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.

How to Identify Mental Health in a Normal Condition

It had been painstaking for some to identify the real deal behind mental health. Some may experience a glitch of being depressed or aggressive then go back to normalcy. While others show some behaviors that are quite odd and uncertain may indicate that there is a shifting of attitude in the person and can result in mental disorders.

Health providers concerned with how the mind works are capable of distinguishing the difference of being mentally healthy and mentally ill. They judge through the specific signs and symptoms that the client may or may not manifest upon undergoing series of tests. There are a lot of approaches and here are some:

1. One’s own perception

Here, you have to asses yourself internally. Are you thinking about anything that is quite morbid or something really insane? Your behaviors, thoughts and functioning which means the way you perceive every detail of your thinking can readily determine if you are really normal. If there is a sudden shift from the normal things that you do like daily habits and routines which you used to enjoy, then there might be something wrong.

Other people who experience depression in the severe tense can oftentimes go on with their lives without doing chores or even bathing themselves. Therefore, it is important to asses yourself. If you can no longer pinpoint what’s wrong or is unable to do something about the condition then, you can consider yourself as mentally ill.

2. Other people’s perception

It is still important to ask other people’s opinion about yourself and the way you behave. You can lie aboutyour own feelings and pretend that nothing is wrong thus, making it all subjective. This may not help in bringing out a very accurate assessment. People around you, those whom you know and trust, may be the best source for an objective opinion. You may see yourself to be perfectly typical while others may disagree. Schizophrenia is one very good example of this wherein a person may admit seeing or hearing things where in fact nothing’s there.

3. Ethnic and cultural norms

Oftentimes, a person’s normalcy is defined by their culture. Because people are living within different boundaries and different cultures, what is normal for others may not seem normal for you. Going back to the case of schizophrenia, when a person tends to hear things and let the people around him believe that there is really something, for others this may be insane but for some religions, this is normal and is a sort of divine intervention. Culture within the family may also affect the way you see others big time. What you normally do within the four sides of your home may not be the same with others.

4. Based on statistical numeric

Within the range – that is what normal is usually stated as. Generally, what is within the average counting defines what normal is and if statistics goes high or low, it becomes abnormal because of the extreme fluctuations in changes which are not considered as the average.

Based on the four approaches, one can clearly identify if a particular individual or a member of the family is suffering from mental illness. Mental health depends on the state of mind which is not hindered by any kind of abnormal manifestations.

Extreme Education can cause Mental Health Disorders

Have you ever heard or encountered people who became insane because they know too much? Or are you sometimes regarded as having a mental health disorder because of your ability to be highly educated? According to certain studies, adults who have degrees which are advanced can be at risk for shattered mental health compared to those who are under the average quota. Sometimes, these people belong to the professional scene having a masters or doctor’s degree.

It was surprising to realize that participants who are regarded as highly educated expresses unsatisfactory mental health upon comparison to normalcy. Why does this happen? Perhaps work related stress can be one of the very reasons. Competition in the workplace can be very disturbing and someone has to do something about the person on the next desk who keeps on nagging you with how the interview for chief executive had been a breeze. It is often the characteristics and the poor coping mechanisms that layoff the mental hazards within the community of white collared executives.

Because highly educated individuals comprises a majority of America’s manpower, it is necessary that every company or the government to take immediate action about the mind bugging situation. Without proper thinking, work may be compromised.

Some of the reasons that were pinpointed to the public regarding the different aspects in their working environment are:

• Perceived work and relationship problems within the work area and inside the house as well

• Events and situation which are regarded to be very stressful on the part of the person

• Ability to cope with the difficult problems and situations in their lives

• Bad habits like alcoholism or drug medications like antidepressants or anti-anxiety

• Frequency of visits to their medical practitioner

Thos who belong to a younger age are most likely to experience relapses in their mental behavior because of high level of home or work related stress, alcoholism, and usage of drugs which can result to the dependency to the substance.

