How to help your teen struggling with mental health issues
1. Create a safe space for them
Whether you’re trying to help a young person or a fully grown adult, creating a safe space is paramount in ensuring they can open up about their thoughts and feelings.
You don’t have to sit them down for a chat – as ultimately, this can feel quite pressuring for a teen. Look for small ways you can create a safe space, such as engaging in small talk about how their day is going, or asking if they could support you on a task around the house.
If you do notice your teen open up – even in small ways – use acknowledging and mirroring statements like “that sounds really difficult” or “I can see why you’re feeling the way you do”, and affirm that you’re always there for them no matter what.
2. Take care of your own mental health
To adequately care for another, you need to care for yours too. Make time in your day, even if it’s in small ways, to engage in relaxing self-care activities. It can be as simple as engaging in a relaxing hobby, opening up to a friend and maintaining routines that make you feel good.
3. Work with your teen, not against them
To help work through conflicts together, you need to ensure you’re approaching matters as calmly as possible. It’s best not to approach difficult situations when your emotions are already heightened. Kindly excuse yourself from difficult situations for a couple of minutes to calm down if you need to.
If it’s evident that your teen is struggling to resolve their issues or look after their mental health, the key is to reinforce that their feelings are completely normal, and to not force a solution on them. Instead, discuss various ways you can offer to help by asking what they need from you. You could even offer to build a plan together and encourage them to give some solutions a try to see what works for them.
4. Empower them to seek support
There may be times where you feel the help they require is beyond what you can offer. This is nothing to be ashamed off. After all, if they have a mental health condition, it’s actually best they work with a professional to deal with their issues.
Suggest to your teen that you can work together in finding the right support to help them with their problems. You can look at therapists together, online resources or even local support groups. Be sure to remind them of immediate support helplines – particularly if they’ve shared they’re having intrusive thoughts surrounding suicide.
5. Seek support from your teen’s school
It may help to keep your teen’s school abreast of the struggles they may be facing. This can ensure they have someone from their school your teen can speak to (such as a school counsellor), or a teacher they feel more comfortable speaking to.