Written by: Manaswi Sapkota - 26004, Grade VIII
Posted on: 29 June, 2021
In this world, there are probably around a million teenagers who suffer from anxiety and depression. The main cause of these cases are either the people they live with or the world they live in. Most of these cases often go undetected and untreated due to the lack of attention or care. The teenage period is a delicate time for a person as it is a time where one’s mental, emotional, physical, and social health changes so it’s really important to try and understand one another instead of jumping to conclusions.
Teenagers become victims of drugs, alcohol, and other harmful substances at a very young age and use them as their coping mechanisms. Research shows that 20% of teenagers are depressed before adulthood and 10 to 15% of them have symptoms of depression or anxiety. Among all the teenagers only 30% of them are treated properly. Most teens aren’t treated because their parents, relatives, teacher, or friends just brush off their problems as if they were dust. Parents usually tend to believe that their kids are depressed because of their devices but often that’s not the case. Usually, the actual reasons are quite different. Teens often have anxiety due to peer problems, bullying, and violence. The violence they face doesn’t have to be physical, it can be emotional too.
Depression or anxiety in teens may occur due to family fights and of course, the fights also don’t have to be physical, loud arguments can also affect a teenager’s mental health drastically. So mental health issues should be taken seriously and not ignored just by the fact that we are living in a small country like Nepal. Many teenagers are highly affected by the social, economic and even the political issues that are directly or indirectly causing mental health problems.
