MODULE 7:
MENTAL
HEALTH AND
WELL-BEING IN
MIDDLE AND
LATE
ADOLESCENCE
READING: YOUR
MIND ABOUT
MENTAL HEALTH
Mental health. 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 [Link] shows that
effective treatments are available 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.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
STRATEGIES FOR BECOMING
A CRITICAL VIEWER OF THE
MEDIA
Media messages about body shape and size will
affect the way we feel aboutourselves 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
WHY ARE SELF-ESTEEM
AND BODY IMAGE
IMPORTANT?
Self-esteem is all about how much you feel you are wort
hand 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
all. 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-
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.
[Link]
IA
2. BULIMIA
Bulimia is similar to anorexia. With bulimia,
people might binge eat (est 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). once a To have bulimia, a person must be
binging and purging regularly, at least 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 stall all
over a dessere, or they may have to go to
extreme measures (like pouring salt albople 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, sar, people with
anorexia usually very thin and underweight, but
those with bulimia may be an average weight
2. BULIMIA
SUPPORT
STRATEGIES/COMMUNITY
MENTAL HEALTH RESOURCES
- Encourage the person to seek help
and support from an adult
- Spend time with the person, listen to
his/her concerns.
-Be hopeful; help them feel like their life
will get better.
-Stand by them. Invite your friend to things
that you are doing, keeping busy and staying
in touch with friends will help your friend feel
better, when they are ready.
-Learn as much as you can about mental
illness so that you understand what is going
on for them
- If you are a close friend or family member
of someone with a mental health problem,
make sure that you get help as well. Talk to
someone about what is happening. This will
help you be a better support person.
- Put the person's life before your
friendship. If the person mentions thoughts
of suicide, don't keep it secret, even if the
person has asked you to
HEALTHY EATING AND
MENTAL HEALTH
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
AND MENTAL HEALTH
SLEEP AND MENTAL
HEALTH
THAN
K
YOU