There’s no question that mental health plays a huge role in teen’s lives these days. Whether it’s because of academic stress, social stress, bullying, mental illness, substance abuse, or family issues, more than 1 in 3 high schoolers claim to have consistent feelings of sadness or hopelessness. Poor mental health continues to grow among teens, and the number of teens reporting it continues to increase. There needs to be some major improvements in all aspects of adolescent life, and luckily there are many resources dedicated to helping teens who are struggling.

Teens who are a part of the LGBTQ+ community reported much higher rates of mental health struggles compared to heterosexual teens comparing at 64% to 30% according to the CDC. Feeling as if they don’t fit in with their peers, feeling as if they will not be accepted if they don’t act the way the people in their environment expect them to, and bullying, homophobia, and transphobia at school and at home, are all major factors that play into the increase of LGBTQ+ teens struggling with their mental health. One of the best resources designed to help these teens is The Trevor Project . The Trevor Project is a non-profit organization that is mainly focused on suicide prevention among LGBTQ+ youth. The Trevor project offers a toll free phone number that provides anyone calling with an anonymous call with a trained counselor, whose goal is to provide guidance, acceptance, and other resources to LGBTQ+ youth all around America.

Another amazing and free resource is the Teen Line. The Teen Line’s main priority is mental health struggles among all teens. Teen Line gives support, reassurance, and resources to the youth of America through a toll free phone number similar to the way that The Trevor Project works. The thing that is really cool about Teen Line is that all of the trained counselors are also teens! This hotline also keeps the caller’s identity anonymous and the information strictly among the caller and their counselor.

Lastly, The Suicide Prevention Lifeline provides excellent resources to teens. The Suicide Prevention Lifeline also has an anonymous hotline with counselors on the other line like the sources sited above, along with many resources and support on their website. The website consists of sections for anyone in need of help, including the loved ones of a suicidal person, as well as resources for what schools can do to better the environment of the students there. 

Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people ranging in ages 10-24, and mental health struggles can often be invalidated because of those young ages. It can not be expressed enough how important mental health is, especially the mental health of teens. So please, if you are anybody you know is struggling, put these resources to use. 

Phone numbers for the given sources:

The Trevor Project-  1-866-488-7386 

Teen Line-  800-852-8336

The Suicide Prevention Lifeline- 1-800-273-8255