Health Topic

Teen Mental Health

Being a teenager can be stressful, and some teens will struggle with their mental health. But help is available. Learn the warning signs and when to get help.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Teen Mental Health

Being a teenager is hard. You're under stress to be liked, do well in school, get along with your family, and make big decisions. You can't avoid most of these pressures, and worrying about them is normal. But feeling very sad, hopeless or worthless could be warning signs of a mental health problem.

Mental health problems are real, painful, and sometimes severe. You might need help if you have the signs mentioned above, or if you:

  • Often feel very angry or very worried
  • Feel grief for a long time after a loss or death
  • Think your mind is controlled or out of control
  • Use alcohol or drugs
  • Exercise, diet and/or binge-eat obsessively
  • Hurt other people or destroy property
  • Do reckless things that could harm you or others
  • Feel depressed (sad and hopeless)

Mental health problems can be treated. To find help, talk to your parents, school counselor, or health care provider.

It sits within Children and Teenagers and Mental Health and Behavior.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Mental Health.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Teen Mental Health

833 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

Start Here

Diagnosis and Tests

Treatments and Therapies

Related Issues

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Psychology, Adolescent, Adolescent Psychiatry. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Teen Mental Health, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.