Mental health among teens is a very serious issue that still doesn’t get enough attention. People often think it’s just a “phase” that they go through. Teens push their feelings away, often feeling like they’re dumb or invalid. The fact that people are allowed to have serious feelings is still unknown to some teens and their parents. Not releasing your feelings makes whatever you’re dealing with even worse. It’s even harder to deal with when your peers are claiming you’re doing everything for attention. Now it’s time to throw some statistics at you:

• 20% of youth ages 13-18 live with a mental health condition
• 11% of youth have a mood disorder
• 10% of youth have a behavior or conduct disorder
• 8% of youth have an anxiety disorder
• 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14 and 75% by age 24
• Approximately 50% of students age 14 and older with a mental illness drop out of high school
• 70% of youth in state and local juvenile justice systems have a mental illness

Now it’s time to throw some warning signs at you:

• Feeling very sad or withdrawn for more than 2 weeks
• Sudden overwhelming fear for no reason, sometimes with a racing heart
• Changes in sleeping habits or feeling tired and low energy
• Prolonged or strong feelings of anger or irritability
• Changes in school performance
• Frequent nightmares
• Frequent temper tantrums
• Inability to carry out daily activities or handle daily problems or stress
• Avoiding friends and social activities

Remember always talk to a trusted adult or a friend for help. Also, look into professional help. A mental disorder is something that should be taken seriously and talked about.