What is Recovery and Is It Different For Teens
Statistics show that one in three pupils in a classroom suffer from mental illness. The good news though is that between 70% and 90% of individuals who get treated for the condition go on to show signs of reduction in symptoms and are able to enjoy a higher quality of life. 
There are two categories of recovery; clinical and personal. Clinical recovery is being able to live free of symptoms. Personal recovery is being able to live a high quality of life within the limits of the illness. When people talk about recovery, unless its medical professionals, they are usually referring to second meaning.
Recovery can therefore be defined as developing a new meaning for and perspective on life which enables one to grow beyond the effects of mental illness.
Is Recovery Different in Teens?
The greatest challenge faced by mentally ill teens is the fact that their illnesses often have to be found-out by their parents.
If an adult is mentally ill, they are more likely to know about it early. They are old enough to tell if things are not going well. Few ever reach the stage of inflicting self injury. By that time they would have felt that something was wrong and would have talke about it with someone.
On the other hand, teens are still developing and may not be as self-aware. They may not have heard about mental illness. To them, anxiety, frustration, and depression, among other signs of mental illness, are never a cause for worry until someone (often their parents, guardians, or teachers) points it out. This sometimes allows more time to pass than is ideal before they start on treatment.
Kids, especially adolescents, are typically also very emotional. If a teen with a mental illness discovers that people are behaving differently towards them, they will quickly attribute that to their mental condition. Recovery demands a lot of willingness and ability from a mentally ill teen. Support from others actually comes second. Since adolescents go through a lot of physical, mental, and biological changes during that stage of life, they often find that they have too much weight on their shoulders which could hinder their recovery.
The recovery period may also require that the affected teen make some new friends and acquaintances if they associate with anyone who is usually cruel to them. Being bullied often increases their worries making recovery even more difficult.
Call 866-889-3665 to speak to a professional at Visions.
Originally posted on April 5, 2014 @ 8:04 am
