Mindfulness Meditation During Adolescence

It is not uncommon to hear stories about a teenager experiencing mood swings and rebelling against those in authority. Nor is it uncommon to experience general sadness or anxiety in high school and college. However, it is often difficult to tell the difference between normal teenage angst and clinical depression. It is not commonly known that there has recently been a staggering rise of depression in adolescents. According to the National Institute of Mental Health, one in twelve adolescents in the United States suffer from depression, which is 8.3 % of the teenage population. In order to combat the problem of adolescent depression, it is essential that parents take an active role in their adolescent’s life by both acknowledging and

It is often believed that only adults experience stress and anxiety, however stress is something that does not have an age requirement. Adolescent stress and anxiety are important health issues that often go unnoticed. Early adolescence is defined, as a period between 11 and 14 years of age (Carlozzi, Winterowd, Harrist Thomason, Bratkovich, & Worth, 2010, p. 446). These years are usually marked by rapid changes. For most students, stress can stem from puberty, new demands of school, changing peer relationships, and responsibilities to families. Not to mention, early adolescence is period of development where identities, social skills, and personal values are being established.

This topic came from the thought that depression is something that all of us have experienced at some point in our lives. It focuses on adolescents because during this period we are young and vulnerable and may not know how to cope with situations or circumstances that may lead us into depression. Factors such as going through puberty and issues at home with parents can all cause depression. This paper will talk about what is depression, how families can affect depression in the child, and how depression can lead to long term effects.

The Mental Health Commission of Canada estimates ‘up to 70% of young adults living with mental health problems report that the symptoms started in childhood.’ (Bartram et al., 2012) In a study that investigated the incidence and prevalence of depression among adolescents, it was determined that ‘by age 21, the lifetime prevalence of at least one episode of depression was

Adolescence is a critical time of development. During this period there are significant changes in brain development, emotions, cognition, behavior, and personal relationships. It is during this time that most major mental health disorders appear, many of which carry over into adulthood. Behavior patterns such as substance abuse also often develop during this time and may continue throughout adulthood. Many adolescents struggling with mental health issues begin to exhibit symptoms such as acting out at home or in school, showing a decreased interest in activities that they previously enjoyed, or bringing home poor grades. Others ultimately are charged with offenses ranging from status

Mindfulness should be taught in schools because it has been found to have a positive impact on the students ' mental well-being as mentioned above, as well as having positive impacts on a wide range of physical and mental health conditions, on learning and cognition, and on emotional and social skills and wellbeing among adults, according to Katherin (2012). Very little research has been done about mindfulness among the young people as compared to among the adults, with studies carried out so far having some methodological limitations such as limited use of control groups or randomization and small numbers, which result in tentative conclusions. Nevertheless, work is growing rapidly and the results are promising which suggests that mindfulness in schools is well worth doing.

This is an experimental study to test if teens with mood disorders have fewer symptoms when they practice P.E.A.C.E.? PEACE is an acronym for a mindfulness practice attending to the breath, body, thoughts, and emotions. P is for pause; E is for exhale; A is for acknowledged; C is for choice; E is for engage. Mindfulness has the potential to have a impact on teens with mood disorders by enhancing awareness, self-management, self-acceptance. Meditation is used in clinical practice for adults to treat a variety of mental and physical health issues but no current data was found on the effectiveness of teens with mood disorders practicing PEACE in a school-based therapy session. Using these same concepts, the hypothesized

Stress and anxiety affect a large segment of the child and adolescent population. Numerous stressors from a wide range of domains contribute to the current levels of subclinical anxiety and diagnosed anxiety disorders. Without effective coping strategies, the cumulative effect of these stressors can lead to the clinical diagnosis of one or more anxiety disorders. Left untreated, these disorders can carry severe long-term consequences, including social, cognitive, and academic impairments. Furthermore, these deficiencies can lead to significant limitations in adulthood, such as reduced career choices, substance abuse, and an increase in the use of both mental and physical health care.

The National Comorbidity Survey Replication advocates that many mental health issues emerge during childhood and adolescence with half of all lifetime mental illnesses starting by age 14 (Kessler et al., 2005). Therefore, children and adolescents experience high rates of mental health disorders. This is especially concerning because only a small number of these children receive treatment. The underutilization of services has significant implications considering that child psychopathology may be a risk factor for future problems such as substance abuse, academic difficulties, health problems, and adult psychopathology (Turner & Liew, 2010).