Home or work related stress is referred to as those activities, responsibilities, and tasks that the individual must do in a certain time frame. At home, the parent expects a higher salary while at work; on the other hand your boss wanted you to finish the newly given report within an hour, your co-worker has no intention of helping, another project is given set to be finished before 5, an emergency meeting has just been called up to discuss something about progress report.

These, with all other little things can put on so much pressure on an individual just because he is bright. Expectations can sometimes bring a person down to his knees and beg for an easier life. Alcoholism and the use of illegal drugs won’t do any good either. These factors will just add up to the laid injury.

Confidence is something that some of the researchers has stressed. It is said that because adults is more adept in coping with a very difficult situation because of a heightened level of confidence. While younger ones are not yet at the verge of knowing the difference between right and wrong because their self-esteem is still growing some roots.

Furthermore, it is stated that compared to men, women who belong within the more advanced degrees have higher mental health edge than men.

Differentiating Mental Illness from Mental Health

When differentiating mental illness from mental health, one must see deeply into something that’s unwritten but what is felt. A medical professional must determine a person’s mental health through the episodes of behavior that the person is manifesting. There are certain categories that fall under the behaviors and thoughts which can be classified as normalcy with the absence of any kind of illness within the system.

Sometimes, the answer is already at the tip of your tongue. If you read carefully, you’ll understand that there is a big different between mental health and mental illness. For one, mental health is the state of mind that doesn’t experience any kind of outbreak of insanity. Whereas mental illness refers to the state of mind that accumulates problems and since the mind and body can no longer cope with the episodes, toxic substances travel to your brain thus making it ill.

Mental illness is the time when a normal person tends to see things and hears things that aren’t really seen or heard by others. Some may show signs of having ideas that he can become the next Julia Roberts without even having the slightest idea on how to act or play the part; this might be caused by a bipolar disorder.

However, having a clear shot on what really is the difference between the two can be pretty thin. There are times when a person becomes afraid or scared to go on stage and face thousands of people just to give a public speech. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the person is having a mental illness but merely the attack of the nerves going into the system. People oftentimes feel depressed or overly exaggerated but that can be considered normal because humans tend to experience mood shifts.

With that, what is really the difference? How can you distinguish one from the other? These can be answered just by looking at what mental health is NOT.

A normal state of mind doesn’t manifest signs and symptoms that doctors usually convey on their patients. Majority of health providers define mental illness or disorder through the signs and symptoms that are shown by their patients namely increased in breathing pattern, agitation, etc. Signs are the things that can be seen by the medical practitioner that the patient is indicating which are usually objective.

While symptoms are those that are felt and is verbalized by the patient which are oftentimes regarded as subjective. Some examples of symptoms are pain, depression, fear, etc. Functional impairments are also considered as a factor that may greatly affect the mental well-being of the person. Impairment of normal functions can be regarded as those daily routine like taking a bath, washing your teeth, etc. These, by far are not what mental health is all about. Why? Because these can greatly affect how a person reacts thus, thinks.

Further studies also show that mental illness is ideally uncoordinated and show behaviors that aren’t within the scope of the normal functioning mind. Some of these illnesses show up as:

• Extreme mood swings that happen almost everyday

• Imaginary ideation which is quite impossible like having superhuman abilities

• Intense feelings of sadness and depression

• Responses shown physiologically like diaphoresis or excessive sweating

Mental health is always regarded as the mental state of mind with normal functioning and everyday coping.

Achieving Mental Health through Anger Management

When a person can no longer deal with the difficult situations in life, there are only two things that can probably happen: cry in vain and be forever depressed or be angry at the person or thing that caused the problem. Either way, the individual has no way to deal with his misery and when he can no longer take the pain, he blames everyone for his mishaps. Mental health is no where to be found. A person must know on how to deal with anger in order to achieve mental health.

Anger is inseparable to a person’s life. Even children can become angry because of something. Anger is not something to be worried about, it is not an abnormal state of mind but in fact is a normal and healthy reaction of the person’s mind and body to a certain situation that didn’t agree with the person. Being angry is never comfortable. Bearing the pain and grudge within your system can be destructive in time. Oftentimes, a person becomes angry after being sad or hurt. Anger is a very good excuse to hurt other people and strike back. Anger is an emotion that gives the person experiencing it to become more aggravated.

