When we think about the difficulties that high school students go through, it can be easy to boil all of their frustrations and stress down to their schoolwork. While course load is one of the main stressors for high school students, there are a variety of challenges they may face that can affect their mental health.

When a student has challenges with their mental health, it can affect every part of their life. It can impact productivity, personal connections with others and looking forward to postgraduation plans. By learning about the challenges that your child may be going through as a high school student, you can gain better insight into when they could need mental health treatment.

5 challenges that high school students go through that affect their mental well-being

Every student is different. They have their own personalities, passions, life experiences and home situations. These factors can play a role in their mental health challenges. For example, a student who plays sports may feel stressed about scholarships to ease the financial burden on their parents. 

However, while every high school student is different, there are many mental health challenges that are common for the 14-18 age group, such as generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder. Here are five types of challenges that may affect the mental well-being of a high school student and contribute to the development of such conditions:

• High expectations — Even as freshmen, students feel the pressure to start working toward their future. That could mean going to college, going into the workforce or joining the military. They may feel like there are high expectations they have to meet, whether that be from their academic performance or extracurricular accomplishments. The expectations may be placed by their parents, teachers or even themselves. The pressure to meet potentially unrealistic expectations can lead to anxiety and self-doubt.
• School-life balance — By the time a student turns 18, they’ve spent more than 13% of their waking hours at school. Plus, high school students spend more than six hours a week doing homework. While school is such a significant part of a teenager’s life, it’s important that they balance it out with other things. Time with their friends and family, hobbies and leisure activities should also be priorities. Poor school-life balance can lead to increased stress, anxiety-like symptoms or heightened risk of an anxiety disorder.
• Peer pressure —It can be easy to tell teens to just “be yourself” and don’t do anything they’re not comfortable with. However, peer pressure can be powerful, especially for teens who are trying to find themselves. Peer pressure from their friends and classmates can lead to risky or out-of-character behaviors, anxiety, and depression. It may also cause them to isolate themselves away from others. They may feel peer pressure about alcohol, drugs, sex, and unsafe activities, such as dangerous stunts.

• Bullying — While we would like to think that all students are kind and friendly to one another, that’s often not realistic. The truth is that many high school students may experience bullying. This could include physical, verbal or online mistreatment by others. Bullying can take a significant toll on a teen’s mental and emotional health. It can lead to low self-esteem, trust issues and depression. They may become hypercritical of themselves. They could also struggle to gain confidence to chase their passions.
• Establishing a sense of self — High school students are trying to figure out who they are and what they want to accomplish in life. It’s at this phase that they’re trying to establish a strong sense of self. This includes their values, passions and the impact they want to make in the world. However, it takes a while to establish an identity that they feel confident in. As they go through the process, they may experience mental health stressors such as low self-esteem, hyperfixation of their weaknesses and decision-making difficulties.

Lightfully Teen can help your teen navigate mental health challenges they’re going through

Being a high school student comes with all kinds of challenges, from school and social pressure to goal planning and time management. When these types of challenges affect a teen’s mental health, they may find it difficult to handle their everyday responsibilities, maintain a social life and look toward the future. They may also develop mental health conditions that affect their overall quality of life, such as generalized anxiety disorder and major depressive disorder.

If your teen is struggling to manage their mental health challenges, it can be helpful for them to talk to a therapist. A psychotherapist can help high school students navigate challenges, learn coping strategies and set plans for the future. 

If your teen needs more intensive mental health care treatment beyond regular therapy sessions, our three Lightfully Teen levels of care may help:

• Residential Treatment 
• Partial Hospitalization Program
• Intensive Outpatient Program

Change is possible. When you’re ready to take the first step to help your teen, reach out to our Admissions Concierge Team. We’ll take the next steps together, toward the fullest, brightest version of them.