Back to School and Mental Health: Supporting Your Teen

Teens deal with many concerns, including bullying, safety in schools, pressures around their social lives, and coping with academic stress – so it’s not surprising that their rates of anxiety, depression, and other mental health issues are increasing. Going back to school can be especially stressful for teens – particularly for those who already live with a mental health condition.

These tips can help you support your teen in dealing with back-to-school anxiety, alleviate their fears, and improve any mental health symptoms they are experiencing to ensure they have a productive and stress-free school year.

Why Students’ Mental Health Matters

According to the CDC, persistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness increased 40 percent between 2009 and 2019 for high school students in the United States.

Adolescence is a period of self-doubt, increased insecurities, and intense pressure to fit in, excel, and make plans for the future. This intense pressure can have a significant negative effect on mental health, causing feelings of anxiety and depression, which in turn can affect their academic performance and overall well-being.

Identifying Mental Health Challenges in Students

Teens face many challenges that can have a significant effect on their mental health, such as the pressure to determine their future goals and achieve good grades, exhausting schedules filled with studying and extracurricular activities, and social anxiety caused by bullying or conflict with their friends at school. Teens are often less resilient or emotionally equipped to withstand stress or emotional challenges, and they are still learning to use coping mechanisms to deal with their anxiety and other mental health problems.

Some common mental health disorders teens face include:

• Anxiety
• Depression
• Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder
• Eating disorders

Some common signs your teen is dealing with a mental health issue include:

• Changes in sleep patterns or eating habits
• Withdrawal from friends and family
• Loss of interest in the things they usually enjoy
• Struggling with school or declining grades or attendance
• Refusing to talk to you about what's bothering them
• Signs of drug or alcohol use
• Signs of self-harm

Identifying mental health issues in your teen as soon as possible and intervening is crucial to ensure these symptoms don’t worsen. It’s also important to support your teen in any way you can to prevent the stress of school and teenage life from becoming overwhelming and causing them mental health strain.

Ways You Can Help

• Listen enthusiastically to concerns: You are one of your teen’s most important confidantes. It is crucial to be available to discuss their worries so that you can reassure them, answer questions, and offer solutions. Give them your undivided attention and an open line of communication to address any problems or stressors they encounter, such as bullies, anxiety about classwork, or an issue with a teacher. Ask your teen about their day, every day.
• Help them prepare: Being properly prepared for the new school year can help alleviate some of your teen’s anxiety and uncertainty about the unknown. Help them shop for and organize their school supplies, plan their outfits for the first week, and review their new class schedule. If they are attending a new school, arrange a visit before classes start so that they can get a lay of the land and feel more comfortable.
• Establish a routine: Routines provide a sense of stability, which can help reduce back-to-school jitters. As the new school year approaches, encourage your teen to adjust to their new sleep schedule for their school day routine and plan out morning and evening rituals to help them feel more in control. A consistent routine will help make the transition from the relaxed days of summer to the structured schedule of school much easier.
• Encourage healthy self-care: Helping your teen establish a healthy and consistent routine can do a lot to boost mental wellness. Make sure they are spending time doing things they enjoy to ease their stress, such as reading, watching movies, journaling, drawing, or spending time with their friends. While it can be difficult to control how much your teen is sleeping or how healthy they are eating, encouraging healthy choices whenever possible sets a good example to your teen for proper self-care.
• Encourage positive thinking: Teach your teen to challenge their negative thoughts and worries about the new year by emphasizing past experiences where they successfully made new friends or accomplished an impressive goal. Remind them of the things they love about school, such as participating in a particular sport or extracurricular activity or seeing their friends again regularly.

• Seek help if they are struggling: Sometimes,no matter how hard you try to support your teen, they may require further intervention to treat their symptoms of depression, anxiety, or other mental health problems. An assessment from a psychiatrist can determine what type of mental health issue your teen is facing so that they can develop a personalized course of treatment to effectively address their symptoms.

Mental Health Counseling for Teens at LiveWell

At LiveWell Counseling, we provide compassionate, nonjudgmental teen mental health treatment in a welcoming environment in Bergen County. Our expert team of mental health professionals has extensive experience helping teens and adolescents feel safe and supported so that we can guide them back to mental wellness.

To learn more about how LiveWell Counseling can help your teen, please call (201) 848-5800 or visit ChristianHealthNJ.info/LiveWellCounseling.