Most teenagers go through and sometimes suffer, a complex maturation process that involves the transition from childhood to adulthood. In a high percentage of cases, the teenager finds his place without the revolutions he has undertaken negatively conditioning his adult life. However, unfortunately, this is not always the case.
Dr. Cheryl Corcoran, director of a psychiatric diagnostic program at Columbia University, says, “ The adolescent who is at risk for psychosis feels very alone and isolated and wonders if he or she is going crazy. It may not look much different from the outside, but the individual’s experience is very different.”
It is clear that not all teenagers suffer from psychosis, nor do they have serious mental problems. However, it is an ideal time for personality disorders, erratic behavior, and other types of conditions to manifest themselves, caused by the complex mental process they go through.
“Adolescence is a new birth, since with it are born more complete and higher human traits”
-G. Stanley Hall-
Considering that illnesses such as schizophrenia and even bipolar disorder do not arise out of nowhere, it is important to know what traits are associated with these mental problems to be alert and to be able to make an early diagnosis that can lead to a substantial improvement in the subject’s living conditions.
Identifying mental problems in adolescents
The American Psychiatric Association, also known as APA, has published a catalog of traits and symptoms that are easily identifiable by people who are closest and closest to adolescents.
In this way, if there are warning signs or strange behavior, you can react. This is how the young person can receive early attention that delays the onset of the problem, reduces its severity, and allows for proper development:
- Social isolation and loss of interest in the environment, especially about people, can be a warning sign.
- Attitudes and aptitudes for abandonment can also be a sign. If the young person abandons his studies, sports practices, school attendance, household chores, etc. excessively, it can be a sign of a bigger problem.
- The ability to concentrate, memorize, and use logical and verbal language can be symptoms of mental problems.
- Reactions to different stimuli can be a disorder. If your auditory, visual, tactile, or any other sense sensitivity increases, it is best to seek specialist advice.
- Feelings of apathy in young people could also be indicative of a disorder. If they show no initiative or desire to participate, it is best to seek a professional diagnosis.
- Sometimes teenagers seem disconnected from the world. This is often associated with age, rebellion, or a transitional process, but it can also be the beginning of a mental problem.
- Illogical or fanciful thoughts, which are more likely in childhood than in adolescence, maybe a clue. If your child’s beliefs about a subject seem exaggerated or unusual, there may be a problem.
- Your state of anxiety and excessive nerves will also be synonymous with a possible psychological problem.
- Teenage behavior can sometimes be unusual. However, if it is inappropriate and continues for a long time, it is best to seek help.
- Changes in habits, such as excessive sleeping, lack of appetite, or neglect and deterioration of personal hygiene are striking symptoms.
- During adolescence, young people begin to find their emotional stability. If these changes are exaggerated and excessively rapid, as in children, who can go from laughing to crying in seconds, it is better to take precautions.
What to do in a suspicious situation?
If you suspect that a young person is displaying any of these behaviors, it does not necessarily mean that they have a mental disorder. However, if one or more of these situations occur in a particular child, it is never a bad idea to seek professional help and clear up any doubts .
Criminologist Matthew Robinson recounts his own experience in his family. When his 20-year-old brother suffered a mental breakdown with hallucinations and conspiracy obsessions, he was immediately taken to the doctor.
The young man was eventually diagnosed with bipolar disorder. However, the early professional care he received allowed him to be treated. He is now a renowned professor. So you know, the importance of reacting in time is paramount. It never hurts to get out of doubt and get help.