World Teen Mental Wellness Day is annually celebrated on March 2nd. The day aims to raise awareness around mental health struggles that a teenager may face. For some background about this day, Hollister Co. which is a clothing brand, founded the day to be designated to raise awareness surrounding mental health in teens. The brand created this day to go along with their Hollister Confidence Project which overall aims to seek awareness and help teenagers in every way possible with their mental health.

According to the World Health Organization as of October 2024, “Globally, one in seven 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder, accounting for 15% of the global burden of disease in this age group”. In fact, the leading mental illnesses in teenagers globally are depression, anxiety, and behavioral disorders.

There are some ways that one can identify a teen struggling with mental health issues. Visible symptoms could include irritableness, restlessness, changes in sleep or behavior and outbursts. Being able to identify symptoms that could be caused by mental health is crucial to supporting struggling teens. Adults like educators, parents, guardians, or community members are especially people who should be educated on mental illness and be able to offer information and support to adolescents.

Mental wellness is important for various reasons. Some reasons include learning, teaching and inhabiting healthy habits, such as healthy sleep, healthy eating, healthy exercise, and learning healthy coping mechanisms. Educating teens and working with teens on personal development as well as self worth is crucial to mental wellness. Teenagers need support as well as education on mental wellness to be the best version of themselves, and develop healthy habits and coping mechanisms to help with their mental health.

For more information regarding awareness surrounding teen mental health, check out these additional resources:

World Teen Mental Wellness Day: Supporting the Next Generation

Teen Mental Health Facts and Statistics 2024

Mental Health and Nicotine Resources

Blog written by Kayla Todd, Intern at the Allegany County Department of Social Services.