During adolescence it is common to develop problems. While it is possible to develop these problems in childhood or adulthood, the problems I am about to discuss are most prevalent in the teenage years. Adolescents can either develop internalizing problems or externalizing problems. Internalizing problems are ones that lie within oneself and may not be physically noticeable at first. Some examples are eating disorders, anxiety or depression. Externalizing problems on the other hand are problems that are made toward the outside world. Some examples are drug or alcohol misuse, or crimes as little as shoplifting to outright murder. While some people unfortunately suffer from these problems throughout their life, a large majority of these problems are limited to the adolescent years (McMahan & Thompson, p. 383, 2015). These problems lie on a spectrum and some are easier to resolve than others. Luckily, there are ways to mitigate these problems, and we as teachers can help with this mitigation process by properly educating and providing resources to our students who are in need of help.

This week we were asked to explore one problem that we found the most interesting. Some of the topics people researched were suicide, cutting, depression, eating disorders, and drug abuse. I decided to focus my attention on eating disorders. I found an interesting resource provided by the Government of British Columbia that defined what an eating disorder is and the different types of disorders, how to identify someone with a disorder, how to teach students with eating disorders, and opportunities for proactive intervention (Ministry of Education, 2000). The document was very thorough and taught me a lot not only about the facts of an eating disorder, but how I as a teacher can look for the signs and help those students. Although I am not a professional in psychology, this week really taught me about looking for the different symptoms that students might have when faced with problems. As I learned with an eating disorder, students may look exhausted, have brittle nails, refuse to eat, etc. For suicidal thoughts or depression, a student’s grades could be effected, their attendance may decline, and they may be dismissing themselves from extra-curricular activities with friends. It is important to always be on our toes and watching for these warning signs. Although we are not trained to diagnose or treat a student, we can point them in the right direction of someone who can further help them resolve their issues. I cannot stress enough the importance of knowing our students and having constant communication with them. The better we know our students, the easier it will be to recognize when something seems abnormal or out of the ordinary.

Below I have collected some resources to support students who are dealing with problems. Even though these resources are helpful, I would still strongly suggest a student to meet with a counselor or psychologist first. These resources are simply additional help and will be made available to all students. The Teenager’s Guide to Depression is an excellent tool to help a student who may be feeling depressed or someone who thinks they know someone experiencing depression. It addresses the warning signs and symptoms, what depression feels like, how to cope with suicidal thoughts, and tips for depressed teens. The Partnership for a Drug-Free Canada provides tips for parents on how they can make a difference in dealing with teens and drugs. Some of the advice they provide are keeping them busy, set house rules, teach them the facts about drugs, etc. Although these tips are addressed to parents, they can easily be adopted by teachers on a conversation about drugs. WebMD featured an article by Joanne Barker that addresses how parents can look for signs when their children are lying about using drugs. There are also tips on how to approach a teen who can been lying and how to cope with drugs and how to prevent use in the future. I have also provided Alberta Health Services list of hotlines. The hotlines include the mental health helpline, addictions helpline, crisis/distress line, health link, etc. I even plan on putting these helplines on my syllabus at the beginning of the year so students have a physical copy they can access if they ever feel the need to use one.