Personal Development

Quarter 3 – Module 7: Mental Health and Psychological

It’s the way your thoughts, feelings, and behaviors affect your life. Good mental health leads to positive
self-image and in-turn, satisfying relationships with friends and others. Having good mental health helps
you make good decisions and deal with life’s challenges at home, work, or school. It is not uncommon for
teenagers to develop problems with their mental health. Problems can range from mild to severe, and
can include depression, anxiety, body esteem issues, and suicide, among others. Unfortunately, most
young people with mental health problems don’t get any treatment for them.

Research shows that effective treatments are available 8 that can help members of all racial, ethnic, and
cultural groups. If you broke your leg or came down with pneumonia, you wouldn’t let it go untreated.
Often however, young people ignore mental health problems thinking they will “snap out of it,” or that
they are something to be ashamed of. That kind of thinking prevents people from getting the help they
need. Sometimes getting help is a matter of understanding mental health issues and changing your mind
about them.

Strategies for Becoming a Critical Viewer of the Media

Media messages about body shape and size will affect the way we feel about ourselves and our bodies,
only if we let them. One of the ways we can protect our self- esteem and body image from the media’s
narrow definitions of beauty is to become a critical viewer of the media messages we are bombarded
with each day. When we effectively recognize and analyze the media messages that influence us, we
remember that the media’s definitions of beauty and success do not have to define our self-image or
potential. Remember: All media images and messages are constructions.

They are NOT reflections of reality. Advertisements and other media messages have been carefully
crafted with the intent to send a very specific message. Advertisements are created to do one thing:
convince you to buy or support a specific product or service. To convince you to buy a specific product or
service, advertisers will often construct an emotional experience that looks like reality.

Remember that you are only seeing what the advertisers want you to see. Advertisers create their
message based on what they think you will want to see and what they think will affect you and compel
you to buy their product. Just because they think their approach will work with people like you doesn’t
mean it has to work with you as an individual.

As individuals, we decide how to experience the media messages we encounter. We can choose to use a
filter that helps us understand what the advertiser wants us to think or believe and then choose whether
we want to think or believe that message. We can choose a filter that protects our self-esteem and body
image. Through the use of magazine advertisements, we have discussed what motivates the advertising
industry and the effect that media has on body image. A final conclusion is that each student is left with
strategies about how to strengthen themselves against these messages.
SELF ESTEEM AND BODY ESTEEM

Does any of this sound familiar? "I'm too tall." "I'm too short." "I'm too skinny." "If only I were shorter or
taller; had curly hair or straight hair; had a smaller nose; or had longer legs, I'd be happy."

Are you putting yourself down? If so, you're not alone. As a teen, you're going through lots of changes in
your body. And, as your body changes, so does your image of yourself. It's not always easy to like every
part of your looks, but when you get stuck on the negatives it can really bring down your self-esteem.

Why Are Self-Esteem and Body Image Important?

Self-esteem is all about how much you feel you are worth — and how much you feel other people
value you.

Self-esteem is important because feeling good about yourself can affect your mental health and how you
behave. People with high self-esteem know themselves well. They're realistic and find friends that like
and appreciate them for who they are. People with high self-esteem usually feel more in control of their
lives and know their own strengths and weaknesses.

Body image is how you view your physical self — including whether you feel you are attractive and
whether others like your looks.

For many people, especially people in their early teens, body image can be closely linked to self-esteem.

What Influences a Person's Self-Esteem?

Puberty and Development

Some people struggle with their self-esteem and body image when they begin puberty because it's a
time when the body goes through many changes. These changes, combined with wanting to feel
accepted by our friends, means it can be tempting to compare ourselves with others. The trouble with
that is, not everyone grows or develops at the same time or in the same way.

Media Images and Other Outside Influences

Our tweens and early teens are a time when we become more aware of celebrities and media images —
as well as how other kids look and how we fit in. We might start to compare ourselves with other people
or media images ("ideals" that are frequently airbrushed). All of this can affect how we feel about
ourselves and our bodies even as we grow into our teens.

Families and School

Family life can sometimes influence our body image. Some parents or coaches might be too focused on
looking a certain way or "making weight" for a sports team. Family members might struggle with their
own body image or criticize their kids' looks ("why do you wear your hair so long?" or "how come you
can't wear pants that fit you?"). This can all influence a person's self-esteem, especially if they're
sensitive to others peoples' comments. People also may experience negative comments and hurtful
teasing about the way they look from classmates and peers. Although these often come from ignorance,
sometimes they can affect body image and self-esteem
Common Eating Disorders

The most common eating disorders are anorexia nervosa and bulimia nervosa (usually called simply
"anorexia" and "bulimia"). But other food-related disorders, like avoidant/restrictive food intake
disorder, binge eating, body image disorders, and food phobias, are becoming more and more commonly
identified.

1. Anorexia
People with anorexia have a real fear of weight gain and a distorted view of their body size and
shape. As a result, they eat very little and can become dangerously underweight. Many teens
with anorexia restrict their food intake by dieting, fasting, or excessive exercise. They hardly eat
at all — and the small amount of food they do eat becomes an obsession in terms of calorie
counting or trying to eat as little as possible. Others with anorexia may start binge eating and
purging — eating a lot of food and then trying to get rid of the calories by making themselves
throw up, using some type of medication or laxatives, or exercising excessively, or some
combination of these.

2. Bulimia

Bulimia is similar to anorexia. With bulimia, people might binge eat (eat to excess) and then try
to compensate in extreme ways, such as making themselves throw up or exercising all the time,
to prevent weight gain. Over time, these steps can be dangerous — both physically and
emotionally. They can also lead to compulsive behaviors (ones that are hard to stop). To have
bulimia, a person must be binging and purging regularly, at least once a week for a couple of
months. Binge eating is different from going to a party and "pigging out" on pizza, then deciding
to go to the gym the next day and eat more healthfully People with bulimia eat a large amount
of food (often junk food) at once, usually in secret.

Sometimes they eat food that is not cooked or might be still frozen, or retrieve food from the
trash. They typically feel powerless to stop the eating and can only stop once they're too full to
eat any more, or they may have to go to extreme measures (like pouring salt all over a dessert to
make it inedible) in order to get themselves to stop eating. Most people with bulimia then purge
by vomiting, but also may use laxatives or excessive exercise. Although anorexia and bulimia are
very similar, people with anorexia are usually very thin and underweight, but those with bulimia
may be an average weight or can be overweight