Teens have more mental health disorders in our generation (Gen Z) then any other generation before. The main mental disorders teens have are anxiety and depression. I asked my peers why they think teens today have these disorders and they helped me brainstorm some main ideas why this may be and ideas to go in between. I mean who better to ask then the people who go through these types of things.

A BIG reason is social media. Social media sets high beauty standards on appearance like body figures, outfits, makeup, etc. This can affect males, females, and anyone in between on how they view themselves. The reason for that is because right now teens on social media are seen with a perfect body and seen without a single flaw on or about them… so basically perfect. On any social media site the amount of likes you get on a picture you post of yourself determines how “beautiful” you really are. This might cause teens to have a low self-esteem and feel depressed.

Since most if not all teenagers have a phone it is way easier to just text or call a friend then actually going out and spending time with them. We lose that “face to face” contact so as a result we lose social skills which leads to having social anxiety and feeling lonely.

Another big reason is school. School causes so much stress in teenagers… especially those in high school and college. Tests, exams, quizzes, and overall class work can causes a great amount of stress and leave no time for yourself. The expectations for good grades in school are put by parents and/or teachers which could cause teens the stress of wanting to accomplish their expectations.

Some teens just want to fit in with the crowd which means doing things everyone else is doing or feel pressured into doing them. Some examples are smoking/vaping, trying drugs, drinking, and having sex. Although those things could be from being pressured to do it, some if not most teens use those things as an escape or distraction. This leads to addiction, teen pregnancy, and depression.

Its okay to put your phone down for a little bit and live in the moment… you’d actually be surprised on how much more relaxed you’ll be. Go hang out with your friends or family or go do something yourself. As for school its okay if you don’t take difficult classes and its okay if you don’t always have good grades. Just know that you’re not alone and there are many teens just like you going through the same things. You can always talk to your friends, family, check out blogs which are helpful and/or counselor because its better to let things out then bottle them in. 🙂