By Morghan Thompson
Kelsea Fields, a senior at Canton High School, appeared effortless online with smiling photos, quick laughs, and the kind of life that drew more tha 3,000 Instagram followers. But behind the scenes, the 17-year-old was wrestling with seasonal depression that often kept her in bed.
To cope, Fields said she slept through difficult moments because it felt easier than explaining them. Like many teens, she was struggling in plain sight with her private reality hidden beneath a polished digital presence.
Unfortunately, Fields isn’t the first, or only, teenager to have struggled behind the scenes.
The National Survey of Children’s Mental Health found that in 2023, more than 20% of adolescents, aged 12 to 17, were diagnosed with a mental or behavioral health condition, with anxiety the most common. While more young people are speaking up, Mental Health America reports that many still suffer in silence, unsure of how to describe their struggle and fearing being misunderstood.
“As a teenager, it’s hard to talk about anything, really, because once puberty hits, you’re trying to figure out what’s going on with yourself and finding yourself in all aspects,” said Kirsten Henry, a mental-health therapist at Youth Villages, based in Jackson, Mississippi.
The Signs Are Not Always Obvious
Mental-health issues are not always easily recognizable. Instead of crying or withdrawing, many teenagers cope by overachieving, masking pain with humor or simply trying to suppress the feeling with substances.
“I have struggled with my mental health, and it’s not a good feeling, but I don’t like to show people that,” Miah Schuller, a 17-year-old senior at Germantown High School said. Schuller is a student athlete who is outspoken about her mental struggles while balancing the life of a student and an athlete. “You have to put on a façade and act like you’re the same person even though you’re going through stuff.”
The mental-health struggles teens face today aren’t happening in a vacuum. A mix of modern-day stressors is pushing young people to their breaking point.
Academic pressure is a major factor. Between advanced classes, parents’ expectations and the fear of failure, many teenagers feel like they’re facing constant obstacles.
“School and sports are probably my main stressors because as a student-athlete, I have to stay on top of my work and still make time for my sports,” Schuller said.
Although student athletes are sometimes looked at as “strong-minded,” they also tend to feel the same pressures as other students. For student athletes, a top stressor is balancing academics and sports.
Social Media: A Powerful Influence
Social media also have an impact on mental health. The Pew Research Center found that social media can make it even harder to tell when teens are struggling. While platforms like TikTok and Instagram offer a connection to many new people and opportunities, they also open the door to cyberbullying and offer unrealistic beauty standards.
“One of the main things I’ve noticed in my teen patients is that they see a lot of flashy things, which causes them to have some self-doubt or self-loathing because they may or may not have access to those things,” mental-health therapist Jaylin Goodloe told the Youth Media Project.
Other contributing factors include family instability, economic stress and identity-based discrimination, particularly among LGBTQ+ youth. The 2024 Trevor Project poll shows that 66% of LGBTQ+ teens reported symptoms of anxiety, while 53% reported symptoms of depression.
Black or Brown teens face similar issues. Statistics indicate that only 25% of Black people seek mental-health treatment when needed, compared to 40% of white people.
“In the Black community, you hear a lot of ‘go talk to God about it’ or ‘ain’t nothing wrong with you,’” Henry said. “Mental health is very dismissed amongst the Black community, which can leave kids feeling unheard.”
What Teens Truly Desire: A Safe Space
While awareness of mental health is growing, access to affordable, youth-centered care remains limited, especially in underserved communities, often due to a lack of resources.
Although awareness is rising, many teenagers say adults still miss the mark when it comes to understanding what they truly need, often including their parents. This is a widespread issue due to cultural stigma, misinformation and the fear of being seen as “weak.”
“Adults feel as if we don’t have feelings and we’re too young to have problems, so it leaves us feeling as if there is no safe place for us to go,” Fields said.
Even well-meaning adults can unintentionally downplay teenage struggles.
“It’s not purposeful, but a lot of adults have had mental-health problems growing up and have dealt with it in an improper manner, causing them to address their kids’ mental health in a manner they shouldn’t,” Henry explained.
What many young people want is simple: to be heard, believed and supported.
“I think adults should understand that what we go through is real, and sometimes we just want to talk about it without being shut down,” Fields recommended.
If you or someone you know is having a mental-health crisis, please call or text 988 to reach the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.