Teens · 13–19
School pressure, friendships, social media, changing bodies and big feelings: the teen years ask a lot. About 1 in 7 people aged 10 to 19 has a mental health condition, most often anxiety or depression, and most get much better with support. Start with a check, try a quiz, or read about what you're going through. Parents are welcome here too.
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Schoolwork pressure is rising, especially for girls. In a WHO Europe survey of 15-year-olds, 63% of girls felt pressured by schoolwork in 2022, up from 54% in 2018, while fewer teens felt strong support from family and friends.
What helps: Break big tasks into small steps, protect sleep before tests, and tell a teacher or counselor early when you feel buried.
Sources: WHO Europe, HBSC report, 2024
Social media can help teens feel close to friends (74% say so) but can also cost sleep (45%) and self-esteem. In 2025, 48% of US teens said social media mostly harms people their age, up from 32% in 2022. The Surgeon General warns that more than 3 hours a day is linked to about double the risk of depression and anxiety symptoms.
What helps: Turn off non-essential notifications and keep the phone out of the bedroom at night.
Sources: Pew Research Center, Teens, social media and mental health, Apr 2025 · U.S. Surgeon General, Social media and youth mental health (advisory)
About 1 in 5 US high school students were bullied at school in the past year, and more than 1 in 6 were bullied online. Bullying is linked to depression, anxiety, poor sleep and lower grades. Friends who speak up or get help make a real difference.
What helps: Save screenshots, block and report, and tell a trusted adult. Online bullying should not stay a secret.
Sources: CDC, Fast Facts: Preventing Bullying
Feeling that people at school care about you is one of the strongest protections for teen mental health. In CDC's 2023 survey, students who felt connected at school had about 30% lower rates of sadness and suicide risk. LGBQ+ students reported much more persistent sadness (66% vs 31%), which makes accepting friends and adults especially important.
What helps: Join one group, team or club where you feel accepted, and name one adult at school you could go to.
Teens need 8 to 10 hours of sleep, and their body clock naturally shifts later, which makes early mornings hard. Only about 1 in 4 US high schoolers got 8 or more hours on school nights in 2025. Enough sleep was linked to clearly lower rates of sadness and suicide risk.
What helps: Keep the same wake time every day, weekends included, and dim lights and screens in the hour before bed.
Sources: CDC Healthy Schools, Sleep · CDC, Youth Health in Focus (YRBS 2025)
Comparing yourself with edited photos can make you feel worse about your body; 46% of US teens say social media does. About 2.7% of US teens have had an eating disorder (older survey data). Eating disorders are serious but treatable, and early help matters.
What helps: Unfollow accounts that make you feel bad about your body, and tell an adult if eating or exercise starts to feel out of control.
Sources: U.S. Surgeon General, Social media and youth mental health · NIMH, Eating disorders statistics
About 1 in 7 people aged 10 to 19 has a mental health condition, and anxiety is the most common. Signs of depression include feeling sad, empty or irritable, losing interest, pulling away from friends, sleep or appetite changes, falling grades and thoughts of self-harm. If this lasts most days for a few weeks, it is time to talk to someone. Therapy, medicine or both help.
What helps: Move a little each day, keep a sleep routine, and tell a parent, counselor or doctor how long you've felt this way.
Sources: WHO, Mental health of adolescents (fact sheet), 2025 · NIMH, Teen depression
Thoughts of suicide are more common than many people think, and help works. The share of US high schoolers who seriously considered suicide fell from 20% in 2023 to 14% in 2025. If a friend might be thinking about suicide: ask them directly, listen, help keep them safe, connect them to help, and follow up.
What helps: Call or text 988 any time. If a friend tells you they are in danger, tell a trusted adult, even if they asked you to keep it secret.
Sources: CDC press release, YRBS 2025 results, Sep 2026 · NIMH, 5 action steps to help someone having thoughts of suicide
Most US teens do not vape, drink or use drugs, and use is near historic lows: 5.2% of middle and high schoolers vaped in 2025. Newer concerns include nicotine pouches and hemp-derived THC products. Nicotine and cannabis can make anxiety, mood and sleep worse.
What helps: Plan an easy way to say no ahead of time, and ask a doctor about help quitting if you already vape.
Sources: NIH/NIDA, Monitoring the Future, Dec 2025 · FDA, 2025 National Youth Tobacco Survey
Parents matter a lot, even when teens push away. Knowing where your teen is and who they are with was linked to much lower sadness and suicide risk. Pediatricians recommend a family media plan, phone-free times and places, and modeling healthy habits yourself. Get help if changes in mood, sleep, eating, grades or friends last for weeks, and right away if your teen talks about self-harm.
