Seeing someone with a broken arm or any other physical ailment will generate empathy with other people, usually resulting in assistance for the handicapped person. This help towards superficial illnesses does not generate the same amount of attention when it comes to more hidden ailments. Often dismissed when regarding mental health, teenagers and young adults alike tend to struggle with mental illnesses such as depression, anxiety, ADHD, mood disorders and eating disorders.

Depression alone covers approximately 20 percent of teens and young adults, according to PsychCentral. Break that down even further to the fact that a young adult takes his or her own life every 100 minutes, making suicide the third leading cause of death for people ages 15 to 24. The treatment of a person’s mentality should not differ from how they treat their body, and disregarding these all-too-real mental illnesses may cause them to manifest and worsen over time.

Common labels for young adults, such as “moody,” “hormonal,” “over dramatic” and “emotional” may derive from a mental illness. Pushing off a group of people and labeling them as “hormonal” does not always fit the case. Some young adults may hide their mental illness through this emotional behavior, while other young adults may have this emotional behavior as a symptom. Putting this generalization on all young adults results in an unhealthy resolution for any issue, emotional or mental.

Timeless accusations, such as “you are too young to understand,” “you are just having a bad day,” or “what do you have to be depressed/anxious about?” carelessly get thrown at young adults countless times. Statements such as these not only deny the feelings and mental health of the young adult, but degrades them too. These statements undoubtedly make the mental health worse, and will cause the young adult to repress the fact as well. Keeping this bottled up will cause it to worsen, and the young adult will become reluctant in coming out again about the mental illness. This may cause young adults to believe their problems do not matter, and dissuade them from seeking professional help.

“It’s just a phase.” Young adults hear this classic line all around the world. Although some adolescents reign true to this assumption, many do not. Young adults often have their interests, dreams and sometimes their sexual orientation and gender identity dismissed as “phases.” Dismissing these lifelong characteristics could result in the still developing young adult to see the world as a negative and unforgiving place. Dismissing mental health as a “phase” can result in negative mentality to increase.

When it comes to adolescents, many adults tend to ignore the obvious mental illnesses and disorders that they have. The treatment of mind, the most important part of any person, should reign top priority when regarding health. Without proper mental health, the rest of the body will fall apart due to the lack of support.