Warning Signs of Teen Mental Health Issues
Mental health issues are a very broad category of illnesses and disorders, and while warning signs are a helpful way to tell when you should pay more attention to your teen’s behavior, it’s important to note that a warning sign should never be considered a clear indication of a mental health disorder. If your teen is exhibiting any of the symptoms below, get them a referral with a mental health specialist and speak to your family doctor/psychiatrist/pediatrician.
- Extreme risk-taking behavior
- Self-harm, talking about self-harm
- Suicidal ideation and attempts
- Sudden and excessive weight loss, not eating at all, use of laxatives
- Sudden weight gain, constant snacking, overeating
- Severe mood swings, uncontrolled irritability
- Acting out violently
- Sudden moments of hyperventilation, discomfort, and panic
- Constant vocal worries about the same irrational fears
- Patterns of avoiding others or avoiding specific situations
- Socially withdrawing, no contact with others
- Prolonged sadness (for more than 2 weeks)
- Always feeling tired
- Severe insomnia
- Constant procrastination
- Unable to finish conversations, losing track of thoughts, stopping midway through sentences
- Drug and/or alcohol use, especially as a means to “self medicate” mental issues
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Continue ReadingLucy Nguyen is the Executive Director at Paradigm Treatment, overseeing all clinical treatment programs across the organization’s southwestern region. Her extensive experience includes working with young adults in private practice, serving as a therapist for children and teens with emotional and behavioral needs, and acting as a behavior interventionist for teens with developmental disorders. Lucy integrates cognitive-behavioral approaches with mindfulness and compassion in her work, and she is also EMDR-trained. She holds a Master of Science in Counseling from California State University, Fullerton, and a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine.