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I N M I D D L E A N D L AT E A D O L E S C E N C E
 REVIEW
• Several important topics related to adolescence
1. The different changes you underwent as an adolescent
(physically, mentally, socially, emotionally, morally, and
psychologically)
2. The various challenges/problems that you face as an
adolescent
3. Stress and how this affects one’s physical health, and the
importance of coping as a strategy in dealing with stress
4. Understanding the left and right brain and how this help
improve your learning
5. Learning to make a mind map that helps you in organizing
ideas, brainstorming, simplifying complex ideas, and serves
• In this chapter, we will look at the concept of mental
health and well-being, and why this is important,
particularly to the adolescent, and to every person in
general.
INTERPET THIS BIBLE QUOTATION
 MENTAL HEALTH
• It’s the way your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors
affect your life.
• Good mental health leads to positive self-image
and in-turn, satisfying relationships with friends
and others.
• It also helps determine how we handle stress,
relate to others, and make choices.
• Having good mental health helps you make good
decisions and deal with life’s challenges at home,
 WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION

• Mental health is a state of well-being in which

the individual realises his or her own abilities,
can cope with the normal stresses of life, can
work productively and fruitfully, and is able to
make a contribution to his or her community.
• Mental health is our ability to respond to
challenges.

• What kind of challenges? It could be anything

from:
1. A sudden encounter with a snake
2. Reviewing for an upcoming exam
3. It could be something physical like an illness
4. Something social like bullying or being left-
6. Or a to-do list the size of a mountain
7. It could be an argument with your family
8. Or a difficult essay
9. Or a death of a parent

• The fact is life rarely goes the way we plan. And

whenever we are hit by trials and challenges,
mental health is our ability to bounce back and
stay on course.
 HOW DO YOU GET THIS ABILITY?
Are you born with it?
NO. Mental health can change and the things that tend to
shape it are called risk factors and protective factors.

1. Protective factors
• Sense of self-efficacy – one’s perception of one’s value and
worth, effectiveness, and ability in performing a task or
activity
• Mental health and well-being is also anchored on one’s self-
worth and value or self-esteem.
 SELF-ESTEEM AND BODY ESTEEM
• Does any of this sound familiar?
• "I'm too tall."
• "I'm too short."
• "I'm too skinny."
• “I’m too fat.”
• "If only I were shorter/taller/had
curly hair/straight hair/a smaller
nose/longer legs, I'd be happy."
Are you putting yourself down? If so, you're not
alone.

As a teen, you're going through lots of changes in

your body.

And, as your body changes, so does your image of

yourself.

It's not always easy to like every part of your looks,

but when you get stuck on the negatives it can
really bring down your self-esteem.
 WHY ARE SELF-ESTEEM AND BODY
IMAGE IMPORTANT?
• Self-esteem is all about how much you feel you are worth
— and how much you feel other people value you.
• Self-esteem is important because feeling good about yourself
can affect your mental health and how you behave.
• People with high self-esteem know themselves well. They're
realistic and find friends that like and appreciate them for who
they are. People with high self-esteem usually feel more in
control of their lives and know their own strengths and
weaknesses.
 WHAT IS BODY IMAGE?
• Body image is how you view your physical self —
including whether you feel you are attractive and
whether others like your looks. For many people,
especially people in their early teens, body image can
be closely linked to self-esteem.
 WHAT INFLUENCES A PERSON'S SELF-
ESTEEM?
1. PUBERTY AND DEVELOPMENT
Some people struggle with their self-
esteem and body image when they
begin puberty because it's a time when
the body goes through many changes.
These changes, combined with
wanting to feel accepted by our
friends, means it can be tempting to
compare ourselves with others. The
trouble with that is, not everyone
grows or develops at the same time or
2. Media Images and Other
Outside Influences
Our early teens are a time when
we become more aware of
celebrities and media images —
as well as how other kids look and
how we fit in.
We might start to compare
ourselves with other people or
media images ("ideals" that are
frequently covered up). All of this
can affect how we feel about
ourselves and our bodies even as
we grow into our teens.
3. Families and School
Family life can sometimes influence our body image.
Family members might struggle with their own body image
or criticize their kids' looks ("why do you wear your hair so
long?" or "how come you can't wear skirts that fit you?").
This can all influence a person's self-esteem, especially if
they're sensitive to others peoples' comments.

