Mental Health Issues in Teens Part 2

by McKenzie L.

Anxiety disorders are the most common among children and adolescents. Anxiety disorders include phobias, generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, among others. These disorders all cause the young person to experience more than typical fear, worry, and anxiety. Phobias are a specific fear of one thing, and cause a variety of fear related symptoms in the person affected. Generalized anxiety disorder causes persistent worrying and anxiety about many things. A person with GAD may have restlessness, difficulty swallowing, hot flashes, nausea, light-headedness, and a variety of other physical manifestations of anxiety. Panic disorder is the suffering of sudden, unexpected, and uncontrollable panic attacks. The symptoms of a panic attack include sweating, shaking, shortness of breath, chest pain, nausea, feelings of loss of control, and chills. Obsessive compulsive disorder, or OCD, is a mental illness that causes persistent, intrusive, and unwanted images or impulses (obsessions) and repeated behaviors done to decrease anxiety from the obsessions (compulsions). OCD people are commonly obsessed with contamination, doubts, exactness and order, violence, and sex. Common compulsions include washing, checking, ordering, counting, repeating actions, and asking for reassurance. This disorder can be very disruptive to a person’s life style. Post traumatic stress disorder, or PTSD, is a disorder brought on by a traumatic event. Victims of PTSD have vivid night terrors, intrusive flashbacks of the event, hypervigilance, and anxiety.

Eating disorders are most common among teenage girls. There are 3 main eating disorders: anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and binge eating disorder. People with anorexia are so obsessed with being thin that they starve themselves. They refuse to eat and often have a very distorted body image, or believe themselves to be heavier than the really are. Bulimia is another disease that is caused by trying to prevent weight gain. Bulimic people go through episodes of binging and purging. They will eat a very large amount of food and then try to either throw it up or use laxatives to get rid of it. People with bulimia also have a distorted self image and low self esteem. Binge eating disorder is excessive eating without purging. People who have binge eating disorder eat to the point of physical pain, and often feel ashamed or guilty after they binge.

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Developmental disorders are disorders that occur during childhood and persist through adulthood. These include autistic spectrum disorders, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and other learning disorders. The autistic spectrum is a spectrum of disorders that affect social interaction, communication, and behaviors. Autism is the main disorder within this spectrum, but Asperger’s, Fragile X, and other varying forms of autistic like diseases are also classified on the autistic spectrum. Adolescents with an autistic spectrum disease (ASD) are usually diagnosed at childhood, and tend to be behaviorally and mentally behind a few years. Learning is very difficult for people with an ASD, and therefore special accommodations within school are made. ADHD is increasingly common among children and adolescents. People with ADHD have difficulty concentrating, and can be hyperactive, depending on the manifestation of the disorder. There are a variety of other learning disorders, and all affect the adolescent or child’s development into adulthood by hindering learning.

Behavioral disorders are often undiagnosed. They affect a person’s behavior, and can get them in a good deal of trouble. Many prison inmates are estimated to have a behavioral disorder. These disorders include oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder. Both of these disorders can cause an adolescent to disrespect authority and “talk back”. Behavioral disorders aren’t dangerous, but they often make life very difficult for the person who has them.

There are many different kinds of mental disorders. It is extremely important for people to be educated about the things that affect adolescents in the world today. In order for us to sympathize and connect with people on a personal level, we need to understand what they’re going through. If the world is aware of the true nature of mental illness, discrimination against those with mental disorders will end. Awareness is easy; talk to people about mental illness. Together, we can make the world a smarter, better place.

For more information about mental health in teens visit: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/teenmentalhealth.html

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