Early signs of Adolescent mental health disorders

Anxiety, bipolar, or depression isn’t something that suddenly appears overnight. Depending on the circumstances, parents and teachers may begin to pick up on small behavioural changes. This could then, without intervention, develop into a more serious problem. So, it is vitally important to learn and recognize the signs and symptoms of mental health disorders to reduce the effects. When reading through the below list of signs and symptoms, try not to focus on two or three, which should raise concern, but if there are several, then seeking professional help should be a definite course of action.

How to recognize Adolescent mental health disorders:

• Take note of appetite and how a person is generally taking care of themselves. If you notice a drastic change, such as not eating, not sleeping or a downward spiral in personal care, this should alert you to a problem. Be aware of severe unexplained weight fluctuation.
• Noticeable, recurring mood swings that are severe.
• Isolating themselves, and withdrawing from social situations, especially from things they once enjoyed doing.
• Having problems focusing and concentrating, forgetting things, even problems with speech could be an early sign.
• A noticeable drop in grades as well as quitting things like sports or other activities they previously enjoyed.
• An increase in apathy, not wanting to participate in any kind of school or social activity.
• They may have a detached feeling to everything, things seem unreal and vague.
• Anxiety and nervousness that can produce a sense of paranoia.
• Behaviour that is uncommon. You will notice unusual or odd behaviour that is not normal for that person.
• Look out for recurring unexplained injuries, or self-harm such as cutting or burning.

When somebody has to struggle with more than a handful of these symptoms, it can lead to difficulties that affect all areas of life, at school and at home. Treatment for teenage mental health disorders should be sought by seeing a mental health professional. If it involves self-harm or suicidal thoughts, it is even more important to seek out help immediately.

What can you do?

The purpose of bringing awareness is to help those with mental health problems to cope in everyday situations, to be able to manage emotions and to help them to positively navigate difficult situations. In the end, everybody wants to be able to be a positive influence within a community. So, how can you go about promoting mental health awareness?

There are many ways to do this, such as within schools and communities itself or via media options. The focus would be on early detection and treatment to avoid more serious problems from developing. Improving overall mental wellness and promoting a more hopeful future.

Spreading the word:

• Organize free mental health screenings and raise awareness of the problem. This can be done at schools, community centres, or even the workplace.
• Take advantage of special days or months that promote mental health issues and wellness
• Leverage social media to help inform and educate

Awareness aims to help people understand that it is okay to come out and talk about the issue. By promoting mental wellness in schools helps youths realize it’s okay to talk about your problems and that it’s something you need to do to look after yourself. To help people understand mental health disorders and to help dissipate the stigma attached to it, so that those suffering can stop being misunderstood, feeling ashamed and isolated.

There is hope and nothing is more important than a support system that can get you through difficult times. That is why it is so important to get the help you need, to reach out to a mental health clinic that understands the importance of involving family in the healing process.

At ZwavelStream Clinic we understand what is needed for successful treatment and recovery, whether it is for anxiety treatment, Bipolar treatment for adolescents or for Depression treatment amongst others. The clinic website also offers information and resources to help you on your journey to recovery. If you do need help or have questions, you can easily contact the clinic for more information. We have a skilled team of professional psychologists and psychiatrists on call daily who are there to help you with everything you might need.