Personal Development
Personal Development
Development
Lesson 8
Mental Health and Well-
being in adolescence
Topics in this lesson:
Well-being
-is defined as a subjective state that emerges from a general feeling of satisfaction with oneself. It is also described as a condition of good
health, happiness and prosperity. Positive feelings of self-worth contribute to healthy psychological development and help reduce the effects of
stress while growing up. The adolescent who faces challenges and changes with the proper perspective in a healthy mind can easily adapt to
the daily demands of life. Thus, it is important that adolescents understand himself, are aware of his strengths and weaknesses, and grow in an
environment where problems are handled well because he has control over his situation. Well being extends to difficult aspects of life.
Different aspects
of life.
Physical
Psychological Social
Well-being
Economic Environment
Mental Health Issues & Challenges
in Adolescence
01 Eating Disorder
02 Depression
03 Suicide
01 Eating Disorder
Some teenagers are eating too much or too little. This practice either leads to obesity
or malnourishment. For people who turn to eating as a way to release tension, food is
used as a means of comfort when a person is depressed, tense or stressed. Such thing
is called emotional eating. Others try to eat less than normal for fear of gaining
weight because of their conscious effort to maintain their team frame. All these are
part of the kind of self image that he or she has formed. If he finds himself a weak
person, the tendency is for him to brood and well on the negative things about himself,
leading to sadness, loneliness, and depression .
02 Depression
One of the most common mental health issues
experienced by adolescents today is depression .
Reasons vary from a sense of personal failure , family
conflict , inadequacy over school performance , sexual
orientation , lack of financial resources , and social
status compared to their peers . Some cases are
hormonal in nature . All these difficulties contribute to
a sense of worthlessness, loneliness, and isolation.
03 Suicide
When depression becomes too severe, the docent may attempt
to commit suicide. The adolescent who feels worthless and
hopeless finds no meaning and purpose in life. He resorts to
suicide as a solution to end his misery. Family and friends
support is vital during this time. The person who sends fillers of
contemplating suicide should not be left alone. He needs to have
a companion as a preventive measure. His companion must be
careful in conversing with a suicidal person. Suicide attempt
must be taken seriously .
Risk factors, Resilience and
Prevention
Risk Factors
There are certain factors that may increase the risk of a person to develop mental illness. A person with a family
history of mental illness is predisposed to developing it when his coping skills are weak to adapt to traumatic
experiences or chronically stressful life situations.
Resilience
One of the protective factors of the adolescent in preventing the breakdown of mental health is resilience. The
meaning of resilience in the dictionary is "The ability to recover readily from illness, depression, adversity, or the like
and another meaning is buoyancy". When the adolescent is depressed, for instance, he has the capability to "bounce"
back to his normal life.
Prevention
To prevent a person from developing poor mental health one should check his self perception . A positive self-concept
can serve as a buffer to the onslaught of problems and difficulties that a young person experiences . He becomes
emotionally competent to handle demands and pressures .
Feedbacks;
How can we develop and maintain mental
health and well-being?