Stress in Teens Causes Mental Health Dysfunction

People are stressed all the time. Although, a lot of those stressful situations are felt by a teenager, proper management must be done to help the teenager cope up effectively. When stress enters the system and the mind can no longer handle the effects, mental health dysfunction can occur.

It doesn’t necessarily mean that the brain will stop working. However, it will not work as normal as it can be. There are a lot of stress factors that causes a person to feel discouraged and misunderstood. It might be a loss of a loved one, a massive surprising change in his life, being bullied or teased all the time, home problems and difficulties and school problems can bring so much stress to an adolescent.

What are the causes of stress?

It is a fact that most of the stressors in a child’s life are those which can’t be easily recognized by the guardian or the parent. These include:

• First time or new time events like shifting from primary to secondary schooling, moving to a room that makes the child uneasy, meeting a new teacher that makes the child pees his pants, or moving to another location are some examples.

• Homework that takes away playtime and requires a lot of time to do. Sometimes, teens also need attention and help with their homework but there’s no one around to lend a hand.

• Unrealistic expectations regarding her performance in school despite the fact that she has already done well. This will invoke fear of not being better.

• A loss in the family is one of the major factors that a teenager needs to cope up most. Loss also refers to losing a father or mother through divorce. This can raise an emotional fear that will bind him from the truth that it can happen to him when he has his own family.

• Low self-esteem.

• Watching stressful news, reading mindboggling articles like terrorists or natural disasters.

• A long-term medical problem like diabetes or something short-term like a fractured bone.

• A member of the family experiencing an acute or chronic medical problem.

• Accidents.

• Financial home problems which oftentimes becomes the reason to stop schooling.

Transitions like these can affect the entire mechanism of an individual. Even though your child seems to be very small to be stressed, they experience it too.

Dealing with stress can be difficult because it is the byproduct of everyday life and situations. One confusing thing regarding stress is that the symptoms connected to it don’t always follow immediately the cause of it. Another trouble about stress is that some may experience it and others do given the same kind of situation.

One ideal thing to do when faced with stress is to learn to cope. You have to teach your teens on how to cope with stress. These suggestions can also be useful with adults.

1. Letting your adolescent practice a healthy lifestyle which includes eating a healthy diet, having appropriate sleep and daily exercise.

2. Provide sufficient time to talk to your child about his or her day and how he feels about it. Communication is always the best outlet for negativity.

3. Set goals that are realistic and achievable for your child’s capability.

4. Talk to your child about decisions and options that can make certain changes in your family’s life.

Achieving mental health for your adolescent is possible only if you do your part as a parent.

How Depression of Women Affects Mental Health

According to studies, there are more or less 17 million Americans who are suffering from depression annually. Majority of these cases are women. Persistently, it was stated that women suffer more depression than men in terms of time, duration and severity. Depression in women or in men affects their mental health and disregards some of the most important factors in their lives. With increased rates of depressive behavior in women, it may be concluded that it is because of social and biological differences.

Depression is not your ordinary blues. Being sad because of some event that happened in your life is ordinary. You mourn in a burial and that would be acceptable. After appropriate time, you’ll get over it. But, depression is another thing. It affects a person totality in terms of life, body mind and work. It drives a person to NOT do the things he or she normally do, thus affecting the facts of daily living.

What happens in depression?

Once a person becomes depressed, some chemicals in the brain decreases which may cause some of the nerve in the brain to work in a slower pace. Reduction of chemicals inside the brain is the cause of depression. True depression can result to a stress which may reflect on how a person manipulates his life and the people around him or her.

Aside from being depressed, women can also be the bearer of associated conditions like anxiety, stress and eating disorders. In men, they tend to have depression that can be connected with antisocial behaviors, alcoholism, OC personalities and self-centeredness.

Why women?

Because of the effects of their premenstrual syndrome. When premenstrual syndrome occurs, women become depressed within the week of the actual menstrual cycle. There are about 3-5 percentage of women who experience depression due to the menstrual due to the regulation in hormones happening inside the women’s body. Women may also feel depressed because of menopause, infertility and miscarriage. Compared to men, women, especially those who are already married, tend to suffer increased depression. Older women can be at risk for danger which can lead to fractures just because of depression.

What is PMDD?

If the depression becomes severe and anxiety gets involved, it becomes more severe which may lead to PMDD or premenstrual dysphoric cycle. PMDD is a disorder that can be debilitating and requires immediate treatment.

