Adolescence, a phase with so many emotional, academic, social, sexual, and cognitive changes, often leaves parents and teenagers feeling unsure: is this ‘just normal adolescence’ or something more serious? It’s not unusual for parents to wonder about mental health diagnoses to make sense of things. They might wonder whether what their teenager is going through points to depression, anxiety, or maybe a hidden neurodevelopmental condition.
But why do teenagers also seek these diagnoses more frequently in recent years? I think there is a number of different reasons, some more obvious than others.