Caring Minds^2:
Teenage mental health Support
Part I. Confront your feelings
“Not every mental health challenge will be diagnosed as a mental disorder, but every challenge should be taken seriously.”
It is very crucial to confront negative emotions and adjust oneself.
Step 1. Identifying Your Negative Emotional Experiences
Anxiety is a mixture of uncertainty, worry, and fear, and is usually directed toward something in the future. You may experience suffocation, panic, palpitations… all of which are manifestations of anxiety.
Sadness arises after our need or our self-worth is denied. The duration of sadness is short, but the experience can be very intense. You may feel like crying or unable to speak due to the soreness in your throat.
Depressed mood usually occurs after a setback and tends to lead us into self-doubt.
We may also feel insecure, worried, lonely, fearful, jealous, self-blaming...However, it is crucial to know when you need professional help. For example, if you experience difficulty sleeping, significant change in appetite or weight, or find it hard to concentrate on things you previously enjoyed for more than two weeks, please try to seek help before these symptoms overwhelm you.
Step 3. Actively seek solutions!
Everyone has their own way of dealing with negative emotions. Some helpful tips offered by visitors to our exhibition are listed below:
"Negative emotions can be overcome as long as you can express your feelings and let them out. Whether it's through talking to a trusted family member or friend, writing down negative experiences in a diary or online, it can help us effectively relieve us from distress."
"Sleep. Sleep deficiency triggers a variety of emotional problems. Try to take a day off and get some rest. This really won't affect the progress of anything most of the time, so give yourself a break!"
"Learn a new skill, such as cooking, painting, or writing; talk to a friend on the phone or online; do some healthy exercise, such as walking, jogging, or swimming; keep track of your mood changes; try mood-soothing techniques, such as breathing deeply, muscle relaxation and meditation."
"Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is also a very effective way to relieve negative emotions! I recommend ‘Eight Weeks of Positive Thinking.’ Through positive thinking, we can gain a better understanding of our own situation, and with physiological relaxation such as breathing adjustments, allow negative emotions to be relieved."
Step 2. Getting to the cause of negative emotions
The next step is to find out the causes of our negative emotions.
Perhaps we can look back on the day when the mood swings occurred and think about what triggered us, or even write about how we feel so that we can identify the source of our negative emotions.
We can talk to friends and family about our troubles, and even if we can't immediately address the "root cause," this can help us determine where to start to try to alleviate our distress and discomfort.
Part II. Know Your Chanllenges
“Sometimes a mood is about more than just being lonely or angry or frustrated.”
"I think I'm depressed." Do you guess this after experiencing negative emotions? Or, are you continually affected by negative emotions, but never give them enough attention?
We need to pay attention to our mental state and know how to assess our mental health, as well as have an understanding of common mental health issues. "Knowing ourselves and others" and understanding the negative emotions or mental health challenges that we or others may be experiencing allows us to better care for and respect ourselves and others.
"How do you distinguish between negative emotions and mental disorders?"
Simply put, negative emotion is a normal emotional response that occurs when we have an unpleasant experience; it may make us feel uncomfortable for a short period of time, but it can be alleviated if we respond appropriately. If the negative emotion persists, it will develop into an "emotional state"; if it remains unrelieved, it could develop into a so-called "disorder," a pathological mental health problem that requires medication. If you find yourself in a prolonged emotional slump, don’t hesitate to talk to people around you and seek help proactively.
"Can we trust the psychological disorder self-test form?"
There are many assessments or inventories for depression and anxiety online, and the test results may tell us that we have depression or anxiety disorders. However, these tests do not specify whether they can be used as a screening tool, a diagnostic tool, or an efficacy assessment. In addition, many factors can affect the results of a mental health scale, such as the format of the scale questions, the individual's understanding of the questions, and the individual's motivation to complete the scale.
Therefore, without the guidance of a professional, most subjects are not able to use and read the mental health scales appropriately, and no diagnosis can be made based on the results of the scales alone.
Part III. Reaching Out to Others
“Your help is more valuable than you would expect.”
Perhaps you have a friend or family member who is struggling with mental health issues. As someone they can rely on, you can try to lend a helping hand. Remember, your support is important to them! However, when you are offering help, keep these tips in mind:
The first thing you can try is to help your friend or family to notice their symptoms or signs, identify their triggers, and draw their attention to the source of these negative emotions.
Listening is a very important part of supporting them. Sometimes, all they need is a patient and non-judgemental listener. You don’t have to go out of your way to do this – just be natural, casual, and empathetic.
