Issues Teens Encounter
Taylor Elliott
Anorexia
-Anorexia is an eating disorder that causes people to obsess over their weight, because they think they are overweight even if they are not.
People with anorexia try to maintain an abnormally low body weight through starvation and/or too much exercise. Deep psychological issues such as body image problems cause depression and sometimes self harm problems.Statistics:
-Only 60 % of anorexia patients make a full recovery, in which they live a normal life and never have any more episodes of this disorder.
-20% make a partial recovery, in which they can maintain life and a job and other life activities, but they still tend to obsess about eating and weight
- 20% stay dangerously underweight and mentally and physically unhealthy.
-5% of all young adult/teens suffer from it
-Only 10% of all sufferers are maleSymptoms:
-Only 60 % of anorexia patients make a full recovery, in which they live a normal life and never have any more episodes of this disorder.
-20% make a partial recovery, in which they can maintain life and a job and other life activities, but they still tend to obsess about eating and weight
- 20% stay dangerously underweight and mentally and physically unhealthy.
-5% of all young adult/teens suffer from it
-Only 10% of all sufferers are maleSolutions:
-Medical therapy will be needed to get back into healthy shape
-To stay healthy, counseling/therapy is needed
-Psychiatrists/ Psychologists, and nutritionists are usually the specialists that help and treat patients with anorexia.
-Since depression usually accompanies depression, antidepressants and/or anxiety medications are usually administered, and sometimes patients are required tube feeding to maintain weightAnxiety
Generalized Anxiety Disorder is excessive, sometimes unrealistic worry and tension, even if there is little or nothing to trigger it. There is no proven cause for anxiety, but some statistics show it can be caused from extreme environmental stress. Factors such as bullying, family and home life, mental issues, and depression can also cause this.
Statistics:
-Anxiety disorders are the most common type of disorder in the US
-Only one third of those suffering from it get treated.
- 8% of teens suffer from anxiety disorder
-Out of teens suffering from this disorder, only 18% get medical care
- 3rd most common mental disease in teens
-85% of teens say people who have a mental issue, such as generalized anxiety disorder, are a disgrace to society
Symptoms:
-Feelings of panic, fear, and uneasiness.
-Problems sleeping
-Cold/sweaty hands and/or feet
-Shortness of breath
-Heart palpitations
-An inability to be still and calm
-Dry mouth
-Numbness in hands or feet
-Nausea
-Muscle tension
-Dizziness
-Shaking hands
Solutions:
-Medications such as antidepressants and anxiety drugs are often used to treat this disorder
-Psychotherapy helps the mental part of this disease
-Cognitive therapy, and type of psychotherapy helps to help a person to identify their feeling behind the anxiety, and help stop it
-Lifestyle changes
Peer Pressure
Statistics:
-70% of teens who smoke started smoking because of peer pressure
-two thirds of tenth graders and two fifths of eighth graders have tried alcohol more than once.
-30% of eighth graders have used illicit drugs.Symptoms:
-Risky behaviors such as drug use, alcohol use, tobacco use
-Compromising important things that may be important to them, such as celibacy, moral values, and grades.Solutions:
-Strict parental monitoring
-Being selective about their peer groups
-learning good communication skillsFamily Issues
Statistics:
-11% of teens say that they are always/constantly stressed by their parents
-82% of kids say they
they can talk to one parent about serious issueSymptoms:
-If the parent is verbally abusive or if the child is, it can cause severe self esteem issues to the parent or child
-can cause psychological issues
-some kids don’t learn to develop relationships with othersSolutions:
-families that calmly talk things out tend to have better relationships
-when in a conflict, talk things out and let each other talk
-when a teen is abused, the best thing to do is to get helpDepression
Statistics:
-20% of teens experience some sort of depressive episode
-8% of teens suffer from depression for more than a year
-20-40% of teens have more than one depressive episode in a year
-teen boys are less likely to seek help for depression.
-20-40% of teens have more than one depressive episode in a year.
Symptoms:
Mental:
-anxiety, apathy, boredom, guilt, hopelessness, inability to feel pleasure, loneliness, loss of interest, sadness, emotional distress, thoughts of suicide, agitation, irritability, and repeatedly going over thoughts
Behavioral: excessive crying, self harm, social isolation, early awakening, excess sleeping, insomnia, restless sleep, and substance abuse
Physical: weight gain or weight loss, decreased energy
Solutions:
-talk therapy with a psychologist/
psychiatrist
-antidepressants/
anxiety medication