SH1687

Mental Health and Well-Being In Middle and Late Adolescence

The adolescence stage entails a lot of pressures and challenges to teenagers as they assume mature roles.
If left unmanaged, these challenges may create a great impact on an individual's mental health and
psychological well-being. Adolescents who succumb to these emotions may also fall prey to different
harmful diversions as in the case of cyber addiction, delinquent behaviors, pre-marital
sex, and substance abuse. The worst scenario for teenagers would be to commit suicide if things went out
of hand.

A support system is essential as this will ensure that they are well-guided as they carefully go thru the
stage.

Mental Health "Red Flags" Should Be Alert For:

1. Excessive sleeping, beyond usual teenage fatigue, which could indicate depression; difficulty in
sleeping, insomnia, for both dramatic weight loss without changes in eating and other sleep disorders
2. Loss of self-esteem
3. Abandonment or loss of interest in favorite pastimes
4. An unexpected and dramatic decline in academic performance
5. Weight loss and loss of appetite, which could indicate an eating disorder
6. Personality shifts and changes, such as aggressiveness and excess anger that are sharply out of
character and could indicate psychological, drug, or sexual problems

Key Mental Health Issues:

Depression
While all of us are subject to the blues," clinical depression is a serious medical condition requiring
immediate treatment.
Watch for:
a. Changes in sleep patterns
b. Unexpected weeping or excessive moodiness
c. Eating habits that result in noticeable weight loss or gain
d. Expressions of hopelessness or worthlessness
e. Paranoia and excessive secrecy
f. Self-mutilation, or mention of hurting himself or herself
g. Obsessive body-image concerns
h. Excessive isolation and
i. Abandonment of friends and social groups
Eating Disorders
a. Body image concerns can become obsessions, resulting in startling weight loss, severely affecting
the adolescent's health:
b. Anorexia: Avoidance of food and noticeable changes in eating habits should trigger concern.
c. Bulimia: Purging (forced vomiting) after eating be alert habits (which could, of course, indicate other
health issues that require a doctor's attention) and also for quick trips to the bathroom or other
private spots after a meal.
Substance abuse (alcohol, tobacco, illegal drugs)

Mental Health
Mental health is defined as a state of well-being in which every individual realizes his or her own potential,
can cope with the normal stresses of life, can work productively and fruitfully, and is able to make a
contribution to her or his community.

The positive dimension of mental health is stressed in World Health Organization's definition of health as
contained in it constitution: "Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not
merely the absence of disease or infirmity." Many mental health problems emerge in late childhood and
early adolescence.

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 SH1687

Recent studies have identified mental health problems - in particular depression, as the largest cause of
the burden of disease among young people. Poor mental health can have import effect on the wider health
and development of adolescents and is association with several health and social outcomes such as higher
alcohol, tobacco, and illicit substances use, adolescent pregnancy, school dropout, and delinquent
behaviors. There is a growing consensus that healthy development during childhood and adolescence
contributes to good mental health and can prevent mental health problems.

Enhancing social skills, problem-solving skills, and self-confidence can help prevent mental health
problems such as to conduct disorders, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, and other risk behaviors,
including those that relate to sexual behavior, substance abuse, and violent behavior. Health workers need
to have the competencies to relate to young people, detect mental health problems early, and provide
treatments that include counseling, cognitive-behavioral therapy, and psychotropic medication. (World
Health Organization, 2016)

Reference:
Bernabe, G. C. (2016). Personal Development : For Senior High School. Mindshapers Co., Inc.

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