People also may experience negative comments and

hurtful teasing about the way they look from classmates
and peers. Although these often come from ignorance,
sometimes they can affect body image and self-esteem.
• Things That Tend to
Shape Mental Health
1. Protective factors
• A supportive family
• Or strong friendships
2. Risk factors
• Chronic illness
• Or low socio-economic
status
 EXAMPLE OF A MENTAL HEALTH AND
WELL-BEING MODEL
• The Wheel of Wellness
model includes what is
referred to as the five life
tasks developed in 1991 by
Witmer and Sweeney:
1. Essence or spirituality
2. Work and leisure
3. Friendship
4. Love
5. Self-direction
• Related to these five tasks 6. Sense of humor
are twelve sub-tasks as 7. Nutrition
major components of 8. Physical exercise
wellness or well-being
that comprise the Wheel 9. Self-care
of Wellness. These are: 10.Stress management
1. Sense of worth 11.Gender identity
2. Sense of control 12.Cultural identity (Note:
This may or may not apply
3. Realistic beliefs
to every Filipino, but we
4. Emotional awareness and do have cultural and
coping regional differences that
5. Problem solving and need to be understood
creativity and accepted.)
• It is important that the five tasks are balanced in
terms of time spent on each one, and of course,
on the amount of energy one gives to fulfilling
each of the tasks.
• The 12 sub-tasks are more of what one needs
to own and practice to achieve mental health
and well-being.
• In addition to the components, maintaining good
mental health and well-being requires
resiliency and adaptability, two important
skills that needs to be developed in every
person particularly the adolescent.
WHAT IS RESILIENCY?
• Resiliency – the capacity
to establish and maintain
one’s balance and well-
being in the face of
adversity.

• It is the ability to get back

on one’s feet after a
disaster or a crisis.
 WHAT IS ADAPTABILITY?
• Adaptability – the capacity to adjust to
changes necessary for one’s survival and
balance.
 HEALTHY SELF-CONCEPT AT THE CORE OF
MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
• Having a positive regard for oneself means looking
at oneself as someone who is worth loving and
worth caring for, regardless of physical flaws and
defects, regardless of what other people perceive
him to be, and in spite of the thoughts, feelings, and
behavior one experiences.
• It is about understanding and accepting one’s
personality, uniqueness, and individuality.
• Having a positive warm regard for oneself is also
about seeing one’s strengths, challenges and
successes, as well as the stumbling blocks that
come along the way in one’s search for meaning
and happiness.

• Having a wonderful self-concept is about having a

spirituality that provides philosophical and existential
meaning to one’s life, and about one’s relationship
with his perceived Supreme Being.
• Having a healthy self-concept is also about
embracing meaningful universal human values
that define who you are, and how these values
form your set of healthy attitudes about other
people, situations, and things.

• The bedrock of a healthy self-concept,

however, is a high sense of self-worth or
self-esteem.
GOOD PHYSICAL HEALTH IS GOOD FOR
MENTAL HEALTH
• The World Health Organization clearly noted that poor
mental health plays a signficant role in diminished
immune functioning and the development of certain
illnesses, and eventually premature death.
• One’s physical health is also an important factor
to good mental health.
• Sleep and nutrition, for example, should be given
importance and properly observed by an adolescent
whose tendency is to take these things for granted.

