Teen Counseling: Social Media and Teen Mental Health

Written by: Lauran Hahn, LMHC

You know that social media and the endless scrolling that it entails are stealing your time. You recognize getting caught in this repetitive loop but you can’t seem to reel it back in. As you scroll, you feel your anxiety rising as you compare yourself to others. You edit posts repeatedly, agonizing over how others will see you.

Your heart drops when you see your friends post that they were out having fun and realize that you weren't invited. That sense of rejection feels like a fire that lights you up inside. Suddenly, you’ve become your worst critic as your internal voice comments and compares each time you open TikTok and Instagram.

Orlando Therapist Helps Your Teen Navigate Through College Rejection Letters

Your teen has been excitedly awaiting their college acceptance letters. They check the mail and their email daily in anticipation that they will soon hear back from colleges after working hard on their applications. As their parent, you’re anticipating this news as well and join in on their nerves and excitement!

They open their first response from a college and as they do so, you watch their face fall into disappointment. After all their hard work, they received a letter that they were not granted acceptance into college. Your teen is crushed and upset by this rejection and unsure how to handle it. As their parent, you feel their pain and defeat. How do you help your child through receiving this bad news?

Orlando Therapist Shares Anxiety Symptoms in Teens

You’re confused and lost about how to help your teen. You’re worried about changes you have seen in your teen and even more worried that you don’t know how to help them with this. It concerns you that you’re not sure what is causing these changes or what is going on with them.

Orlando Therapist Shares Myths About Teen Counseling (written for the teen)

You’re overwhelmed, you’re confused, and you're realizing that you need more help than talking to your friends can give you. You want to talk to your parents about getting counseling, but you don’t know if they’ll understand. You worry about your parents’ reaction if you even bring up counseling to them - will they blame themselves? Get upset with you for asking for counseling? Ignore how you’ve been feeling?