What would the world be without emotion? There is one indisputable fact that can not be ignored especially when it comes to those in their adolescent years. The fact of the matter is emotion plays a massive role in one's quality of life. Surely one can appreciate positive emotions such as; joy, peace, excitement, and gratitude, but what becomes of those who lack these positive emotions? Unfortunately, adolescents all over the world have been struggling with overwhelming emotions that are far from positive. These emotions tend to be occasional unwanted feelings but soon reside as habitual moods. The abundance negative emotion that harbors in the minds of those in their teen year has risen to an all-time high, so why is something so obvious seen as a false and even imagined issue? All too often adults advise teens and even each other to put into practice the phrase “Mind over Matter” which suggest using the power of a strong mind to overcome the matters of the negative world in which we inhabit. Although this phrase may be a meant as well-meaning pick me up it may only be a constant reminder of a void in one's mind in which no one seems to think matters. Perhaps the issue with the phrase “Mind over Matter” is the fact that it does not actually matter how strong a person's mind is, but rather how strong the support system of those suffering from the overload of negative emotion known today a depression.

A practice of mindfulness meditation focuses deliberate attention to breathe, feeling or experiencing the body without judgment, and removes the idea of attempting to change any of the thoughts or feelings (Atkinson, 2013). This type of focus allows for more openness, acceptance, compassion and empathy of the self and others (Siegel, 2007).

Anxiety and depression (internalizing problems) have increasingly become an issue in youths, with nearly 20% of youths across the world suffering from some form of psychiatric disorder (Eisenberg & Neighbors, 2007). In addition to being widespread, these mental health problems have proven strongly debilitating and impairing for youth quality of life (Costello, Mustillo, Erkanli, Keeler, & Angold, 2003) and positively associated with poor academic achievement and increased suicide risk (Gould, et al., 1998). Moreover, the impacts of these issues on youth mental health carry over into adulthood (Weissman, et al., 1999) and adults who experienced psychiatric problems as children display poorer lifelong functioning if the onset of the problem was earlier in life (Copeland, 2015). As such, it is imperative that researchers develop a better understanding of the risk factors associated with the development of internalizing problems in youth populations.

Adolescence is a stage of maturation between childhood and adulthood that denotes the period from the beginning of puberty to maturity. However, many conflicting opinions are raised about weather such a stage of childhood is influenced by stress, depression, and suicide rate. Some people support the optimistic view that says that adolescence is not a period of storm and stress. Others, including me, support an opposite pessimistic view which characterizes adolescence as a period of stress and inner turmoil. Unfortunately, it has been recently proved that depression is a growing problem in today 's society and a major contributing factor for a multitude of adolescent problems. This is because , as research indicates, adolescent depression

Adolescence is a time for great change in this region with development continuing until age 25. The large changes in adolescence might explain why depressed patients often report their teenage years to be the onset of their condition (Porth 1371). This is why early childhood stress or trauma is so detrimental to the developing brain and detrimental to it’s optimal functioning later in life.

Adolescence is the distinct transitional stage between childhood and adulthood in human development, extending primarily over the teenage years and terminating legally when the age of majority is reached (Rathus, 2014). However in some instances, this biological, cognitive, social and emotional maturity may not be reached until a later stage and may be dictated by gender. Adolescence is characterised by rapidly changing and unpredictable behaviour (Freud, as cited in Rathus 2014), heightened and unstable emotions (Hall, as cited in Rathus 2014), disturbances in identity, the gradual development of one’s moral reasoning (Kohlberg, as cited in Rathus, 2014) and the gradual establishment of one’s independence. Several of these changes may occur at differing phases in adolescent growth. This development is categorized into three separate stages; early adolescence, middle adolescence, and late adolescence. Early Adolescence, commencing from the ages of eleven or twelve until the age of fourteen, comprises of several features such as rapid biological development and maturity, heightened stress levels and limited coping capabilities. On the other hand, middle adolescence, from the approximate age of fourteen to sixteen, involves the gradual cease of biological change, an increase in coping strategies and declined stress levels. Furthermore, late adolescence, commencing from the age of sixteen until the age of eighteen or nineteen, encompasses physical maturity, whereby the