Mental health refers to how a person thinks, feels, and acts when faced with life's situations. It is how people look at themselves, their lives, and other people in their lives; evaluate the challenges and the problems; and explore choices. This includes handling stress, relating to other people, and making decisions.

These problems affect one's thoughts, body, feelings, and behavior. Mental health problems for children and adolescents refers to the range of diagnosable emotional, behavioral, and mental disorders. They include depression, bipolar disorder (manic-depressive illness), attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, eating disorders, schizophrenia, and conduct disorder. Mental health problems affect one in every five young people at any given time.

"Serious Emotional Disturbances" for children and adolescents refers to the above disorders when they severely disrupt daily functioning in home, school, or community. Serious emotional disturbances affect 1 in every 20 young people at any given time.

Untreated, mental disorders can result in damage to self-esteem, poor school performance, problems with relationships and even suicide. If your teen is having difficulty at school, such as poor grades, behavior problems, or being bullied, it is important to reach out to school officials. Education is an important part of school violence prevention, socialization, and intellectual growth.

-SAMHSA's National Mental Health Information Center

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