preview

Mental Illnesses In Adolescents

Better Essays
Open Document

In cities around the world, teenagers and young adults alike constantly worry about their work, their future opportunities, and social contact with their peers and coworkers. They emotionally and mentally exhaust themselves over trivial matters due to society’s pressure to do well. With the constant feeling of stress, these individuals develop mental illnesses and disorders that immensely affect their behavior. These illnesses can range from anxiety disorder, stress disorder, depression, to even Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). However, unlike physical illnesses, many health professionals tend to disregard mental illnesses, labeling them as simply a figment of insanity. The lack of emotional and mental counseling for urban youth is detrimental …show more content…

Although some claim that medication is the most effective treatment for mental illness, the best way to treat mental illness is to employ the help of a therapist. Therapy allows a child to entrust someone with valuable information about their emotional and mental state, eliminating a feeling of alienation and loneliness. The most well-known therapy is called Psychotherapy, also known as talk therapy, in which the patient tells their therapist about the issues and worries they have in their life. Psychotherapy can help one “understand [their] illness, overcome fears and insecurities, identify triggers that may worsen [their] mental state, [and] establish a plan to deal with anxiety attacks…”. However, psychotherapy is only one of the many types of therapy. Therapy only helps if it properly caters to the specific mental illness and its effects may vary from person to person. Most mental illnesses take root in urban areas. These triggers range from schoolwork to witnessing death and drug overdoses. According to the Children’s Defense Fund Mental Health Sheet, urban youth is affected earlier: “Youth with past exposure to interpersonal violence (as a victim or witness) have a significantly higher risk for PTSD, major depressive episodes, and substance abuse/dependence”. Exposure to violence can cause trauma, …show more content…

According to an article titled Teenage Mental-Health Crisis by Geraldine Bedell, it states: “Rates of depression and anxiety among teenagers have increased by 70% in the past 25 years. The number of children and young people turning up in A&E with a psychiatric condition has more than doubled since 2009 and, in the past three years, hospital admissions for teenagers with eating disorders have also almost doubled / In a 2016 survey for Parent Zone, 93% of teachers reported seeing increased rates of mental illness among children and teenagers and 90% thought the issues were getting more severe, with 62% dealing with a pupil's mental-health problem at least once a month and an additional 20% doing so on a weekly or even daily basis”. The age group most affected by mental disorders are adolescents, more often living in urban areas than suburban. The majority of these adolescents are students stressed over exams, their future opportunities, social acceptance, and expectations placed on youth by society. Adults are aware of this, however, many do not employ help from counselors to speak to the troubled youth. Perhaps exams are unavoidable in the school system, but it is possible to console students and let them know that their test scores do not define them, listen to their troubles, and offer advice. A large fraction of the population does not realize that mental illness is not a joke. It is

Get Access