Depressive risk-factors

• Sexual or physical abuse during childhood

• Contraceptives especially those that has a very high content in progesterone

• Stress

• Loss of support from family, friends and loved-ones

• Mood disorders in the family

• Parent death before reaching the age of 10

In order to eliminate depression, one must know the symptoms which include: decreased in attention with the usual activities, moody, feelings of hopelessness, worthlessness, and guilt, too much or not enough sleep, weight gain or loss, constant fatigue, disturbances in behavior and thoughts of killing oneself.

The good new is, depression can somehow be treated and has an 80 percent chance of stability although, when unrecognized, depression will never find its way out of someone’s system. Some of the most common treatments for depression are hormone replacement therapy and other medications that can lessen toxins which causes depressive state. Upon recognizing that you already are being depressed and can no longer handle it, to attain mental health, you must go to your psychiatrist and ask for treatment.

Distinguishing Mental Health Problems in Teenagers

Teenagers are considered as one of the most active group of individuals today. However, there are times that teens are already having some kind of mental health problem and yet adults fail to recognize it. Because of misinterpretation and ignorance, teens get to experience less understanding from their parents thus, leading to a more complicated situation which is of mental illness.

Parenting requires recognition of problems, no matter how big or small it is, in children. Teenage period is seen as the hardest stage in the parents and the child’s life. Adolescents tend to be in a higher level of stress because of the low coping mechanism that is introduced to them. Things about school, peer pressure or intimidation, self-insecurities and important decisions that must be regarded for are some of the things a teenager must fulfill in his or her life for it to become more meaningful.

Pressures bring about a lot of stress, thus, worrying is inevitable. Adolescents tend to see the world in different folds and this kind of thinking makes things totally confusing. With proper parent support and care, your teens can withstand these factors in life and make problem solving easier. Although, if you lack to give a certain time out of your monotonous and tasteless job to recognize your teen’s feelings, then mental illness may occur.

Some of the most obvious manifestations of mental problems are hopelessness, depression, and worthlessness. Problems concerning the mind will co-exist with the emotional status of the adolescent. Usually, mental problems are painful and real. It only proves that, when an emotional problem is difficult to resolve, the teen will result into isolating himself or herself from the outside world or otherwise regress and become a juvenile.

These mental health problems can be aggravated and can lead a future full of situations that can contribute problems which may affect the entire family as well. It can result to loss of close and trusted friends, conflict within the family, and dropping out of school. You, as a parent or guardian, must be aware of your adolescent’s present status and emotional behavior.

Distinguish troubles like:

• Overreaction on simple and immature things, has become deeply emotional and cries a lot, and is often angered by situations.

• Feels guilty and worthless.

• Keeps on worrying with a lot of things and is very anxious.

• Long-term grieving after a loss.

• Fearful, sometimes, more than kids can be.

• Concerned about the problems with his or her appearance.

• Being scared that he or she might go overboard and out-of-control.

Your teenager can also manifest things that are based on the mental aspect like:

• Instead of making good grades, he or she flunks every single subject in her class.

• Lost interest in activities that he or she used to enjoy doing.

• Unexplainable change in eating and sleeping habits.

• Isolates himself all the time. He doesn’t accept visitors, doesn’t want to talk to anyone within the family, and avoids all of his friends.

• Having difficulties in finishing things to be done like chores or homework.

• Talks about morbid things and about death and dying. Suicide usually follows with this kind of scenario.

• Keeps on having hallucinations and delusions.

Once these behaviors are already seen in a teenager, it’s time to ask for help. To be able to handle the situation effectively, mental health professionals can be consulted.

Childhood Mental Health Coping with Anxiety and Fear

Fear and anxiety go hand in hand in making a children’s life a little more complicated. Whatever events that have tragically happened, a child will go in severe stress that’ll be the reason to increase their fear and anxiety even at a very young age. In order to have a childhood mental health that is free from any kind of problems and worries, parents and guardians must provide proper care and support. As a parent, you can greatly help in your child’s coping mechanism when dealing with death, disasters and violence that has accompanied life ever since.

One of the best ways to ease the anxiety and fear of a child is to talk and listen to them. Learn about their concerns and tell them that safety should always be the priority. Encouragement for children to ask or share details of what they’re concerned about is a stepping stone for early engagement and elimination of fear in a child. Ask them how they have become affected in certain situations and explain why things are happening as such. Children, even at a very young age, can identify some of the tragedies that are occurring and will occur. They may choose to react to it or understand it according to their developmental stage.

