Teens get candid about mental health and how adults can help
The panel consisted of 12 young people, ranging from middle school age to college students, who shared openly about their lives, pressures they face and tips for coping. The audience was given the opportunity to interact with the panel, leading to an open and honest discussion about a variety of topics.
When asked what makes it hard to be a teen in 2023, one panelist responded, “Our generation, we grew up with social media, we grew up with technology and phones, so it’s warped our mindset, versus like you guys, you guys didn’t really grow up with technology, you guys played outside together and talked and did all that. I grew up as an iPad kid.”
Another panelist chimed in, “We’re trying to learn about the world, and we’re expected to already know. We want to be able to have fun and be able to be more like adults because we feel older, but at the same time we still feel like kids. So we’re being pulled in two different directions in pretty much everything we do.”
The panel also discussed how therapists, doctors, school counselors and parents can help support youth and their mental health, offering their perspectives on what approaches they find useful from therapists, how parents’ behavior impacts their views of themselves, difficulty trusting professionals and what they do to help deal with mental health struggles.