Teen mental awareness month started and was officially established in 1949 to shed light and bring awareness to how the importance of mental health and wellness in America’s teens. Over the years, substance abuse has hit America hard not just in adults but more and more in teens today, with all the access and so-called “plugs” being just some of the resources that teens have today. With all the room for influence and being constantly surrounded by friends and kids at school who all smoke and vape. Feeling this pressure and anxiety not just in their personal life but at school can affect teenagers more and more over time causing a build-up of anxiety and stress. 

People often don’t take teen mental health seriously. Teens go throughout their lives with unnoticed conditions or are just simply not taken seriously when they do seek out help or go from their parents. Keeping it in and letting it sit inside without telling anyone is often what teens end up doing because they feel like they can’t come to someone. People also forget to understand that the stigma associated with that feeling makes teens more reluctant towards not just their parents and family but towards their friends as well. Teen mental awareness encourages not only teenagers, their families, and friends to pitch in and engage in conversation with one another to be open and to make it a safe place. 

Ways teens can help themselves and others when feeling down. It is essential to understand each other and all come together when feeling down or influenced. Asking for help sometimes and surrounding yourself with positive energy and people who will lift you up are the best ways possible. Everyone at some point in their life has had a bad day and has felt down for a little period at a time. Be open and share your thoughts because this can inspire others to speak out on their problems and come to a trusted person in their life. While this might sound different or something that you might not want to do, get out of your house, yes it is good to rest but keep yourself busy with activities you enjoy and with people who bring you joy and positive energy constantly.

Importance of staying off social media and focusing on you. All the influence and content made today can impact your feelings and what is filtered on your feed or better known as your page. If you constantly have negative and sad content on every platform can affect your mood and thoughts throughout the day or night. Constant negativity is never good for anyone, as a teen we are still developing and figuring out our emotions and who we are in life. If you are planning to be on social media, try to look at videos or pictures that make you laugh and inspirational videos to motivate you. Tune everything out and focusing on yourself for a while is the best thing you can do for your mental health.