By Sebastian C. Romero, Staff Writer
People increasingly struggle with mental health issues. Add COVID-19 and a pandemic to the mix, and it has becomes a serious problem, especially for teens.
According to the National Institute of Health, nearly 1 in 3 of all adolescents ages 13 to 18 will experience an anxiety disorder.
“They are worrying a lot for their age,” Sean Lynt, an Indian Trail junior, said. “They have work, they have to deal with their parents. There are just a lot of worries in the world.”
Most teens deal with balancing a job, responsibilities at home, school and work deadlines, and they may also be dealing with something else going on in their life that affects them in a negative way.
These issues can lead to depression, according to the Anxiety & Depression Association of America. It’s not uncommon for someone with an anxiety disorder to also suffer from depression or vice versa. Nearly one-half of those diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.
“But depression is hard to tell for sure, because some people say they are “depressed’ but they are only for a few days or even hours, while people who are actually depressed tend to hide it really well from the public,” said Ivan Vivero, an IT junior.
While some people who are diagnosed with depression are known, others may try to hide it from the public. This is called smiling depression. Typically smiling depression occurs when people who are or were experiencing depression hide their symptoms behind a smile or by acting happy when they’re not, according to a March 23, 2021, VeryWellMind article by Amy Morin.
Smiling depression isn’t a clinical diagnosis, but it is close enough to being one, due to the fact that most teens do in fact hide their emotions or try to hide their depression symptoms by acting or faking a smile so that people who are close to them won’t worry.
For the people who hide their emotions and their depression from the public, there are people and doctors to talk to and help through the tough time.
“Take a deep breath in, take a deep breath out, take your time on things that are giving you anxiety. Ask your doctor, ask your parents, ask your teachers, talk to friends at school, do stuff that makes you happy and relax, or go on a walk, for example,” Lynt said.
“I would reassure them that they’re not alone, that I’m there for them. Asking them how they’re coping with everything, and if they want to talk about it,” said Kimberlyn Marquez-Gonzalez, an IT junior.
“I would say, try to go to therapy,” said Samantha Centeno, an IT junior. “And if you’re the one who is struggling, it would be better to come forth and be honest about your mental health to someone instead of keeping it to yourself, because it may get worse if you keep it to yourself for a long period of time.”