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Mental Health Disorders in Adolescents

Alanis Acosta

August 19, 2020          

 

          Adolescence—that stage in your life where you encounter new feelings, experiences, and decisions. Most people say that it is one of the toughest phases in development, since you confront plenty of common problems related to school, family, behaviors, identity, relationships, and sexuality. Likewise, adolescents may also acquire symptoms of mental health disorders during their growth, which if diagnosed early and treated accordingly, can be prevented from becoming chronic diseases. According to The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, at least one in every five teenagers from 9-17 years of age currently has a detectable mental disorder that can cause some degree of damage; while one in ten has a disorder that can cause serious impairment. The most typical mental illnesses in adolescents are anxiety, mood, attention, and behavior disorders.

            Between all prevalent anxiety disorders, some include generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Generalized anxiety disorder, also known as GAD, is a feeling of needless worry and anxiety about a number of events or activities; GAD is often associated with somatic symptoms. A panic attack is a sudden episode of intense fear or discomfort based on an anticipated threat. It manifests in various forms such as palpitations, nausea, accelerated heart rate, sweating, shortness of breath, etc. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a variety of excessive thoughts that lead to repetitive behaviors. Lastly, PTSD is a condition that people experience usually after a trauma, given their difficulty in recovering from it.

            Adolescence is usually known for teenager’s mood swings and changes in behaviors. Mood disorders can range from major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, premenstrual dysphoric disorder, among others. Major depressive disorder (MDD) occurs when a young adult is feeling depressed or loses pleasure in doing certain activities, if not all, for a period of at least 2 weeks. Differently, bipolar disorder involves exaggerated high and low moods and changes in sleep, energy, thinking, and behavior. Some severe cases even require hospitalization. In addition, many women also experience premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), including symptoms such as sadness, hopelessness, irritability, or anger, plus common premenstrual syndrome symptoms such as breast tenderness and bloating. PMDD causes extreme mood shifts that can disrupt work and even damage relationships. Another frequent chronic condition is ADHD, also called attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, in which people have issues focusing their attention on a single task or sitting still for long periods of time.

            As the last main category of mental illnesses that youth may struggle with, there are behavior disruptive disorders. Conduct disorder is a pattern of repetitive and inappropriate behaviors that defy the basic rights of others such as aggression, theft, destruction of property, and violation of rules. Similarly, oppositional-defiant disorder is a pattern of negative and hostile actions such as losing temper, arguing with adults, refusing to follow rules, and blaming others.

            Mental health disorders are a serious problem in adolescents and can be prevented by early identification, prompt referral, and care coordination. This way doctors can magnificently decrease morbidity and mortality related to mental illnesses in young ones. Adolescent medicine specialists can help with this matter as they have the adequate training to talk to teenagers and get them to reach out for aid when needed.

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