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By Hugh C. McBride
A series of recent articles painted a bleak picture about the mental health status of today's young people:
Which leads us to the question that all parents would like to have answered: Is my teen just moody - or is he in need of professional help?
Normal Teen Behavior
Even in the best of circumstances, the teen years can be challenging for the person who is going through them, as well as for the parents who are charged with keeping him safe. Raging hormones, battles for independence, fears over establishing one's identity, pressures to succeed in school (and frustrations about academic failures), and stresses related to fitting in socially make for quite a rocky road between childhood and adulthood.
As they attempt to navigate this obstacle-strewn path, teens often engage in behaviors that can cause both concern and confusion among those who are close to them. From questionable fashion decisions to changes in attitudes, tastes, and preferences, the teen years are marked with experimental phases that may blur the line between normal and not. The key, of course, is differentiating between the merely annoying (see: hair, purple) and a sign that something might be seriously wrong (such as the behaviors described in the following section).
"As a parent you can really lose your compass about what's normal and typical when you have a range of behaviors coming at you," Alec Miller, chief of child and adolescent psychology at Montefiore Medical Center and Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City, told MSNBC contributor Roni Caryn Rabin.
Signs & Symptoms of Depression
So, we've established that teenagers are going to have bad moods, change their minds, experiment with their appearance, and engage in other behaviors that may occasionally cause the adults in their lives to wince.
But when, as a parent, do you really need to worry? According to experts with the Aspen Education Group, National Youth Violence Prevention Resource Center, and PsychCentral, the following may indicate that your teenager is suffering from depression, anxiety, or another disorder that merits professional intervention:
Your child's school is an excellent resource for help identifying the nature of the problem and exploring treatment opportunities. Other good places to start include your family physician, local mental health agency, and the Internet.
Depending upon the nature, severity, and duration of the problems your teen is experiencing, treatment may include personal counseling, outpatient therapy, or enrollment in a residential treatment facility or other therapeutic program. The better you educate yourself about your child's challenges and the existing treatment options, the better prepared you will be to find the best match to help heal your family.