The Trials of Parenting Teens with Mental Health Concerns

Perhaps the biggest problem of being a parent of an adolescent, particularly a teen that might be exhibiting symptoms of mental illness, is whether to consider your child’s behavior normal for the adolescent stage of life. For instance, your child is sleeping more than he used to. He hardly responds to your questions about his day at school, whereas he used to tell you in detail. He used to help with the yard afterschool. Now, every afternoon, he closes the door to his bedroom, hides away for hours, and remains glued to his Ipad. You begin to wonder about depression. But it’s not until you notice that his grades are dropping, that he’s having a hard time concentrating, and that his consumption of food has dramatically declined, that you decide to take him to see a therapist. Is it a mental illness or is it adolescence? Of course, if you have a concern about the mental health of your teen, regardless of whether you think it is “normal” for this stage of life, it is always better to seek professional help. Doing so will at the very least provide you with information that can point you and your child in the right direction. Sure, adolescence is a challenging time. Teens are attempting to discover their identity, searching for a sense of self in the midst of pressure and expectations from family, friends, teachers, parents, and mentors. Teenagers will typically experience discouragement, feelings of not fitting in, uncertainty about the future, an inability to meet the ...
Source: Mental Nurse - Category: Nurses Authors: Tags: Mental health adolescent mental illness Parenting Teens Source Type: blogs