Differences

With teens starting to notice differences between themselves, we may start to become insecure because of it. Social media, of course, isn’t helping that.

In a poll from a report commissioned by Dove’s self esteem project [Real Girls, Real Pressure: A National Report on the State of Self-Esteem], 7 out of 10 girls think they are not good enough either from their looks, school performance and family/friend relationships. With that being said, it’s not only girls experiencing self esteem issues. According to the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, boys worry about their body image as well.

In another article by Rebecca Adams, [It’s Not Just Girls. Boys Struggle With Body Image, Too.], the issue of body insecurities in boys is also prevalent. The article speaks of a boy named Jack, about to turn six years old and is already insecure. Jack’s mother, Heather, speaks about what he has been going through. For example, weighing himself before and after meals, including after he goes to the bathroom. No matter the gender or age, children, teens, adults, elders, can have Body Dysmorphic Disorder [BDD].

About 1 in 50 people have BDD, that is more than 5 million people in the United States. According to an article by Katharine Phillips, MD, [Prevalence of BDD], she states that it is now more common than obsessive-compulsive disorder [OCD], anorexia nervosa, and schizophrenia. BDD is commonly seen at 12-13 years old, according to, [Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and Youth]. BDD happens everywhere, at school, work, home, online, etc.

Beyond BDD teens are said to be experiencing more and more mental health issues than ever recorded, with “approximately 1 in 6 youth reported making a suicide plan, in the past year, a 44% increase since 2009” according to a CDC mental health screening in 2009. The article also states that feelings of hopelessness and depression seem to be more prevalent in different minorities such as the LGBTQIA+ community, African American adolescents, Hispanic teenagers, and people from lower income backgrounds.

When people experience extensive discrimination at school this can cause or enhance preexisting mental health conditions. Because of this in school harassment

“depression, anxiety and behavioral disorders are among the leading causes of illness and disability among adolescents,” according to an Adolescent Mental Health article by the World Health Organization (WHO). WHO also claims that “one in seven 10-19-year-olds experiences a mental disorder” which makes up 13% of disease in this age group. This decline in mental health among teens has also caused suicide to become the worlds fourth leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 29.

Considering the discussion above, we want to remind everyone that they’re beautiful in their own way no matter they’re skin color, weight, style, acne/skin texture, cellulite, stretch marks, etc. Don’t let social media posts with edited photos bring you down, realistically people only post the “good.” Everyone is different and if we all looked the same, life would be pretty boring.