Moody quaranteen? What parents should watch for and do

To keep us safe from COVID-19, health experts tell us that we need to stay home and away from other people. This is particularly hard for teens, because their stage of life is all about their peers and becoming independent from their family. So it’s not surprising that the pandemic has been hard on the mental health of teens. Harder on some teens, easier on others It hasn’t been hard on all of them. Some of my teen patients who get stressed by social situations have been relieved to be home, for example, and teens who get along with their parents and siblings enjoy being with them more. And it certainly helps that many are getting more sleep. But social isolation, and being tethered to home, can be very tough in this age group. For families that are experiencing financial and other stressors, teens often share that burden, which makes things worse. It’s important for parents to be proactive — not just in awareness of their teen’s mood, but also in doing things to strengthen their teen’s mental health. Not only is the pandemic likely to be with us for at least several more months, there’s no guarantee that anxiety and depression that start during the pandemic will go away when it does. The effects could be long-lasting. Signs to look for moodiness that is unusual isolating more than usual. This may be hard for parents to see, as teens tend to self-isolate naturally. But if it’s really hard to get them out of their room, or they are interacting less with friend...
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Health Source Type: blogs