What are typical behavior changes to expect in a teenager? Adolescents become more frustrated and irritable since they undergo so many changes. It’s normal for them to get moodier when they transition from childhood to adulthood because they may have difficulty understanding the change in their feelings and emotions. However, not all behavioral changes are normal, and some might result in the teen’s mental health issues. So, how to spot the warning signs of your child struggling from an illness of mind? Remember that when shifts in a teenager’s personality get extreme, they may indicate a problem that needs to be addressed. Here’s what you should be looking for to spot mental illnesses:
- Feeling worried:
Teenagers often suffer from episodes when they are feeling negative. However, parents should start worrying if these episodes last for weeks and prevent teenagers from functioning properly. When an anxiety episode begins to interfere with your child’s lifestyle, it means that child isn’t well and needs help quickly. So, talk to your child, seek help on their behalf, and tolerate their mood swings. Hence, it’s not healthy for your teenager to suffer from fear, guilt, and sorrow for a prolonged period.
- Addiction problems:
Mental health problems often cause teenagers to engage in drug abuse. They will try to self-medicate themselves by consuming drugs, alcohol, and other substances. So, patients must contact substance abuse facilities such as Serenity at Summit to accelerate their teens’ recovery path. An illustrious rehab center can help your child fight withdrawal symptoms and overcome the addiction. Only then can doctors treat the underlying mental health condition that caused the addiction in the first place!
- Ignoring self-care:
Teenagers ignoring their self-care may indicate problems. For instance, some signs of mental illness among teenagers involve the child suddenly becoming uninterested in how they appear. If the child used to show some interest in makeup and trying different brands but now doesn’t seem interested in these things, it may be a cry for help. Some symptoms of mental health problems include the teen not caring about their hygiene. So, attend to your teenager’s needs and seek help on their behalf.
- Mood swings:
Every parent realizes that mood swings affect teenagers, and it’s normal for adolescents to feel often the exact opposite of what they felt a minute ago. Anything can frustrate them easily and may aggravate them because teenagers are hormonal. However, frequent mood swings may indicate an illness, and your teenager must be checked by their healthcare provider. If these mood swings aren’t happening because of any reasonable reason, then parents should start worrying about the child.
- Suicidal thoughts:
We’re going to mention some heartbreaking statistics now. It’s estimated that suicide serves as the second-largest cause of death among adults aged 15-24 today. Teenagers frequently adopt nihilistic ideologies and begin to revere thinkers like Nietzsche. However, parents should be worried when teenagers talk about or glamorize suicide. Suicidal thoughts indicate mental health issues, and parents must watch out for the signs of a child contemplating suicide in the future.
- Academic problems:
Some teenagers are stressed because of school-related challenges. So, is your son or daughter feeling down because of problems at school? Some teenagers are worried about their grades, and others are probably facing bullying issues. Academic problems can lead to your child changing their behavior, so stay updated about their day at school. Don’t think that your teen should face their problems on their own! Parents can address stuff such as bullying and harassment to help their offspring.
- Trouble sleeping:
Does your teen have problems sleeping? Your children may prefer staying awake after bedtime while engaging in interesting activities. However, parents mustn’t ignore the signs of insomnia when the child can’t fall asleep like other people. Statistics have revealed that almost one-fourth of all adolescents suffer from insomnia today. These sleeping problems can lead to your teenager getting too exhausted or pushing them towards drug abuse. So, assist your child in finding treatment.
- Difficulty concentrating:
Some teens have issued concentrating and can’t focus on even crucial issues. So, parents should see these matters as warning signs that their teenagers are suffering from behavioral changes. So, when your child gets easily distracted and can’t focus on their jobs, such as homework, it’s time to discuss these problems with them. Mental health issues can cause concentration problems among teens, so watch out for these warning signs. Don’t leave your child alone when they need your attention!
- Preferring isolation:
It’s normal for teenagers to seek some time alone from parents and prefer to be in seclusion. But an individual seeking too much isolation may indicate a decline in their mental health. One of the many signs of depression involves the patient seeking isolation. The patient can suddenly lose interest in a thing they used to enjoy before or ditch all their friends to spend time alone in the room. Remember that teenagers finding something else to do and changing their favorite habits is normal. You should get worried when teenagers abandon their esteemed activities and don’t replace their hobbies with anything. Hence, talk to your healthcare provider and seek help on your child’s behalf today.
- Eating disorders:
Teenagers often become obsessed with losing weight, and this obsession turns into eating disorders. These disorders include bulimia, anorexia, and other categories in which teenagers attempt to lose (or sometimes gain) weight to damage their well-being. In bulimia, for instance, your teenager will engage in binge-eating only to vomit everything out after dinner. Some teenagers may excessively fast or consume laxatives to control their weight. These disorders hurt your child’s health, and parents should look for the signs of the person suffering from these problems. So, don’t ignore it when a teen takes weight loss to the next level and starts acting out about eating.
Conclusion Mental health problems aren’t infrequent among Americans, and our teenagers are especially vulnerable. Surveys have shown that 44% of high-school students in 2021 were suffering from a continuous feeling of sorrow and despair. So, parents should look out for the warning signs of their teenagers being troubled mentally. For instance, they can have trouble sleeping, difficulty concentrating, and choosing to be isolated from others. They may also have suicidal thoughts, academic problems, and mood swings. If teenagers are going through addiction problems, then you should contact rehab centers to hasten your child’s healing. That’s how parents can prevent their teenagers from ruining their lives with addictions.
