alizaxx - Tumblr blog

[alizaxx]

Mental well-being among teenagers

Mental well-being. Being a psychology student I've heard these words often and when I was tasked with writing a blog on mental well-being among teenagers I was so excited! I quickly opened up my laptop and started doing my research and forming questions to conduct interviews. 

Mental well-being among teenagers has been a topic of buzz recently. We’ve all read about mental health and the different types of illnesses and their major causes. Through my research, I wanted to find out the top three causes of low mental health specific to Indian teenagers and come up with solutions that could help them. Keeping my goal in mind, I decided to interview three 13-14-year-olds in my apartment. These are children who have recently transitioned into teenagers and face various situations such as peer pressure, menstruation and introduction to social media. I believe these to be important factors affecting mental well-being.  

First, I decided to ask them about their relationships because I think having loving and supportive relationships is essential for mental well-being. All the teenagers claimed to have a positive relationship with their parents, but not to the extent that they could approach them for support when things got difficult. Even though they all got along well with their friends, none of them felt particularly comfortable talking to them. 

I believe this to be the number one cause of low mental well-being among teenagers, especially in India. They do not have a comfortable relationship with their parents and friends leading to them resorting to unhealthy coping techniques in stressful situations. In challenging circumstances they withdraw into themselves and seek refuge in sleep or food. 

The second cause that I discovered was social media. All the teenagers had social media accounts on apps like Instagram, Snapchat and Discord. All of them used social media every day for an average of 4-5 hours. Social media by itself may not be the problem but it is when you cross the limit that it starts to create problems in your personal life. Teenagers are very impressionable to content on social media and it is necessary to set time limits. Something new that I learned through this interview was that these teenagers are aware of the dangers of social media and yet they are so addicted to it that they are not able to break the loop. Here I believe parental involvement is absolutely essential. 

One more factor contributing to poor mental health is peer pressure. All of the teenagers I spoke with knew what peer pressure was and had experienced it firsthand. One of them even told me of an incident where her friends forced her to join social media and not tell her parents about it. Teenagers are at a stage in life where they prioritise their friends over their family. To improve their mental health, it is important for parents to make sure they make the right friends. 

One immediate solution that I think would improve the mental health of youngsters is support groups. A support group is essentially a group of people coming together to share their experiences with mental illnesses and discuss coping strategies. There are various support groups that are organised in hospitals and welfare centres. However, I believe that the most important support group is at home. Family is where the child learns the most. It is necessary for parents and children to build a rapport and create a safe space at their home for sharing. Every family must make the habit of spending at least one hour together without any gadgets to ensure the mental well-being of not only their children but also other members in the house. 

Additionally, schools need to set up counselling spaces with efficient psychologists and mental-health experts. These spaces must be set up with the idea of privacy and easy accessibility to students. While parents play a major role in a teen’s life they may not be able to provide appropriate guidance. School counsellors and professionals will be able to support and advise a teen more efficiently in case of serious mental health issues.  

Coming to the end of the interview I still had a question in my head. While parents and counsellors are available at the disposal of a teenager. What action must be taken if the person is not willing to seek help?  In many cases, teenagers are afraid of going for counselling sessions for fear of being teased by their friends or worrying their family members. What must be done in such cases?

In India mental illnesses are seen as taboo. If a child seeks help from parents for problems like anxiety or depression, parents may believe that the child is just trying to get attention. They believe they can 'fix' him or her and that it is just a phase. Teenagers are so afraid of their parents that they do not trust them enough to share their feelings and experiences. This leads to them withdrawing themselves from everyone which leads to various mental illnesses. Perhaps what all teenagers need is connecting and communicating!

Thats all for today folks!

aliza xx 

[alizaxx]

Am I "that girl"?

Currently, there's a trend ongoing on social media and especially on YouTube of being “That girl”. Now what is that girl? Who is that girl? That girl is the girl who wakes up at 5 am every day, works out, has the perfect body, journals every day, is productive all the time and is successful in many ways. Now initially this seemed like a motivation. An incentive to wake up early and achieve everything in life. And I too like the rest of the internet was caught up in this trend. I woke up early every day and worked out and completed my homework. Now this doesn't really seem to be a problem but when I failed to complete any of my tasks I would break down. I mean it. A breakdown. I was so caught up in being who the internet wanted me to be that I forgot who I was. I'm not “that girl” I’m “my girl”. I can’t wake up at 5 am every day. I can’t make aesthetic smoothies for breakfast or go to the gym every day. I do my work according to my pace and my style. I’m lazy and clumsy and definitely not ‘aesthetic' and that's fine. Because you don't have to be perfect all the time. Social media through such trends puts an unrealistic view of people's lives in your head and it destroys your mental health. You're constantly thinking What is wrong with me? Am I the only one who has a bulging stomach? Am I the only one who’s late submitting homework all the time? No. You're not alone. I know it's hard accepting your flaws but I promise it's not just you. There are seven billion people on this planet and not one of them is perfect. Simply because it isn't possible. We all have our own flaws and it's high time we accept them and move on with our lives.

That's all for today folks.

aliza xx