Being a teenager is difficult, and the coronavirus makes it even more difficult. With the closing of schools and institutes and the cancellation of events, many teenagers are missing some of the most important moments of their young lives, and also everyday activities such as chatting with friends or participating in class.
The following 7 Key steps to Protecting Teen Mental Health
1. Recognize that anxiety is completely normal.
Explain to nearby teens that it’s totally understandable that school and college closings and alarming headlines are upsetting. In fact, it’s what they’re supposed to feel. Psychologists have long recognized that anxiety is a normal, healthy function that alerts us to threats and helps us take steps to protect ourselves.
Make sure, of course, to remind your teenage children that they should use reliable sources to inform themselves and that they have to check any data they receive through social networks. You can recommend them to enter our website and follow our social networks to obtain updated, truthful, and verified information.
Explain to them, too, that if they are concerned about experiencing symptoms of the disease, it is important to tell them as soon as possible. Remind them not to be alarmed because the disease from COVID-19 infection is generally mild, especially for children and young people. It is also important to remind them that many of the symptoms of coronavirus are easily treated like Lateral flow assay (LFA) is a diagnostic procedure applied to detect and quantify certain analytes present in a complex mixture.
2. Create distractions.
What psychologists know is that when we are under difficult conditions, it is very useful to divide the problem into two categories: things that I can do something about and things that I cannot do anything about.
There are a lot of things that fall into that second category right now, and that’s fine, but lateral flow test kits the thing that helps us to deal with that frustration.
3. Find new ways to connect with friends.
It is important that teens spend time with their friends despite social distancing, and social media can be helpful for this. You can encourage them to join a Tik-Tok challenge like safe hands. Never underestimate the creativity of teenagers.
“But it is not a good idea that they have unrestricted access to screens and social networks. That would not be healthy or smart and could amplify their anxiety recalls the psychologist, who recommends that we set up a schedule of connections for our teenage children.
4. Concentrate on yourself.
Has your teenager always wanted to learn something new? Remind her that now is the time to do it. Encourage him to spend time learning to play an instrument you have at home or to start writing a story. Being focused on yourself and finding ways to use your new free time is a productive way to take care of your mental health. Let’s encourage teens to make a list of all the books they want to read and the things they want to do before the isolation is over.
Coronavirus: encourages teens to express their feelings
5. Express feelings.
Missing out on events with friends, leisure outings, or parties is incredibly disappointing for teens. “These are important and annoying losses for adolescents and the best thing to help them deal with this disappointment is that we encourage them to express their feelings. Let them be sad so that later they start to feel better,” recommends the specialist. Of course, remember that each will process their feelings differently. Some children will focus on reading, drawing, listening to music others will want to talk to their friends and share their sadness.”
6. Be kind to yourself and to others.
Some teens face cyberbullying also in isolation time due to the coronavirus. Now is a good time to have talks with our sons and daughters and encourage them, if they are bullied or witnessed, to speak to an adult for help and support. Explain to them, moreover, that now more than ever we need to be careful about what we share or say can hurt other people.
7. Control our own behavior as adults.
Mothers and fathers, of course, are also anxious and our children will take emotional cues from us. We would ask parents to do what they can to manage their anxiety and not to share their fears too much with their children. That can mean containing emotions, which can be difficult at times.