicide, the act or an instance of taking one's own life voluntarily and intentionally, increases each year. “More adolescents die each year from suicide than from cancer, heart disease, AIDS, birth defects, stroke, pneumonia, influenza, and chronic lung disease, combined” (Preventing Teen Suicide, 2016, p.2). These facts show suicide is a serious problem among teens. Last year, teen suicide became the second leading cause of death in the United States confirming the significant increase in teen suicides.

Yet researchers and mental health professionals cannot pinpoint why the rate has climbed, and they know little about what causes someone thinking about suicide to attempt it. As a result, suicide-screening tools are not very effective, and most school-based suicide-prevention programs may not reduce teen suicides. But researchers are hopeful that new studies, including large trials of three kinds of psychotherapy in adolescents, will help in understanding teen suicide and lead to better identification and treatment of high-risk teens. Meanwhile, many states are requiring instructors to be trained to recognize and respond to potentially suicidal students. Also, researchers have begun studying into physical brain characteristics that could be connected to teen suicide. It’s difficult to pinpoint why exactly suicide death rates have risen among teenagers. But Kelly Posner, a professor of medical psychology at Columbia University, says possibilities include a growth in social media and cyber bullying; a drop in antidepressant use after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2004 required antidepressant labels to carry a warning of possible suicide risk for children and adolescents; and the weak economy. There have been many reports on young teens that post online their last message, and

One out of every twenty teenagers in the United States suffers from an anxiety disorder. Everyone becomes anxious once in awhile, but a teen with an anxiety disorder is constantly anxious. Teenagers who suffer from an anxiety disorder have excessive worry or fear. In today’s society, teenagers suffering from an anxiety disorder are becoming more frequent. Unfortunately, not all teenagers with an anxiety disorder are not diagnosed. Most parents don’t see that their child is struggling, leaving the teen to continue down this lonely, rocky slope. There are multiple anxiety disorder commonly found in teenagers, such as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, and social anxiety disorder.

Anxiety Disorders are a common phenomenon in children and adolescents. Research studies have identified both a biological and environment bases as well as the interplay between risks and protective factors determine the development of anxiety disorders. It is relevant that intervention strategies are research-based, as this will ensure the implementation of effective treatment plans. Because of managed care enterprises, it is essential that intervention strategies utilized are researching-founded; and social workers must familiarize themselves with current research subjects. O 'Hare, (2005 p. 396) suggests, "There is a combination of interacting genes, temperamental, parental/familial, psychological and situational factors, parental/familial, psychological and situational factors contribute to the development and maintain of anxiety in youngsters. Generalized anxiety disorders develop as the genetic and environmental factors interact and create high anxiety levels in children and adolescents.

Data gathered from responses to a popular personality test called the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory, or MMPI for short, and analyzed by researchers from five different universities shows that there is as many as five times the number of teenagers suffering from anxiety and depression as there were in the early twentieth century. The exact cause of the sharp incline in identified mental disorders amongst our youth is still yet unknown. In order to curtail the escalating numbers we must identify the underlying issues that result in these troubling mindsets.

If not recognized and treated it can affect their relationships and schoolwork. Teens suffering from anxiety disorders may begin to feel anxious even when they are not having anxiety attacks. The mere fear of having another episode of anxiety attacks can make their lives miserable. They will learn to avoid going to school or avoid daily situations that may trigger another anxiety attack. This pattern of avoidance and fear of future attacks if not treated can develop into depression and other problems. Proper handling of anxiety problems is important if you want to help teens suffering from anxiety disorders to overcome their anxiety

There are many different disorders associated with anxiety ranging from generalized anxiety disorder to specific phobias. These anxiety disorders affect an alarming thirty-one percent of teens between the ages of thirteen and eighteen according to a study done by the National Institute of Mental Health. Being one of the most common psychiatric disorders in adolescents, many still go undiagnosed and untreated.

Anxiety is very common in teens, On August 30th 2015 two friends and their moms were on their way to their hotel from a One Direction concert. They waited a very long time for the People Mover, a public transportation rail system, to arrive at the Greektown station. A police officer directed traffic onto the jammed packed car by trying to push the mothers onto the people mover. The moms wanted to wait for the next car hoping it wouldn’t be so crowded. The police officer ignored them and shoved the moms onto the train, the girls who followed behind them quietly were not able to make it in time.

Anxiety has a main definition; a feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease. Although, it has its single definition, each person diagnosed with anxiety has different symptoms. With that, some have more severe cases of the actual diagnosis. It has been noted that anxiety has had an increase in teens recently. In the last 30 years, the statistics for anxiety in fifteen to sixteen year olds have doubled for both girls and boys (“Increased Levels of Anxiety…” 1). It is said, “in societal moments like the one we are in…it often feels as if ours is the Age of Anxiety”(Henig 1). Anxiety affects teenagers profusely because the emotions of a teenager are more vulnerable than those of an adult. The brain of a teenager is not fully developed and the

Have you ever felt scared of school? How about to the point where you physically can’t make yourself go the next day? This is a large problem that a lot of teens face during their high school lives. This is called anxiety; A natural human response to a hazardous or tense situation (Nadelson). Teens with anxiety often are reluctant to come to school, have low grades because of said truancy, and seem to feel sick often, along with many more symptoms. Students with strong anxiety tend to be less productive and have low grades, despite how “smart” their teachers and parents claim that they are. Teens can beg and plead at home to stay home, even as often as every day. They can tend to be more reclusive, living in fear of their anxiety acting up again (“Ending School Avoidance”). Anxiety is a serious problem for teens, but there are ways of coping and strategies that are open for teens to use to help solve their problem.

The New York Times article revealed that there’s an increasing number of teenagers suffering from severe anxiety as a result of several factors. Some of these factors include the increasing standards to succeed in this society as well as the advancement of technologies in the past decade.

Several factors, emotional and physical, can contribute to a teen’s decision to take his or her own life. Adolescent suicide rates have no doubt risen over the past 50 years, but the question is, why? As our world continues to advance decade by decade, modern-day teenagers experience problems that are quite different than those faced by teens from previous generations. One distinct, modern influence of teenage suicide is social media. Naturally, most teenagers today own or have access to a smart phone, computer, or other device that can be used to connect to the internet and view a countless number of social websites. Social media can be entertaining and a fun, fast way to connect with friends and family, but it also has its

Teen depression and anxiety are very real things. We at Lifeline For Youth want to make sure you have some of the facts you need to know about how to help your teen with depression or anxiety. Let's break down some fact and fiction about these conditions and learn how to identify depression in teens and how to help your teen deal with anxiety.