• An individual who is deprived of sleep, for example,

will be cranky, will have a short temper, will sometimes
become emotionally sensitive, and will also have a
bad memory.
• Physically, the individual deprived
of sleep may develop skin
rashes or acne, have dark
circles around the eyes, and
may even develop bad posture
because of feeling weak or
sluggish and having low energy.
• People around this person will
take notice and might even get
affected by certain behavior a
 HEALTHY SELF-CONCEPT +HEALTHY MIND AND
BODY = GOOD MENTAL HEALTH AND WELL-BEING

• When all of these elements are in balance, then

general well-being is experienced.
• Well-being is a state of wellness where every aspect
of a person is in balance.
• Being well and feeling well means that there is a
general sense of contentment, happiness, calmness,
and peace within.
• Developing one’s good mental health and well-being
is very important to the adolescent because this
serves as a strong foundation toward a happy and
healthy adulthood.
CHALLENGES TO MENTAL HEALTH AND
WELL-BEING
• A mental health problem is a short term and
temporary change in a person’s thoughts, feelings, or
behavior that upsets one’s well-being, interpersonal
relationships, and productivity.
• A mental health concern becomes a mental illness
when ongoing signs and symptoms cause frequent
stress and affect your ability to function.
• Many adolescents are more susceptible to mental
health concerns than adults. This is primarily due to
their underdeveloped brains and continuing changes
in their bodies.

• In addition to this, the adolescent is also going

through tough times in resolving their identity crisis
and role confusion.
• Roughly 20% of a country’s total population falls
under the 10 to 19 years of age category or the
adolescence category.

• The WHO estimates that there are around one billion

adolescents around the world today. This is the
reason why the World Health Organization has
mandated every member-nation to provide special
health services to the adolescent segment of their
population.
 EXAMPLES OF MENTAL ILLNESS

1. Depression
2. Anxiety Disorders
3. Schizophrenia
4. Eating Disorders
5. Addictive behaviors (drugs and alcohol)
 DEPRESSION
• Depression is a low mood that lasts for a long time,
and affects your everyday life.
• In its mildest form, depression can mean just being in
low spirits. It doesn’t stop you leading your normal life
but makes everything harder to do and seem less
worthwhile.
• At its most severe, depression can be life-threatening
because it can make you feel suicidal.
 WHEN DOES LOW MOOD BECOMES
DEPRESSION?
• We all have times when our mood is low, and we’re
feeling sad or miserable about life. Usually these
feelings pass in due course.
• But if the feelings are interfering with your life and
don't go away after a couple of weeks, or if they come
back over and over again for a few days at a time, it
could be a sign that you're experiencing depression.
 ANXIETY DISORDERS
• Anxiety is what we feel when we are worried, tense or
afraid – particularly about things that are about to happen,
or which we think could happen in the future.
• Anxiety is a natural human response when we perceive
that we are under threat. It can be experienced through
our thoughts, feelings and physical sensations.

“Going out of the house is a challenge because I have

a fear of panicking and feel that I'm being watched or
judged. It's just horrible. I want to get help but I'm
afraid of being judged.”
 SCHIZOPHRENIA
• You could be diagnosed with schizophrenia if you experience some
of the following symptoms:
 a lack of interest in things
 feeling disconnected from your feelings
 difficulty concentrating
 wanting to avoid people
 hallucinations, such as hearing voices or seeing things others
don't
 delusions (which could include paranoid delusions) – strong
beliefs that others don't share
 disorganized thinking and speech
 EATING DISORDERS
• If you have an eating problem you might:
• restrict the amount of food you eat
• eat more than you need or feel out of control when you
eat
• eat a lot in secret
• feel very anxious about eating or digesting food
• eat lots of food in response to difficult emotions (when
you don't feel physically hungry)
• only eat certain types of food or stick to a rigid set of diet
rules and feel very anxious and upset if you have to eat
something different
• do things to get rid of what you eat (purging)
• stick to rigid rules around what you can and can't eat and
how food should look – and feel very upset if you break
those rules
• feel strongly repulsed at the idea of eating certain foods
• eat things that are not really food
• be scared of certain types of food or eating in public
• think about food and eating a lot or all the time
• compare your body to other people's and think about their
shape or size a lot
• check, test and weigh your body a lot – and base your
self-worth on how much you weigh or whether you pass
your checks and tests.
 ADDICTIVE BEHAVIORS
• Recreational drugs are substances people may take:
to give themselves a pleasurable experience
to help them feel better if they are having a bad time
because their friends are using them
to see what it feels like.
They include alcohol, tobacco (nicotine), substances
such as cannabis, heroin, cocaine and ecstasy, and some
prescribed medicines.