Research Proposal on "Mental Health Teens and Mental Health Issues"

Research Proposal 6 pages (1938 words) Sources: 3 Style: APA

[EXCERPT] . . . .

Mental Health

Teens and Mental Health Issues

Being a teenager in today's crazy world is hard enough. On top of the stress of normal teenage life, millions of American teens suffer even more stress caused by symptoms of various mental health issues. Disorders such as anxiety disorders, ADD and ADHD, depression, and bi-polar disorder are common in today's teens and should be treated through either counseling or medication. Yet, prescribed treatments in many cases are not followed through by teens, and they show low levels of compliance with medication strategies. Compliance can be increased when health professionals, insurance companies, and the teens work together to provide a better treatment option that is more in line with the teen's actual lifestyle.

There are several types of mental health concerns that affect millions of teens across the country. Anxiety disorders are a major plague for many teens with mental or behavioral issues. When some adolescents are stressed beyond their capable limits, they cannot handle that stress in a normal functioning way and instead turn to releasing their anxiety in irrational and harmful ways. According to research, "Children and adolescents with anxiety disorders typically experience intense fear, worry, or uneasiness that can last for long periods of time," (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 2009). There are several recognized anxiety disorders that can affect teens and young adults in various ways. Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) causes adolescents to worry excessively over things that others there age would not care nearly as much about. This excess stress will tend to cause problems sleeping, functioning throughout the day, and serious problems focusing attention in school. High anxiety can also harbor physical symptoms such as light headedness, headaches, muscle tensions, and fatigue. Another serious anxiety order many teens face is Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, or OCD. The disorder is typically developed during the adolescent years. With OCD come strange compulsions that are used to help ease anxiety and quell irrational fears the child or teen may be having. These compulsions then become rituals that the teens need in order to function throughout the day. OCD can range from a slight case to an extremely severe case, and unfortunately the anxiety disorder affects around 2.2 million Americans (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 2009). Additionally, Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can seriously affect the lives of teenagers around the country. This disorder is a response to a severe trauma that had occurred earlier in life and then was buried within the mental frame of the teenager. This trauma can come in many forms. In fact, "Children don't have to be physically harmed to suffer from PTSD. Children can suffer from PTSD if something bad happens to them, if they witness a traumatic event, or a trauma happens to someone they love," (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 2009). This hidden stress can then negatively affect their lives and cause trouble sleeping, emotional numbness, intense aggressive behavior, and nightmares. Social Anxiety Disorder, also known as Social Phobia, can harm teens and their social relationships. In many cases the teens turn their anxiety towards themselves and become overly self-conscious which leads them to have intense fear of social situations. This fear leaves them with little friends and solid relationships and low self-esteem.

Another major disorder that affects millions of teens is that of attention disorders. Attention Deficit Disorder, or ADD, is a behavioral disorder that causes teens and young children to have difficulty keeping their attention for tasks such as homework. There is another more serious condition known as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), which throws more complications into the mixture. These children tend to exude the same attention loss and distractions seen in individuals with ADD, but also show increased levels of hyperactivity. According to the research, "These children always seem 'on the go.' They dash around, constantly touching things, or talking non-stop," (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 2009). With this hyperactive element to the disorder, many teens may fidget, have trouble staying out or seated, inappropriate running and physical exertion, and constant interruption of others. Additionally, teens can loose focus and become incredibly inattentive.

Depression is also a common problem within millions of teenagers around both the country and the world. It can come in bouts, which can be worked through, or as a permanent feature to a teen's mental make up. Around twenty percent of teenagers will face depression at some point in their adolescence (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 2009). With this depression also come increased difficulties with dealing with the stresses of everyday life. Depression comes with a feeling of sadness that is lengthened over long periods of time within the teen's life. It then affects the teen's daily life. According to research, "Depression gets in the way of how kids behave, deal with others, and how they feel about themselves. Nearly half of youth with depression report very severe impairment at home, school/work, family relationships, or in their social life," (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 2009). Depression can affect teens without them even truly knowing it, which makes it difficult for many to find proper treatment.

A more serious mental health issue faced by many teens is Bi-Polar disorder. Becoming apparent manly during adolescence, this disorder causes "emotions and behaviors to go up and down with severe 'lows' (signs of depression) and extreme 'highs' (called mania)," (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 2009). Thus, with such a fragmented nature of their mental conditions, teens go through live with extremely different outcomes and symptoms depending on the specific moment they are experiencing. During a high period where mania comes into play, teens can show irritable mood swings, less of a need for proper sleep, fast speech and thinking processes, "excessive fun but risky behavior," and lack of rational judgment (U.S. Department of Health & Human Services 2009). Life moves fast during a period of mania, and then is almost completely stopped when hit with a period of depression. Such low periods show typical signs of depression and irritability with many things and people that go beyond a rational sense of stress. Additionally, low periods tend to include low energy and increased sleep within teens. Thus, the teen is constantly tortured between two worlds, making life as a teenager much harder than it already is.

There are several ways to diagnose and treat the various prominent mental health issues that many teens face on a daily basis. Parents who recognize problem areas within their teens can seek medical and professional help in a variety of forms. Psychiatric help and counseling can be utilized as a way to talk with tees and also get a proper scope on the nature and severity of the disorder which plagues them. Conditions like OCD can be eased with proper guidance and intense counseling. With a proper psychiatric evaluation, additional medicinal treatment can be allocated by a licensed professional. There are several known medicines that have been used to help teens cope with anxiety disorders, ADD and ADHD, depression and bi-polar disorder. In many cases, Ritalin, a common pharmaceutical derivative of methylphenidate, is used to treat disorders like ADD and ADHD. The drug calms teens down and lets them place more attention for longer periods of time into one single activity, such as school work. It is a common treatment for many teens and younger children, with positive results seen in increased attention and improving grades. In many cases, depression and bi-polar disorder are treated through counseling first rather than turning towards anti-depressants. According to research, "teenagers and children are more susceptible to having an adverse reaction to certain types of depression medications such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI), which can cause suicidal thoughts or tendencies in teens and children," (Graham 2009). Thus, many parents, teens, and doctors aim for counseling rather than medication. Yet, many teenagers are diagnosed with depression and placed on anti-depressant medications. In this case, the medication helps them break free from excessive and long-term bouts of depression.

Yet, even with diagnosis, many teens will fail to continue treatment. This is known as non-compliance. There are several reasons for teens to stop taking the medication used to treat their mental health issues. One for example is their need to rebel against authority figures. According to research, "Their lives are usually very busy and as they strive for independence from authority figures, they may not follow the advice of medical professionals," (MassGeneral Hospital for Children 2009). Thus, doctors are seen as a form of authority and are then disregarded during periods of rebellion which are typical in the adolescent years. Additionally, teens may opt not to comply with their medical treatment based on the need to create their own identities, rather than having one formed for them by external forces; "Teens seek to control their own lives and non-compliance with a medication may offer a way for a teen to control his or her identity," (MassGeneral Hospital… READ MORE

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