Status Updates From The Teenage Brain: A Neuros...

Adolescence is a unique time, as it is a period in life when some mental illnesses first emerge. What comes as a bit of a surprise is that we need to have a mature enough brain to “do” mental illness. In fact, it is known that many mood and affective disorders involve abnormal functioning of the frontal lobes, especially the prefrontal cortex.

Any exaggeration or deepening of a teenager’s mood swings or a predominance of one mood over another—especially anger, sadness, or irritability, and especially if it lasts longer than two weeks—is a sign of possible psychiatric problems. Changes in sleeping or eating habits, a tendency to act out more than usual, taking more risks, and spending less time with friends and family are also warning signs.

Resilience isn’t something you’re either born with or not. It’s actually something that’s learned, and for that reason teenagers, while particularly vulnerable to the negative effects of stress, are also better equipped than most adults to learn how to positively respond to stress.

"More individualized trauma is really not any different. An example would be bullying—either in person or online. Teens are very susceptible to harassment and negative criticism, and may not have the ability to see the lack of fact or logic in the accusations made by a bully. Schools and parents must take bullying seriously: it is not trivial for the victim."

Of those teenagers who were physically abused, boys revealed a greater reduction in areas of the brain associated with impulse control and substance abuse, meaning they had a greater tendency to abuse alcohol and drugs, while girls had reduced activity in the areas of the brain linked to depression.

Stress is a big player when it comes to emotional trauma. Adolescents are at especially high risk for experiencing emotional trauma compared with the rest of the population, and the consequences for their brain development can be devastating

Adolescents, whose amygdalae are less under control by their frontal lobes, are prone to responding to situations of stress with more extreme emotions than adults, who can rely on their prefrontal cortex within the frontal lobes to control their anger and fear.

teens may be less protected against stress compared with adults because of the way they respond to the stress hormone THP. Instead of a calming effect, the hormone stirs up additional anxiety in the teen.

Emotionally, the main difference between adults and adolescents is that there is much less activity in the frontal lobes of adolescents, making it harder for them to handle their emotions, especially in crisis situations.