If you don't know how to help or believe that you are unable to offer the help they need, that’s ok. Be patient, reassure them, and encourage them to seek professional help. Don't estrange your friend or family simply because you don’t know what to do. This can be very hurtful.
If possible, you can help them relax. Relaxing activities like yoga, meditation, and MBCT could help. Similarly, you can help deal with the causes of their stress.
Don’t feel stressed out when your friend or your family member turns to you for help. It’s more than enough to offer as much help as you can. Also, remember to look after yourself while supporting others.
Here are some reliable sources that show you how to support friends and family in mental distress:
Understanding Mental Illness
1
Depression
Depression is a common mental disease among teenagers. It is characterized by depressed moods for long periods with other physical symptoms, like insomnia.
Depression is found to be correlated to certain physical changes in the brain:
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the lack of serotonin
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abnormal neuron development
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abnormal in the prefrontal lobe and hippocampus
serotonin structure
brain structure
2
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder includes one having obsessions about doing something and can't control oneself.
Obsessive-compulsive disorder may be caused by certain biological factors:
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higher glutamate level inside the brain
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abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex
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abnormalities in striatum (which is related with punishment and reward circuit of individual)
glutamate structure
brain structure
3
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder happens when patient experience anxiety for no reason for more than three month. There may also be other physical symptoms accompanied.
Generalized anxiety disorder is found to be related with several biological:
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abnormal amygdala functioning
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excessive level of norepinephrine
norepinephrine structure
brain structure
The Stigmatization of Mental Diseases
Patients with mental illnesses are often not guaranteed a good environment to recover, because they feel their illness is stigmatized and not understood by others. There are many reasons for this stigmatization of mental health issues that need to be addressed.
To ease the problem, we roughly divided people's various reasons for avoiding mental illness patients into three general groups and gave different advice for each distinctive group.
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Some people unconsciously show prejudice and discrimination
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some people fear patients because of a lack of understanding of the disease
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some people distance themselves from patients because they do not know how to help them and get along with them.
Although people nowadays have already gained scientific knowledge of mental illnesses, the stigmatization of society against patients has not faded.
Many psychological disorders are often regarded as an abnormal "crazy" symbol, firmly bound to negative stereotypes. The inability to be understood and respected by others, the loss of confidence caused by their own social obstacles, and even rejection and marginalization make many adolescents who experience psychological disorders feel stigmatized. Their unwillingness to seek outside help and lack of security to discuss their mental health status has a negative impact on themselves, those around them, and society, making stigma one of the social factors in the onset of many mental disorders.
One major cause of the misunderstanding of mental illnesses is the widespread fictionality of some film and television works. Misinterpretation of mental illnesses patients in television works makes negative stereotypical impressions of mental illness transmitted more frequently. Imperceptibly, the social cognition of people with psychological disorders is prone to errors and deviations.
In fact, mental health stigma is more complicated than we think.
Many people who experience mental disorders may be experiencing other life challenges at the same time, and the issue of stigma makes it harder for them to reverse their life struggles. The problem with stigma is not only that it impedes the treatment of individual psychological disorders, but also the social discrimination, inequality, and marginalization of particular groups, and these moreover lead to the world's health crises. Therefore, in addition to traditional forms of treatment such as medication and psychotherapy, intervention against stigma has an important role to play in mental health.
For the better overcoming of patients’ mental illnesses, get us all help to set up a warmer atmosphere, not only from words but also by taking small actions.
From Psychotherapist Interviewed
"The stigma of adolescent patients is really a hindrance to our effectiveness in alleviating psychological problems. Many children are reluctant to seek outside help, but early professional treatment and support can make a big difference. Reducing stigma is an important step in improving mental health."
From Patients Interviewed:
"I live in a small town and have heard about people's misunderstandings and misinterpretations of depression. I am afraid that my classmates will treat me differently, and I don't know what kind of attitude my parents will take towards my problems."
"I put off going to the doctor and getting treatment for a long time... For a long time, I lived in guilt and self-denial, thinking that I was sorry for my parents, that I was incompetent... In addition, I don't want others to judge me, and I don't want to admit and face my own 'vulnerability.'"
From the Film《Fatal Attraction》：
"In the movie Fatal attraction, Alex Forrest has bipolar disorder. She cooked her lover's pets on the stove, poured acid on his car, and threatened the lives of his family.
Although people with true bipolar disorder can be highly emotional, they rarely express emotions as extreme as Alex. Such exaggerated movie expressions have a subtle and negative impact on society's perception of people with mental illness."
