Search online for “anxiety and depression in teens,” and a boatload of sites pops up. Many are bearers of dire news. One 2021 report, for example, informs us that that 42 percent of adolescents in 2021 were experiencing deep feelings of sadness and hopelessness compared to 28 percent just 10 years earlier.
Many of these articles offer help for parents and their children ages 13-18. Restricting social media, spending more time together, and making allowances for the lightning-fast shifts in mood typical of this transition from adolescence to adulthood are some of the common suggestions for battling anxiety and the blues in teenagers. Certainly these nuggets of advice, when put into action, can help young people by at least letting them know they are valued and love.
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