TAKING CARE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH AS A TEEN

 

Author’s Desk

Hey Guys, so I know it’s been a while since I wrote something like this but I don’t know, maybe it’s my writer sixth-sense. I just felt like someone needs to read this and BOOM, I wrote it.

So this is something I wrote from my heart and I’m sorry if it has a little bit of glitches but HEY! It’s my blog and my write-up so yeah, it’s my choice what to write. I want you to read this, think about it and let it sink to your soul. Trust me, it’ll be worth it.

Love,

Grace💗.

 

THE IMPORTANCE OF MENTAL HEALTH AS A TEENAGER

As a teenager, I’ve noticed and gone through a lot of things. I’ve also seen a lot of things likewise. I’ve learnt a lot of lessons, some I learned from others and some from myself. The most important one I have learnt and will always keep in mind is ‘Sometimes, life decides to throw obstacles your way and you’re always left with two choices; I. You can either run from it or II. You can stay, pull through and fight it’. 

I’m not the type who runs from it but I’m tempted at times. If you’re a Christian, then you’ll know that you can’t run when the devil attacks you but you call on the name of God.

   Sadly though, the amount of teenagers going through mental issues like depression, low self-esteem and all others are increasing day by day. Sometimes it’s our friends, isolation or even our parents. 

Maybe it’s that boy/girl you like that doesn’t seem to notice you or has said some mean words to you. Or maybe it’s about your parent comparing you to someone else or even saying some hurtful and abusive things to you.

     Sometimes, it’s even your thoughts, you always seeing yourself as the lower person, or you don’t even have self-love. The most saddening part is the method through which some teenagers try to end it. Some try to fit in with others in very immoral ways like dressing indecently, smoking or drinking alcohol, doing drugs, sexual immorality. Some even try suicide. Ways that don’t please their parents or God.

I was talking to a really positive friend of mine and we drifted into the topic of mental health and I found out something I almost didn’t believe. He told me as a child, he was always bullied and abused verbally; sometimes in school and sometimes even by his parents. He said if not for his uncle who helped him at the time, he wouldn’t even be alive right now. I asked why and he recounted to me how he had tried to end his life three times but was stopped. I was stunned. And he was just 12 years old at the time.

    This is how bad things around us can affect our mental health. This is also why we mustn’t be too ignorant or oblivious of the things around us. We have to learn to brace ourselves for the worst.

Below are ways to take care of your mental health.

 

WAYS TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR MENTAL HEALTH AS A TEENAGER

-Try to develop self-love.

-Do things you love more often.

-Move closer to God.

-Smile more than you normally do.

-You can try to socialize if you don’t.

-Learn to guide your heart with optimism and positivity.

-you have to learn not to be daunted by the enormity of the world’s grief.

-Read motivational books and pieces.

-Just make yourself happy

We have to learn to let our faults and pessimism become where positivity comes in.

Like the Persian, Rumi said “The wound is the place where the light enters you”.

Yes the wound, our bad parts, which fragment of our soul we hate the most, that bad quality you have.  It’s your wound. And it’s where the light comes in. it may sound cliché but it’s the fact.

A few weeks ago, a friend of mine asked me a very surprising question. She said “Grace, why is it that whenever you speak, your eyes and lips don’t say the same thing?” I pondered on that for a long time before finally telling her I actually had trust issues. And I overthink things a lot. Sometimes, being betrayed by someone you trust and love can scar your heart. I’m not going to dig into history but I’ll say, sometimes having trust issues can help shape you. It helps you put a lock on your heart. It helps you brace yourself for the worst. It breaks you and shields you at the same time. Meanwhile, it has it downsides.

Downsides of having trust issues.

-you start overthinking.

-you feel everyone is trying to hurt you.

-you lose trust in everyone not even family.

-you gradually become self-absorbed.

-you keep way too much things secret.

-you tend to think that bad things that happen to you don’t matter.

- Last of all, you make your mind your best friend, which can make you too rational about stuff.

 

If you have all these signs, then you should work on yourself. You should work on your heart and soul. Below is a list of ways you can do that.

How to take care of trust issues

-Try to socialize more than before.

-If necessary, talk to a therapist about it.

-Sometimes, talking to random people about your problems tend to help.

-Try to share at least, one secret with someone you love and see how it goes.

-Get closer to family.

-Try to cultivate self-love if you don’t have it.

-Don’t think too much about some things before doing them, just do it, stop thinking too much.

 

These are my suggestions for you if you have trust issues. It’s not really a must but you can and should try this. You’ll love the outcome and yourself.

    Days ago, I worked on an analogy I thought I should share with you. It’s called ‘The Tipping Point’.

THE TIPPING POINT

As a teenager, you’ll go through very challenging phases that tend to shake you but it’s okay. You’ll be fine as long as you take care of your mental health and cultivate self-love. You’ll never be able to become someone great or achieve something beautiful unless you love yourself. I had problems with this when I was younger but eventually I accepted myself for who I was. I stopped hating and despising myself. I loved who God made me. I believed in myself and just thought “I was always trying to fit in but what if I was made to stand out?” as I was saying, there’s a stage you’ll have to pass through before finally becoming immune. The stage is below.

-          Self-Doubt- first of all, you doubt yourself, you feel like you’re not good enough and you need to improve how you look or dress. You feel like you need to fit in with others and all the enthusiasm you had for life tends to leave. You feel odd and out of place. The feeling that tends to destroy your self-esteem and self-worth.

 

-          Fear- Then little by little, you feel frightened. You feel frightened that you’re gonna lose it. That you’ll be humiliated and ridiculed. You feel like every move you make is being watched and mocked. That fear tends to dominate you.

 

-          Jealousy & Hatred- You get envious of the person you wish you were. You wish you were in their positions and you tend to hate them just for being better than you. You try to compare yourselves to them and you do everything possible to feel higher than them. You develop inferiority complex.

 

-          Anger- Jealousy leads to rage. You’re mad about the person God made you. You feel God hasn’t done is best in making you. You are so angry that you decide to change yourself.

 

-          Violence- in some cases, violence comes into play. In a high school setting, where you’re scared people are gonna call you weak if you don’t join in. people will always make very bad choices when they’re scared or mad. Some even bully others just to feel better. That’s nothing but hatred and violence and it won’t add to you in any way.

 

-          TIPPING POINT- The tipping point. It’s the final. It comes in many ways. Sometimes, it’s in form of doing drugs or doing immoral things that don’t please God. It can be in form of suicide or even escapade out of mental issues.  It can even lead to addiction. It’s very difficult to deal with. It’s mostly the cause of juvenile delinquencies. 

It’s the stage that everyone is trying to protect you from. They don’t tell you why. Some say its coz you’ll become a bad girl/boy or a failure. That’s actually not why. The reason is because it will mess with your sanity. It will mess with your mentality and rationale. This is why you must muster enough courage and awareness too. So you don’t fall victim.

 

You have to make a difference. Don’t join the crowd, look for where they are and run away. Stop trying to fit in coz you’re special. See yourself the way I see you, as a gift to the world and beyond. You are special and you’re the only you. No one can be like you coz you have your own destiny and your own life to live. Whatever you do, it’s your choice. Just keep it in mind to always do what will please God and what will make you happy. You are different and you’re a blessing.

 

GO! DO IT! BE A BELIEVER! BE A SURVIVOR! COZ YOU’RE AMAZING!

 

I’ll leave y’all with this. Ponder on it. Don’t just read and forget. Stay safe lovelies.

This is the end of this article/write-up. I’ll see y’all later.

Teaser: A Lil’ something about female stereotype.

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Bye.

 

-Grace Adebayo.