AY Honor Adolescent Mental Health Response Answer Key
Skill Level
2
Year
2024
Version
01.09.2026
Approval authority
North American Division
1
Mental health = our emotional, psychological, and social well-being.
It affects how we think, feel, and act.
It is important because:
- It helps us handle stress.
- It affects our relationships.
- It impacts choices and spiritual life.
- It keeps us balanced for serving God and others.
Mental and physical health are equally important components of overall health. For example, depression increases the risk for many types of physical health problems, particularly long-lasting conditions like diabetes, heart disease, and stroke. Similarly, the presence of chronic conditions can increase the risk for mental illness.
2
Common adolescent mental health issues include:
- Anxiety (worry about school, friends, future)
- Depression (sadness, hopelessness, loss of joy)
- Stress (too many pressures, expectations)
- Eating (i.e. anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating)
- Psychosis (i.e. hallucinations, delusions)
- Suicide and self-harm
- Loneliness / social struggles
- Self-esteem issues or identity struggles
- Risky behaviors (i.e. substance use, sexual risk-taking, alcohol drinking, etc.)
Discuss the above-listed categories with students and identify people in modern culture who have faced similar issues and have been public about their struggles. For example: athletes, singers, celebrities, or even leaders in the community.)
Students should recognize that:
- These challenges are common and not a sign of failure.
- Seeking help from parents, pastors, counselors, and God is a sign of strength.
- Healthy habits (exercise, prayer, church, service, journaling, community) support mental health.
Mental health can affect anyone, including well-known and highly successful individuals.
3
This is an opportunity to have a discussion in small groups or the larger class so that students can share their thoughts about these statistics.
Globally, it is estimated that 1 in 7 (14%) 10-19 year-olds experience mental health conditions, yet these remain largely unrecognized and untreated.
In the U.S. an estimated 49.5% of adolescents has had a mental health disorder at some point in their lives.
Over 1 in 5 youth (ages 13-18) in the U.S. either currently or at some point during their life, have had a seriously debilitating mental illness.
An estimated 4.1 million adolescents aged 12 to 17 in the United States had at least one major depressive episode. This number represented 17.0% of the U.S. population aged 12 to 17.
50% of mental illness begins by age 14, and 3/4 begin by age 24.
Anxiety disorders (which may involve panic or excessive worry) are the most prevalent in this age group and are more common among older than among younger adolescents. It is estimated that 3.6% of 10-14 year-olds and 4.6% of 15-19 year-olds experience an anxiety disorder. Depression is estimated to occur among 1.1% of adolescents aged 10-14 years, and 2.8% of 15-19-year-olds. Depression and anxiety share some of the same symptoms, including rapid and unexpected changes in mood.
Depression, anxiety and behavioral disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents.
Suicide is the fourth leading cause of death among 15-29 year-olds.
4
- What makes you happy, sad, scared, intimidated?
- How does peer pressure affect you and what can you do when feeling pressured?
- How does social media, online bullying, and inappropriate online sharing impact young people? Have you been affected by that?
Factors that Improve Mental Health
Adolescence is a crucial period for developing social and emotional habits important for mental well-being. These include:
- Adopting healthy sleep patterns
- Exercising regularly
- Developing coping, problem-solving, and interpersonal skills
- Learning to manage emotions.
- Protective and supportive environments in the family, at school and in the wider community are important.
Factors that Impact Mental Health
Multiple factors affect mental health. The more risk factors adolescents are exposed to, the greater the potential impact on their mental health. Factors that can contribute to stress during adolescence include:
- Exposure to adversity
- Pressure to conform with peers and exploration of identity
- Media influence and gender norms can exacerbate the disparity between an adolescent’s lived reality and their perceptions or aspirations for the future.
- Quality of home life and relationships with peers.
- Violence (especially sexual violence and bullying),
- Harsh parenting
- Severe and socioeconomic problems
- Living conditions
- Stigma
- Discrimination or exclusion
- Lack of access to quality support and services. These include adolescents living in humanitarian and fragile settings; adolescents with chronic illness, autism spectrum disorder, an intellectual disability or other neurological condition; pregnant adolescents, adolescent parents, or those in early or forced marriages; orphans; and adolescents from minority ethnic or sexual backgrounds or other discriminated groups.
5
Ask students to list what they think are the most common mental health warning signs. They can write on a flip chart, white board, chalk on the pavement, or use sticky notes.
- Lose interest in activities that they used to enjoy
- Have low energy
- Have difficulty sleeping or eating
- Spend more time alone and avoid social activities
- Excessively exercise, diet, and/or binge eat
- Harm themselves (e.g., burning or cutting their skin)
- Use alcohol, tobacco, or other drugs
- Engage in risky or destructive behavior
- Have thoughts of suicide
- Think their mind is being controlled or is out of control or hear things other people cannot hear
Anxiety
- Characterized by feelings of excessive uneasiness, worry, and fear
- Excessive fears and worries, feelings of inner restlessness, and a tendency to be excessively wary and vigilant. Even in the absence of an actual threat, some teenagers describe feelings of continual nervousness, restlessness, or extreme stress.
- In a social setting, anxious teenagers may appear dependent, withdrawn, or uneasy. They seem either overly restrained or overly emotional. They may be preoccupied with worries about losing control or unrealistic concerns about social competence.
- Teenagers who suffer from excessive anxiety regularly experience a range of physical symptoms as well. They may complain about muscle tension and cramps, stomachaches, headaches, pain in the limbs and back, fatigue, or discomforts associated with pubertal changes. They may blotch, flush, sweat, hyperventilate, tremble, and startle easily.
