Healthcare Technology Featured Article

December 20, 2019

Digital Mental Health Resources Available to Teens




Mental illness in young children and especially teenagers increases with each passing day. Essentially pointing out the fact that growing up this day and age is a lot more trying than times past. Though things like genetics still play a major role in the instability of children’s emotional well-being, it is often the environmental factors that take the cake. 

The Struggles of Today’s Youth

Today’s children are faced with traumatic experiences (sexual, emotional, or physical abuse), the demands of school, grief, acts of violence (school shootings), toxic home environments, low self-esteem, peer pressure, bullying, social expectations, and more on a daily basis that they’re expected to cope with, but really don’t know how. 

They experience these overwhelming feelings of stress, anxiety, depression, and anger and try as best they can to suppress them. The only problem is this then leads to things like social isolation, declining grades, emotional outbursts, self-harm, and self-destructive behaviors like abusing drugs and alcohol, becoming promiscuous, or engaging in crimes. 

If your child experiences any of the above, it may be necessary for you to get adolescent mental health treatment in California or in a location most convenient for you and your family. 

Digital Platforms for Improved Mental Health in Teens

Maintaining positive mental health is something that needs to be worked on daily. Whether your teenager is currently suffering from mental illness, or they’re in the best mental health possible, it couldn’t hurt to make use of the resources there are out there to aid them in managing their own mental wellness. Below, is a look at some of the types of platforms that are available:

Websites

There are a ton of websites available to teens to help them learn more about their mental health, it’s significance in living a positive life, and tips for managing it. Here are a few resources one might consider: 

Center for You Women’s and Young Men’s Health - There are websites for both teenage girls and boys to separately improve their mental health. The sites provide tons of information including guides on improving your emotional well-being and online tests to see if they are showing signs of mental illness. 

GirlsHealth.Gov - A site exclusively for teenage girls, the Girls Health website has an entire section dedicated to teaching young girls about their emotional health. They teach girls how to be aware of mental health problems, when to get help, and even provide sound advice on how to address their concerns with their parents. 

Mobile Applications and Other Tech

Websites aren’t the only digital resources available to teenagers looking to improve or maintain their mental health. As mobile applications have become increasingly popular, app developers have been making strides towards creating resources that teens can not only use but are interested in. Check out a few below:

MindfulnessforTeens.com: Mindfulness and meditation are both very essential tools to support mental health. This website and application educate teenagers on how to use mindfulness and meditation to ease stress and anxiety. There are mobile applications available for download that has pre recorded guided meditations for teens to follow along with. 

Mood247.Com: This is an application managed through text messaging. It provides a means for teens to record through text how they’re feeling at any given time. The application then keeps a record of your daily moods. This can help teens to identify mental illness sooner. It’s also unique in that you can share this recorded information with your family or doctor. 

StrengthOfUs.Org: This is an online support group of sorts that provides words of encouragement and support for teens suffering from mental illness. From the support of their peers, teens find the strength to press on, stay positive, and achieve greater. 

Tech is Cool. But…

It’s great that there are so many different platforms that teens and their families can turn to when they’re struggling with mental health. While technology may be convenient and beneficial in many ways, it is not the fix-all solution. Parents must try their best to create a safe and healthy environment where their teens feel mentally sound, they must cultivate relationships that encourage their children to speak up, and they must also pay attention to their teens and be aware of the signs that something is wrong, and know when to get help. 



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