What helps: Talk side by side, in the car or on a walk. Listen more than you fix, and ask directly if you are worried.
Sources: CDC MMWR Suppl 2024;73(4):79-86 · AAP / HealthyChildren.org, new media recommendations, Jan 2026
New studies, policies and reports, newest first. Facts link to the original source.
September 21, 2026
CDC's 2025 Youth Risk Behavior Survey found persistent sadness among high schoolers fell from 40% to 33%, and serious thoughts of suicide from 20% to 14%, since 2023. Rates are still higher than in 2015, girls report more distress than boys, and only 1 in 4 teens gets enough sleep.
March 26, 2026
Some ban phones for the whole school day, others only in class. Families may need new ways to reach teens in an emergency, and research on the effects of these bans is still coming in.
January 20, 2026
The American Academy of Pediatrics now focuses on what children watch, how it affects their calm and sleep, and family conversation, not just minutes. It also calls on tech companies to make safety the default, such as autoplay off and limited algorithmic feeds for minors.
December 17, 2025
Monitoring the Future found past-year nicotine vaping at 9%, 14% and 20% in grades 8, 10 and 12. Nicotine pouches and hemp-derived THC products are new concerns to watch.
December 10, 2025
Ten platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, Snapchat and YouTube, must take reasonable steps to keep under-16s off, with fines of up to A$49.5 million. Early results are mixed: millions of accounts were removed, but about two-thirds of children who already had accounts kept them, and regulators are investigating weak age checks.
Australian Government, social media minimum age · eSafety compliance update, Mar 2026 (PDF)
June 3, 2025
The APA says teens may trust AI companions too easily and calls for safer defaults, limits on simulated relationships and AI literacy in schools. A chatbot is not a therapist; a person is the right call in a crisis.
June 2025
Following about 4,300 US preteens for four years, researchers found total screen time was not linked to later suicidal thoughts, but addictive patterns (losing control, use that disrupts school or home) were. The study shows a link, not proof of cause.
Well-studied questionnaires, scored privately in your browser.
A well-studied anxiety questionnaire for ages 8 to 18. Shows five kinds of anxiety, from panic to school worries.
Open →The PHQ-9: nine questions doctors use to check for depression.
Open →The world's most used self-esteem scale. Ten statements, a score from 0 to 30.
Open →Eight questions sleep researchers use to screen for insomnia disorder. A score from 0 to 32; higher means better sleep.
Open →Quizzes and checklists for reflection, not diagnosis.
Tests and grades weighing on you? Check 12 common signs of exam stress.
Open →Scrolling, sleep and connection: what the research says
Open →Planner, replayer, people worrier or body worrier? Know your worry.
Open →Do people charge your battery or drain it? See where you lean.
Open →Lark, owl or somewhere in between? Find your body-clock type.
Open →Naming, venting, hiding: what really helps with feelings
Open →The Arrow · early Buddhist teaching
Open →An old habit, studied since the 1980s
Open →If you ever think about hurting yourself, call or text 988 any time, or text HOME to 741741. In danger now? Call 911.
Other stages
In depth
Why school pressure feels so heavy for teens, signs it is becoming too much, what helps before tests, and how parents can support without adding pressure.
Read →What research says about social media, phones and teen mood, sleep and self-esteem, new laws and school phone bans, and simple ways to use screens well.
Read →How to spot bullying and cyberbullying, how they affect teen mental health, what to do if it happens to you or a friend, and how adults can help.
Read →Why feeling connected at school and home protects teen mental health, how identity grows in the teen years, and practical ways to build belonging.
Read →Why teens need 8 to 10 hours of sleep but struggle to fall asleep early, how lost sleep affects mood and safety, and practical steps that help.
Read →Why body worries grow in the teen years, how edited photos and dieting can lead to eating disorders, warning signs, and what helps teens and parents.
Read →How to tell everyday stress from anxiety or depression in teens, the signs to watch for, what treatments work, and when to get help.
Read →Warning signs of suicide and self-harm in teens, how to help a friend, how to make a safety plan, and where to get help any time, day or night.
Read →The latest facts on teen vaping, drinking and drug use, how nicotine and cannabis affect mood and the brain, how to say no, and where to get help quitting.
Read →How parents can stay close to a teen who pulls away, talk about hard topics, set healthy phone habits, spot warning signs and know when to get help.
Read →