Mental Health Tips for Teens

Sunny Zatzick (11), Ella Tsang (11)

What is mental health?

Our mental health includes emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It affects how we think, feel, and act. Taking care of your mental health is especially important for teens, as they are constantly changing and developing at this time. Improved mental health for students results in learning more effectively and achieving their full social and academic goals. Students who have good mental health can effectively build relationships, make decisions, and collaborate. In the years leading up to adulthood, these positive effects benefit both the individual student and the student’s life in the future years to come.

How can I improve my mental health?

Firstly, acknowledge how you feel and how it impacts your day to day. People need mental health help in different ways. If you feel as if your mental health is unstable, you may feel stuck or unsure of what to do. Creating a list of ‘mood boosters’ or things that can get you out of that trapped situation is the first step to improving your mental health. If you are unsure on how to achieve this, keep reading!

Mental health tips

Write a journal - It may seem silly, like writing in a diary, but journaling has been proven to improve the mood of many teens. It has been shown that journaling can help prioritize issues, fears, or thoughts in a way that is effective for many teens as writing down and organizing your thoughts helps calm the mind. It may be hard to talk to other people, so writing your thoughts down is an option where there is no judgment.

Listen to music. Music is an excellent way to change your mood or feelings, it’s nice to hear how other people deal with their struggles, especially in lyrics that you can relate to and that make you feel less alone.

Try new things. It may be scary, but even trying small things out like a new clothing style or taking up a new hobby like a sport or crocheting can prove to yourself you are capable of broadening your horizons.

Change your senses. Changing your senses is a great way to get out of the ‘stuck’ feeling. Some examples include taking a cold shower to reset your brain/calm you down, playing with a stress toy, eating food that enhances your senses (spicy or sour works great!) or lighting a candle to change your sense of smell.

Make a happy jar/keepsake box. having a sentimental box that you can look back on is helpful to remember happy times in your life. Write good memories on pieces of paper and put them in a jar, or collect little sentimental items that remind you of happy things to come back to when you are feeling down.

Keep track of things you are grateful for. Acknowledging the things in your life that make you happy can boost your mood when you are feeling down.

Talk to someone. It may feel relieving talking to someone about how you are feeling. If you don’t know who to talk to, there are resources below.

Interviewing Britannia Students:

“What do you do when you feel down?”

Adrian Wong (11): I go to the gym, blast music, I do homework, I go swimming and forget about being sad. I look in the mirror and go “OH MY GOD I’M SO BIG!” Whenever I do a sport, all the pain goes away.

Sam Dittmar (11): Talk to your friends! Join new programs! Understand why you feel sad.

Chloe Huang (11): Drink water, go to the gym, I talk to Ella MY G. I also do volleyball to feel an adrenaline rush.

Bec Ly (11): I try to think about why I am sad and get to the root cause of my sadness instead of escaping it with hobbies and distractions. I also cuddle with Banh Mi, my cat.

Rachel Oleksyn (11): I dance, play with my dog, watch Tiktok and Netflix. I enjoy watching my favourite TikToker's because they make me laugh.

Mental health is a crucial part of one’s actions and well-being, so knowing what your mental health levels are and how to boost them is especially important because of how it affects you. It may seem overwhelming, but remember how impactful your mental health is and why you should prioritize it!

Resources: Foundry can provide short term and drop in counseling - Foundrybc.ca

Kids Help phone 800 668 6868