Overcoming Stigma: How to Deal with Teen’s Mental Health – WGEM

ORLANDO, Fla. (WGEM) -- COVID shutdowns have not only greatly impacted childrens schooling, but also their mental health.

In a survey of teens ages 13 to 19, the survey found seven out of ten teens are struggling with their mental health in the wake of COVID-19 and more than half said the pandemic has increased their feelings of loneliness.

But we have some tips for parents on how to help their teen cope.

15-year-old Julia Byrne loves playing the trumpet.

But her parents divorce and a move across the country made some much-loved activities a little less exciting.

I just isolated myself and kept myself from doing things that I would enjoy because I thought I didnt deserve them, Byrne shared.

Then COVID-19 happened, and she was forced to be even more isolated.

Which has just been hard, and its contributed to me being suicidal for some time, continued Byrne.

Byrne was not alone.

This isolation is causing a lot of issues for teens, stated Ian Adair, Executive Director at Gracepoint Foundation.

Forty-three percent of teens say they have experienced depression, 45 percent have experienced excessive stress, and 55 percent experienced anxiety due to the pandemic. So, what can parents do?

We have to empathize. We have to listen, actively listen to whats going on, said Adair.

Create a safe space where your teen can talk and dont be afraid to ask your teen if theyre thinking about hurting themselves.

Theres a stigma that if you talk about suicide, then that might increase the opportunity for kids to attempt suicide or think about suicide, when research says its the exact opposite, continued Adair.

Adair normalizes talking about mental health in his book, Stronger Than Stigma, and he says when parents normalize the conversation ...

You rationalize it. When you talk about it, you make it something you can work out, Adair explained.

Exercising and talking to a therapist have turned things around for Byrne.

It was able to help me focus on my mental health and finally start to pick myself up from that spiral, smiled Byrne.

Allowing her to tune in to more positive notes.

Parents can take a mental health test to see if their teen might be struggling with mental health issues at mhascreening.org.

Share the results with your teen afterwards to get the conversation started.

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Overcoming Stigma: How to Deal with Teen's Mental Health - WGEM