Mind4Youth

Author: Pratyay Bulusu

Imagine your weaknesses were more important and valuable than your strengths. Now, I want you to stop imagining, because this is reality. This week’s Mind4Youth article suggests how embracing insecurities and wanting to fail can inherently build better mental health. The honest truth is that it is objectively hard for teenagers to let go of their insecurities and love every part of themselves. There’s a reason why many teenagers, including myself, have fallen into the deep pits of mental health issues through insecurities. Whether you decide to click off this article or give
me a chance to narrate, I want you to realize that having insecurities and struggles with your mental health is normal and that many teenagers share your struggles. However, I need you to compartmentalize your
struggles and insecurities. I need you to section off your life into the person who you were before reading this article- likely a teenager who masks their insecurities, and build a new section of you after reading
this article: a you who embraces their insecurities and is on the trek to build better mental health.

I want you to think: how do you improve yourself? I’ll provide an example: if I wanted to improve my ability to run a mile, what would I do? Run a mile one time, notice I wasn’t good, and give up? Probably not, if I’m trying to improve my mile of course my first time running would be deflating. Would I compare myself to those who can run a mile much faster than me? Probably not, my journey is much different than theirs. Would I embrace the runner I am, and try to improve my running abilities in a way that doesn’t condescend myself? Yes, because by doing this I could improve myself while avoiding any mental health issues from bringing myself down. Now I want you to replace my example of running
with your insecurities. I’m going to shift the question to you, why would you compare yourself or wallow in your insecurities instead of embracing who you are and trying to improve yourself healthily?

In my experience, realizing that outside influences give you a distorted perception of reality was the key to the lock of my mental health struggles. I want to focus on a specific moment where outside influences were detrimental to my mental health. Around 5 years ago, I was in a Rubik’s Cube club, as I had an irresistible passion for the colored cubes. I was determined to solve one, and my robust passion was the sole factor that mentally drove me to practice. However, I began to notice kids my age in the club were already masters of the Rubik’s Cube. My inherent habit of comparing myself to others paired with my jealousy of those my age who could do what I couldn’t do was the perfect recipe for damage to my mental health. I began to feel stupid and feared speaking at the club, as I believed I wasn’t as intelligent as the people who were born in the same year as me. I began to mask my insecurities about my perceived
lack of intelligence, which caused me to struggle with my mental health. Whilst battling my internal struggles, I made no progress in my actual abilities to solve a Rubik’s Cube. Furthermore, I strongly assert that it hindered my current abilities due to my lack of confidence and the hatred I had for myself. Theodore Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy” (Roosevelt), and I know that comparison was the reason the joy of the Rubik’s Cube was snatched away from me. However, not knowing the full story caused my perception to be deeply misled. Later, I discovered that the same kids who were better than me had been practicing for way longer than I had. I realized that external influences, such as others
in the club, could provide a false perception. Realizing this, I began to focus on improving myself and embracing the progress I had made, rather than focusing on the progress I hadn’t made. With an improved
mindset and a healthier mental state, I was able to flourish, learning to solve the Rubik’s Cube in around 2 months and becoming one of the most skilled people in the club.

Among teenagers, it can be viewed that the most prevalent form of obtaining insecurities and a resulting bad mental state can be catalyzed by social media. Social media is something that a plethora of teenagers have: it’s fun, addicting, and a great way to interact with new people. It is reported that around 81% of American teenagers use a form of social media (Memon). While social media can be thought of as one of the best creations of the 2000s, it has also had a detrimental effect on teenage mental health. For example, between 2005 and 2017, when social media began to skyrocket in popularity, depression among adolescents went up 52% (Champion). Additionally, a study on Instagram found that depression was more common in teenagers who followed and compared themselves to strangers on social media than teenagers who followed only their friends (Sharma); often a stranger’s social media will not tell the whole story of who the stranger is, so comparing yourself to these unknown influences can only do you a disservice. Unfortunately, depression that is promoted by social media and social comparisons could lead to suicide, as depression is a major cause of suicidal ideation. Psychological autopsies showed that approximately 60% of adolescent suicide victims met some form of depressive illness at the time of death, further affirming the strong connection between depression and suicide (Mohite). Looking at social media influences with a grain of salt and spending less time on social media can allow you to mitigate the harmful effects that social media can have on yourself. Not only can it enable you to avoid garnering insecurities, but research has proven the detrimental effect long periods of social media use can have on adolescents.

If you find that you struggle with your mental health as a result of the insecurities you possess, I want to reiterate that you are not alone. Many teenagers have a variety of insecurities that they choose to mask, so although it may seem like you are alone, remember that your perception of outside influences could be distorted. If you feel the need to either talk with others dealing with mental health disorders or identify possible mental disorders you may have, I recommend visiting Mental Health America’s (MHA) website. In 2014, MHA created an online screening program, enabling individuals to help identify possible mental disorders they may have through 11 clinically validated screens. Additionally, these screens are 100% free and 100% confidential, and available to anyone with internet access. Additionally, other free websites such as The Jed Foundation, which helps teenagers protect their emotional health and avoid suicidal ideation, as well as The National Alliance on Mental Illness, which provides human support to those who struggle with mental disorders, are available and recommended to utilize.

Recovery from your mental health struggles and your insecurities can be seen as an impossible challenge. However, if you unite with other teenagers and take action toward the ideas I suggested in this article, the road to embracing your insecurities and providing yourself with a healthier mental state can be accomplished. Remember, it is impossible to be a perfect human, so embracing and improving on your imperfections can be viewed as making you “perfect”. Sigmund Freud, a famous psychologist, once said, “Out of your vulnerabilities will come your strength”, emphasizing the necessity to embrace vulnerabilities rather than hide them (Freud). No matter what struggles you face, in a world of 8 billion people it is likely that others share your struggles, so reaching out for help can be very beneficial for you and your mental health.

Hotlines:
● Suicidal prevention hotline: 1-800-273-8255
● Mental Health hotline: 1-888-793-4357
● Depression hotline: 866-903-3787

Links to quizzes to self-assess yourself (the results that these quizzes provide aren’t guaranteed to be 100% accurate, but they rather give an assumption based on the answers you input!)
★ https://screening.mhanational.org/screening-tools/
★ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/health/mental-health-assessment
★ https://www.clinical-partners.co.uk/online-tests
★ https://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php title=mtc4mdc3oq0e9g
★ https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/tests/personality/self-esteem-test

Reference list

Champion, Chayil. “Is social media causing psychological harm to youth and young adults?” UCLA Health, UCLA, 18 January 2023,
https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/social-media-causing-psychological-harm-youth-and-young. Accessed 22 July 2024.

Freud, Sigmund. “Quote by Sigmund Freud: “Out of your vulnerabilities will come your stre…””Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/79982-out-of-your-vulnerabilities-will-come-your-strength. Accessed 2 August 2024.

Memon, Aksha M. “The role of online social networking on deliberate self-harm and suicidality in adolescents: A systematized review of literature.” NCBI, NIH, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6278213/. Accessed 22 July 2024.

Roosevelt, Theodore. “Quote by Theodore Roosevelt: “Comparison is the thief of joy.”” Goodreads, https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/6471614-comparison-is-the-thief-of-joy. Accessed 30 July 2024.

Mental Health America | Homepage | Mental Health America, https://mhanational.org/. Accessed 25 July 2024.