Anger can become an external defense mechanism especially if the hurt is applied physically and not emotionally. Although, anger becomes a threat when it is already contributing destruction to the lives of others. It is of natural accentuation to act angry in certain circumstances, it’s just a matter on how a person handles his anger is the real deal. There are multiple ways to manage your anger. Some of which are:

1. Relaxation techniques - Here, the person must find a way to calm down the system responsible for increasing the angry feeling which is the autonomic nervous system. These include:

• Fast relaxation technique which is equated with deep breathing and allows the diaphragm to expand and increase oxygen intake

• Meditative processes like mindfulness and relaxation meditation.

• Wait for a couple of seconds before regressing with the situation. You can try counting from one to ten before you react to the situation. This will give you a couple of seconds to run down events and what outcome can your anger produce.

2. Cognitive techniques – are referred to the techniques that can change your expectations and beliefs in life which can replace your angry thoughts into more accepted and reasonable ones. You have to remember that the moment you become angry your entire system is affected. Unless you do something about making it more meaningful than destructive, your anger will just increase.

Techniques that are used for anxiety and depression can be of enormous help. It is also important that you talk to someone about your worries and how your anger has developed in order to be more enlightened.

When anger is repressed and is not effectively expressed in any means necessary, this can cause problems that’ll bring further problems along the way. But this doesn’t necessarily mean that expressing of anger anywhere and anytime of the day just because you feel like it is good. Balancing the approach which may include the acknowledgement of that anger and acting on it accordingly can help reduce the foreseeable crisis. This will stable the mind and produce mental health in the person.

Mental Health Defined and Imparted

Oftentimes, defining mental illness is easier than defining mental health. It is stressed that mental health is the opposite or the absence of mental illness. But in a more complex but detailed definition, mental health is regarded as the state of psychological and emotional well-being wherein the individual has the capability to use emotional and cognitive capabilities, meet demands of daily living and functions in the society normally.

There have been questions regarding the health state of the mind and how can you recognize if the person is mentally healthy or ill. It can be indelible that some suffer a high dosage of mental incapacity while others are doing perfectly well. There are some characteristics or categories in order to determine if a person has in within the range of a healthy state of mind or can somehow reach it.

Balance

If balance is all the way supported throughout a person’s entire life, he or she most likely can achieve a healthy mind state. Balancing one’s daily activities that will coordinate with a person physical, mental and emotional capacity is hard. Some can do it well while others just give up. People need to balance their time and attention on a lot of things. For wishful thinking, could it be possible to be in two places at one time so that you can attend dinner party and at the same time sit back and relax while watching a ball game?

It is important that balance in every activity is fulfilled. A person has a balanced social life if she has time for her family, friends, work and herself without compromising any of the mentioned personalities.

Enjoying Life

Once a person enjoys his or her life, no matter how difficult any circumstance can occur, it is said that he or she is also enjoying a healthy state of mind. In order to appreciate life, one must enjoy every second that has passed. In order to achieve a steady and happy life, one must see the present as a gift and not the past nor the future. There is an inevitable need to plan the future and learn from what we left behind but this is not an excuse to make one’s life miserable. Sometimes, people tend to ponder a lot with the past and worry about the future where in fact, what is important is the present. Metaphors in life are one important factor to really enjoy living.

Self-actualization

Alone time is the moment when you tend to realize a lot of things in your life – achievements, failures, goals, and all those important things in life. With self-actualization, you will realize how far you’ve come and what are the blessings that were given to you. You can only claim that you have a healthy mind the moment you have accurately actualized yourself. But first, the person must feel a certain kind of security that will be able to make him comfortable towards himself.

Resiliency

No matter how hard life can bring, a person who has mental must be able to bounce back from all his or her adversities. He or she must be able to handle all of life’s stressors more than anyone can. Think, just by coping with traumatic situations and recognizing it as a challenge and not a sort of discouragement will help an individual sort out the difficulties attached to the problem and easily solve it.