There are several pointers in caring for children who are exhibiting fear and anxiety in their lives. These pointers are very important to observe in children.

1. Ask. Do not be apprehensive when talking to your children. It is important that you know how they feel and what can they say about the situation that have occurred. If there is a death in the family, never let your child go on silent because they could’ve been experiencing a certain unexplainable feeling that they can’t convey. This will be enclosed in their system and develop some kind of emotion which will become a frustration when they grow up.

2. Listen. It is not only important that you let the child talk but to let him speak. When you listen, you give your child the opportunity to be heard. Do not interrupt. Talk only when he is through then try to explain what is happening. Address his or her fears and how much are they affected regarding the situation. If you can’t answer their questions, it’s alright to tell them that you don’t know. The important thing is, you have given them the opportunity to air out how they feel.

3. Bring your self to their level. When you talk to them, make sure to use words that they will be able to understand. Using technical words will just confuse them thus, making it more impossible for the both of you to communicate.

4. Know their fears and worries. Children tend to be frightened about monsters under their bed or inside their closets. Ask them what their fears are. Some of the topmost worries are because of school or with other children who might bully them around.

6. Give sufficient time. Time given to a child is more important than time given to your work or with peers. When a child lets you see drawings and plays, pay attention to how they have done it. This will give you glimpse on how they are handling life’s facts. Ask them about the picture and what were they thinking and how they are feeling while drawing it. This will help you clarify questions, misconceptions and will give you assurance about your child’s mental health.

Schizophrenia Affecting Mental Health

People fear schizophrenia in a generalized sense. There is a common mentality that when one has schizophrenia, bringing back mental health is impossible. That would be probable, if early signs are not observed and treated. Here, you will get to know what really schizophrenia is and how it converts a person’s personality in a whole new level.

Defining schizophrenia

According to studies made, schizophrenia is kind of brain disease that is chronic and severe. It is a devastation to man’s illness because of misinterpretation, it is not given enough attention to be treated, making it worsen as time pass. There is a probability that out of the entire population, there will be at least one percent that will be affected. Every year, there are about two million Americans that suffer from schizophrenia.

Who are affected?

Patterns of age and gender are usually affected. Men and women can get the disease in an equally related frequency. Schizophrenia is often experienced by men during their early stage which is usually upon their later teenage years and earlier twenties. While in women, schizophrenia is seen when they have reached their early twenties or during their early thirties. Children who are aged five and above can also develop the debilitating disease but has little occurrence during adolescent years.

Facts about cure

Although there is no exact cure for the case, there are high hopes that schizophrenia can be cured. Research has stated that medications can ease some of the prominent symptoms and it has also paved the way to unravel the different complicated causes of the disease. Science are using different kinds of approaches and alternatives that may be derived from molecular genetics going to population study in order to learn more about schizophrenia. Newer insights have been held in order to image an affected person’s brain structure and further gain knowledge about the disorder.

Signs and Symptoms

• Confusing and shocking behavior that is apparent in the change of behavior of the person.

• Sudden occurrence of psychotic symptoms which are severe and can be described as the acute phase of the disease.

• Psychosis which can be referred to as the impairment of the brain’s normal status and is marked by certain delusions and hallucinations.

• Withdrawal from the public and isolation of oneself.

• Behavior, thinking process and speech pattern are unusual.

Those who have schizophrenia may or may not have several signs and symptoms. Some may manifest three to four while others are still vague.

Chronic schizophrenia which can also be related with a recurring or continuous pattern of the illness has the littlest chance of recovering from the person’s normal body functioning and somehow requires a longer need for treatment that may include inclusion of different drugs in order to control the disease’s symptoms.

How do schizophrenics view the world?

1. Perceptions of reality that are distorted by delusions and hallucinations. They can also feel unusual fear, confusion and anxiousness.

2. Illusions and hallucinations are referred to as the disturbances of a person’s perception which are common in people who suffer from the illness. The voices that one hears are oftentimes the person’s view of impending dangers or their way of carrying on conversation.

Contrary to what people perceive, schizophrenia is not a type of split personality and are not violent. They are those who are referred to people who have a world of their own. Mental health can be attained through early recognition of the signs and symptoms that are shown by the diseased person.