The Average Teenage Brain (Still Under Construction) vs. Mental Illness

Because adolescents are prone to mood swings and often feel out of control, it can be hard to identify the difference between a mental health disorder and normal teen behavior. Indicators include: social withdrawal, continual anger, irritability, bad moods or depression, dramatic changes in appetite or sudden weight loss or gain. Visit www.studentmentalwellness.com for more information.

Early identification and effective intervention is the key to successfully treating a mental health disorder and preventing future disability. Mental health disorders in children and adolescents are caused by biology, environment, or a mix of both. Many factors in a teen’s environment can affect his or her mental health, such as exposure to violence, extreme stress, and loss. Take the ACE’s test [ACEs are adverse childhood experiences that harm children’s developing brains so profoundly that the effects show up decades later].  In psychiatry, psychology and mental health counseling comorbidity refers to the presence of more than one diagnosis occurring in an individual at the same time. However, in psychiatric classification, comorbidity does not necessarily imply the presence of multiple diseases, but instead can reflect our current inability to supply a single diagnosis that accounts for all symptoms.
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The Happy Camp Community Center is now open Tuesdays through Thursdays from 9am to 4pm. If you need assistance for yourself or a family member stop by the center and we can refer you to Siskiyou County’s Behavioral Health Services. All referrals are confidential.