Category Archives: Mental Health

Dealing with Teen Drama

Adolescence is an emotional roller coaster, and it can seem like teens have over-the-top reactions. For parents, the constant turmoil can be frustrating. But, it’s important to understand that most teenage drama has to do with biology. Brain development and hormonal shifts lead to mood swings that are often beyond a teen’s ability to control. Some teen drama is a way to

Read more

Should Teens have Smartphone Limits?

The U.S. Surgeon General recently issued an advisory that social media is hurting our nation’s children. Social media causes teens to lose sleep, withdraw from face-to-face interactions, spend too much time staring at screens, and engage with content that is making them anxious and depressed. Unfortunately, 95% of teens between 13 and 17 have a smartphone, so there’s a general feeling among parents

Read more

Tips for Addressing the Significant Increases in Teen Girl’s Sadness and Hopelessness

Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released the results of their Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The survey, which has been conducted every other year for three decades, includes responses from 17,232 U.S. high school students and measures adolescent health and well-being. Collected in fall 2021, these survey responses represent the first data collected by CDC since

Read more

Helping Teens Establish Good Social Media Habits

Adolescence is both a time of critical brain development and high social media use. Adolescent brains are going through the most development and reorganization, second only to infancy, making them more susceptible to environmental influences. As a result, many doctors and parents wonder how social media will impact this generation. In today’s blog we examine the results from two recent

Read more

Teaching Teens Skills to Cope with Strong Emotions

Dealing with the emotions we feel inside is an important life skill that we all must develop. People who learn coping skills for managing their emotions have better relationships with others, report better well-being, and are more successful in their personal and professional lives. Parents often complain that their teens’ over-the-top reactions to the smallest issues are infuriating, but there’s

Read more

Tips for Anxious Teens

Over the last decade, mental health among youth has deteriorated, and it’s only gotten worse in the past couple of years. Compared with 2019, emergency room visits for suicide attempts rose 51% for adolescent girls in early 2021. Depression and anxiety doubled during the pandemic, with 25% of youths experiencing depressive symptoms and 20% suffering anxiety symptoms. The National Institutes

Read more

Suicide Prevention

September is National Suicide Prevention Month. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report that, in 2020, suicide was the second leading cause of death for people ages 10-14 and 25-34. It is estimated that 12.2 million Americans seriously considered suicide, 3.2 million planned a suicide attempt, and 1.2 million attempted suicide in 2020. Believe it or not, all

Read more

Providing Stability for Teens Under Stress

The school year is soon starting, and with it comes renewed pressure. Teenagers today are under a lot of stress. They feel pressure from parents, teachers, peers, and social media. They worry about their grades, their future, fitting in, body image, getting their homework done, extracurriculars, climate change, racial injustice, school shootings, cultural expectations, and so much more. And beyond

Read more

Helping Teens Cope During and After a Divorce

Approximately half of marriages fail in the United States. This is a difficult statistic to swallow and maybe more so for the children whose lives are impacted. No matter what the marriage situation was at home, no matter how the divorce is handled, no matter where the children fall in the transition – divorce turns a child’s world upside down.

Read more

Tips for Parenting Teens with Social Anxiety

It’s normal for tweens, teens or young adults to feel nervous in some social situations. For example, going on a date or giving a presentation at school may cause that feeling of butterflies in their stomach. Comfort levels in different social situations vary, depending on an individual’s personality traits and life experiences. Some people are naturally reserved and others are

Read more

Mental Health Epidemic Among Youth

Over the last decade, mental health among youth has deteriorated. Unfortunately, while adolescent mental health was already at a very low point, a number of recent social issues – the pandemic, an uptick in school shootings, a reckoning on racial justice, the climate crisis, and a divisive political landscape – have really intensified this downward trend. The U.S. Surgeon General

Read more
« Older Entries