There is something called the adolescent paradox, a term referring to the ironic situation in which young adults are at once both at the peak of their physical health and energy while also being most at risk for mental illness. So while our bodies are equipped to do all we may want, like staying up late into the night or running a marathon, our minds are most vulnerable to debilitating mental health issues, such as depression and anxiety. Half of the major psychiatric illnesses experienced by adults are present by age 14, and three-quarters of them by age 25, meaning that many mental illnesses can be traced back to years of youth.The prevalence of mental health issues among young people is not difficult to notice. Never in any other time in my life have I met so many people who are struggling or have recently struggled with mental illness. I did not know that people actually went to therapy until some of my closest friends started going. Before I turned 18, issues like bipolar and panic disorder seemed far from me; they were somebody else’s problem. It was not until the summer before I entered college that I entered into several months of depression and realized how tangible and how
The prevalence of mental health issues among young people is not difficult to notice. Never in any other time in my life have I met so many people struggling, or who have struggled recently, with mental illness. I did not know that people actually went to therapy until some of my closest friends started going. Before I turned 18, issues like bipolar and panic disorder seemed far from me; they were somebody else’s problem. It was not until the summer before I entered college that I entered into several months of depression and realized how tangible and real mental illness was. I could see depression at work in my body. It manifested in my eating habits and my sleep schedule, not because I was making conscious decisions to alter these aspects of my life, but simply because I was reacting physically to my unhealthy mental state.
Mental and physical well-being are closely related. And just as we are given treatment and need rest when our bodies are sick, we need healing for the mind when we are mentally unwell. While our bodies may be at the height of their strength and energy, the same may not necessarily be true of our minds, which are equally as valuable to us. Rather than shoving mental illness under the rug or mythologizing it, treating it as we would any physical illness is crucial to making sure that depression, anxiety, and other mental disorders do not go untreated, and are not given the opportunity to cause more harm than necessary.
I remember struggling to reach out to a school counselor a month ago, despite the fact that I was interested in speaking with someone about my mental health. Something was keeping me from dialing her phone number, and it was not fear or doubt. Rather, it was this idea that I had better ways to use my time, that I was busy, that I was not experiencing an issue big enough to discuss. I was wrong. I wish I had spent a little bit of my time to sit down with her and receive her professional insight, but I did not take the issue seriously enough at the time. No single action will undo the adolescent paradox, but beginning to look at our mental health in a new light, realizing its consequences and effects, might help us to combat the rise in mental illness in these most precious and pivotal years of our lives.
