Katie Clark 

Mental Illnesses Daily 

Effects 
April 28, 2018 

Overview 
In  John  Green’s  novel  Turtles  All  the  Way  Down,  the  main  character,  Aza,  suffers  from  anxiety 
and OCD. This raises the question: What are the effects of mental illnesses on teenagers? 

Prevalence 
Studies show that… 
● About  1  in  5  youth  aged  13-18  (21.4%)  experiences  a  severe  mental  disorder  at  some 
point during their life. For children 8-15, the estimate is 13%.  
● There  are  11.2%  with  mood  disorders,  8.3%  with  anxiety  disorders,  and  9.6%  with 
behavior disorders across the nation. 

Depression and Suicide 

2008 teenager facts… 

● 13.8% reported that they had seriously considered attempting suicide. 

● 10.9% had made a plan for how they would attempt suicide.  
● 6.3% reported that they had attempted suicide one or more times within the past year. 
● 1.9%  had  made  a  suicide  attempt  that  resulted  in  injury,  poisoning,  or  an  overdose  that 
had to be treated by a doctor or nurse.   

 
 

 
  

Relations to ​Turtles All the Way Down 

John  Green  created  Aza  Holmes,  a  fictional  16-year-old  Sophmore  who  struggles  with  mental 
illnesses.  The  whole  book  revolves  around  Aza  and  her  daily  struggle  of  battling  her  thoughts 
while  trying  to  not  create  a  scene  in  front  of  her  friends and family so they do not have to worry 
about  her.  She  shows  multiple  symptoms  of  OCD  and  anxiety  throughout  the  story.  ​Turtles  All 
the  Way  Down  ​draws  attention  to  how  important  mental  illness  is  in  a  teenagers  life,  helping 
spread  awareness  to the topic and the loved one of the kids who may have to face the impact of 
mental illness.  

 
  

Works Cited

“Prevalence.” ​Prevalence | Youth.gov​,

youth.gov/youth-topics/youth-mental-health/prevalance-mental-health-disorders-among-youth.

“NAMI.” ​NAMI: National Alliance on Mental Illness​,

www.nami.org/learn-more/mental-health-by-the-numbers.