Chronic pain is common in young people. Between 11% and 38% of children and adolescents may cope with chronic pain as part of their everyday lives. Chronic pain is often invisible and unseen by others, an unrecognised challenge that affects a young person’s emotional, physical, and social well-being.
Eating disorders often control a young person’s life. They can dictate their decisions and choices, overpowering other goals, dreams, and values. At the same time, starvation affects the brain’s ability to think clearly, make reasoned decisions, and be resilient to external and internal challenges.
People often talk about depersonalisation and derealisation together, but they actually refer to different things. Depersonalisation is when someone feels detached from or outside of their body or mind. In periods of derealisation, a person feels like their inner world, body, or surroundings are unreal, dream-like, or altered in some way.
Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a serious mental health condition that usually develops during late adolescence. BPD affects the way that young people see themselves and relate to others around them.
Family-based therapy (FBT) is the most established treatment for anorexia nervosa among children and adolescents. FBT empowers family members to engage in the treatment process and focuses on restoring the physical health of a young person.
When you greet a friend, family member, or even a stranger, it might feel normal to compliment their appearance. Compliments are usually well-intended: we want the other person to feel good about themselves.
Using positive language helps young people with mental health disorders to feel included in society and understand their self-worth. It also makes it easier to access treatment and to reach out to other people for support. At the same time, it affects the way society views people with mental illness, challenging stigma and discrimination in its many forms.
Adolescence can be a challenging and transitional phase for young people and their families. As young people search for their identity, independence, and a sense of belonging, they may encounter many conflicts, both within themselves and with the society around them.
Interventions are important events that help young people understand that they need treatment and encourage them to receive professional help. Interventions are often staged by parents, family members, and others who are close to a young person. They may involve an open conversation, statements of support and care, and setting of boundaries.
Stigma is one of many barriers that young people face when accessing mental health care. Stigma can act on several levels: young people may encounter stigma among healthcare professionals, from their parents, or internalised within themselves.
When a young person develops very low self-worth, they can feel like they don’t deserve to have a clean and tidy room. If they feel hopeless about life, or like nothing has meaning, they might feel like there’s no point in keeping their space organised. Fatigue, another common symptom of depression, can leave young people struggling to find the energy to complete even simple self-care tasks.
Before teenagers begin to reprocess traumatic events, they have to be able to access these memories, thoughts, and emotions safely. The preparation phase of EMDR supports teenagers in developing distress tolerance skills that help them cope with the pain connected with traumatic memories. It also helps them to access suppressed emotions and feelings in their bodies.
In this blog, we look at how narcissistic abuse from one parent to the other impacts the family system, leading children to take on the role of parents. We also outline the long-term harm this can cause for young people’s mental health.
