it’s normal for teenagers to worry about issues like stress, schoolwork and body image.
Not all teenage issues and worries need professional help.
Sometimes worries won’t go away, get worse or interfere with daily life. This might be a sign your child needs professional help.The teenage years are a time of rapid growth and change, physically, mentally and socially. For some teenagers, change can be scary, whereas others take it in their stride.
Also, teenagers often have to make early decisions about school subjects, study, careers and work. In fact, many teenagers feel that their secondary school marks decide their whole future – that’s a lot of pressure.
If you add economic change, job security, globalisation and mental health to the usual teenage issues, it’s not surprising that your child sometimes feels quite worried.
Signs of anxiety
When worries won’t go away, get worse or interfere with your child’s daily life, this could be a sign that your child is struggling with anxiety.
Here are some signs that your child might need some help with anxiety:
Worries that won’t go away: this is when your child is feeling ‘on edge’ or ‘wound up’ most of the time, is generally worried about a lot of things for no clear reason, or can’t relax.
Worries that get worse over time: this is when your child avoids situations or people, feels panicky in some situations, has bad thoughts that are hard to control, or has physical symptoms like increased sweating, fast heartbeat, headaches, stomach cramps, nausea, rapid breathing or diarrhoea.
Worries that interfere with daily life: this is when your child stops being able to do things that he used to do because of fear and anxiety, or you feel that your child’s reactions are stopping him from enjoying everyday things.
Signs of depression
It’s normal for young people to go through ups and downs. But if your child feels angry, guilty, sad or cranky more than usual, she could be suffering from depression.
Your child might need help with depression if he’s behaving in the following ways for most of the time or for more than two weeks. Your child:
feels like giving up a lot of the time
has significant and regular trouble sleeping
is regularly behaving in ways that aren’t like him – for example, he’s getting into trouble, having difficulty with schoolwork, isolating himself or fighting.
Depression probably won’t go away by itself, and it’s a good idea to seek professional help. You and your child could start by talking to your GP.