- Being very afraid when away from parents (separation anxiety)
- Having extreme fear about a specific thing or situation, such as dogs, insects, or going to the doctor (phobias)
- Being very afraid of school and other places where there are people (social anxiety)
- Being very worried about the future and about bad things happening (general anxiety)
- Having repeated episodes of sudden, unexpected, intense fear that come with symptoms like heart pounding, having trouble breathing, or feeling dizzy, shaky, or sweaty (panic disorder)
Depression
- Feeling sad, hopeless, or irritable a lot of the time
- Not wanting to do or enjoy doing fun things
- Showing changes in eating patterns – eating a lot more or a lot less than usual
- Showing changes in sleep patterns – sleeping a lot more or a lot less than normal
- Showing changes in energy – being tired and sluggish or tense and restless a lot of the time
- Having a hard time paying attention
- Feeling worthless, useless, or guilty
- Showing self-injury and self-destructive behavior
Eating Disorders
Anorexia:
- Extremely restricted eating
- Extreme thinness (emaciation)
- A relentless pursuit of thinness and unwillingness to maintain a normal or healthy weight
- Intense fear of gaining weight
- Distorted body image, a self-esteem that is heavily influenced by perceptions of body weight and shape, or a denial of the seriousness of low body weight
Bulimia:
- Extreme preoccupation about being overweight
- Strict dieting followed by high-calorie eating binges
- Overeating when distressed
- Feeling out of control
- Disappearing after a meal
- Depressed moods
- Alcohol or drug abuse
- Frequent use of laxatives or diuretics
- Excessive exercising
- Irregular menstrual cycles
6
6a
Definition: Stigma involves the negative or discriminatory attitudes that others have about something, such as mental illness.
Examples: Stigma can include people using words like crazy, nuts, weird, what’s wrong with you, insane, to describe someone facing mental issues.
Have students write down in sticky notes some of the harmful effects of being stigmatized and discriminated. Because some students could be dealing with this themselves, try to make the exercise more anonymous. This can include writing their answers in a sticky note or piece of paper and putting it inside a closed box. Then you can select each paper individually and discuss the responses more freely.
Harmful Effects: Stigma and discrimination can contribute to worsening symptoms and reduced likelihood of getting treatment. They can also make a person feel ashamed, hurt, and prevent them from receiving help. Other effects can include:
- Reduced hope
- Lower self-esteem
- Increased psychiatric symptoms
- Difficulties with social relationships
- Reduced likelihood of staying with treatment
- More difficulties at work
6b
6c
7
- Put God first in your life.
- Get regular exercise. Just 30 minutes of walking every day can help boost your mood and improve your health. Small amounts of exercise add up, so don’t be discouraged if you can’t do 30 minutes at one time.
- Eat healthy, regular meals and stay hydrated. A balanced diet and plenty of water can improve your energy and focus throughout the day. Also, limit caffeinated beverages such as soft drinks or coffee.
- Make sleep a priority. Stick to a schedule, and make sure you’re getting enough sleep. Blue light from devices and screens can make it harder to fall asleep, so reduce blue light exposure from your phone or computer before bedtime.
- Try a relaxing activity. Explore relaxation or wellness programs or apps, which may incorporate meditation, muscle relaxation, or breathing exercises. Schedule regular times for these and other healthy activities you enjoy such as journaling.
- Set goals and priorities. Decide what must get done now and what can wait. Learn to say “no” to new tasks if you start to feel like you’re taking on too much. Try to be mindful of what you have accomplished at the end of the day, not what you have been unable to do.
- Practice gratitude. Remind yourself daily of things you are grateful for. Be specific. Write them down at night, or replay them in your mind.
- Focus on positivity. Identify and challenge your negative and unhelpful thoughts.
- Stay connected. Reach out to your friends or family members who can provide emotional support and practical help.
8
Elijah (1 Kings 19:4)
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
David (Psalms 38:6-8)
I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are full of inflammation, And there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart.
Job (Job 30:15-17)
Terrors are turned upon me; They pursue my honor as the wind, And my prosperity has passed like a cloud. “And now my soul is poured out because of my plight; The days of affliction take hold of me. My bones are pierced in me at night, And my gnawing pains take no rest.
Jesus (Matthew 26:38-39)
Then He said to them, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me.” He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, “O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.”
Man at the pool of Bethesda (John 5:7)
The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”
Paul (1 Corinthians 1:3-8)
I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ was confirmed in you, so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ, who will also confirm you to the end, that you may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.
2 Corinthians 4:8,9, 18
We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed— while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
9
- Matthew 6:34
- Philippians 4:6-7
- 2 Timothy 1:7
- Isaiah 41:10
- Joshua 1:9
- John 14:27
- Psalm 55:22
- 1 Peter 5:6-7
- Proverbs 12:25
- Proverbs 17:22
- Other
Using at least three of the Bible promises, create a bookmark, a flyer, a media clip or other gift to share encouragement with someone else.
References
- Pew Research: Anxiety and Depression amongst teens
- WHO: Mental health in adolescents
- NIMH: Major Depression
- Warning Signs of Mental Illness
- HHS.gov: Mental Health in Adolescents
- CDC: Depression
- WebMD: Eating Disorders in Teens
- Nimh: Eating Disorders
- MayoClinic: Teen Depression
- PennMedicine: Teen's Mental Health
