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Introduction to adolescent mental health
Introduction to adolescent mental health

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2.1 The impact of mental health

As previously indicated a mental health problem can show itself in different ways and usually interferes with some aspect of everyday living. The Mental Health Foundation says:

Good mental health is characterised by a person’s ability to fulfil a number of key functions and activities, including:

  • the ability to learn
  • the ability to feel, express and manage a range of positive and negative emotions
  • the ability to form and maintain good relationships with others
  • the ability to cope with and manage change and uncertainty.
(Mental Health Foundation, 2020)

Now work your way through Activity 4.

Activity 4: The impact of mental health problems

Timing: Allow about 15 minutes

a. 

The ability to learn


b. 

The ability to feel, express and manage a range of positive and negative emotions


c. 

The ability to form and maintain good relationships with others


d. 

The ability to cope with and manage change and uncertainty


The correct answers are a, b, c and d.

Discussion

Did you tick one or more of them? It is important to note that a person who is struggling in any of these areas does not necessarily have a mental health problem. These kinds of difficulty are warning signs though, and you will find out more about warning signs in Session 2.

Now watch this short clip in which John Goss, a counsellor who works with the youth counselling service YIS, describes what he experiences with young people who come to see him. Make a note of the two ways in which he describes how they might present with issues.

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Transcript: Video 1: John Goss and experiences with young people.

John Goss
Well, some things might seem fine. Quite often when people come to me, they may talk about how they’re really feeling. So an example of that could be something like depression. The person who presents with depression may have started to withdraw themselves, for example.
They may have started to shrink away from their friendship groups. They may feel that their motivation is waning a little bit. You may notice that they’re not so keen to get up in the morning. Not so keen to attend school, do social events, or go out with their friends.
Another example could be something like compulsions. Some people may feel that they have to count particular things or follow a particular routine or do something that makes them feel a bit more comfortable that they wouldn’t normally do. That may be how they tie their shoelaces or how they arrange something. How they arrange their schoolbooks or how they present their room. Sometimes that can be a comforting thing for them as a way of managing their own anxiety.
End transcript: Video 1: John Goss and experiences with young people.
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Video 1: John Goss and experiences with young people.
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Discussion

John mentioned that young people who present with depression can start to withdraw from friends and are less motivated. Some young people experience compulsions to behave in particular ways that are driven by anxiety. You will recall in the opening interview where a parent describes how they initially become concerned about their child when they withdraw from their friends and socialising and then began to show signs of compulsive behaviours.