Emotional Health: 5 Things Teens Can Do to Avoid Feeling Miserable [According to Experts]

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By Fatima Virrey , Parent Herald Aug 03, 06:42 pm

Photo: (Photo : Photo by cottonbro from Pexels)

Life can be difficult. It's known to all. Teens will often feel miserable or upset.

Teens' emotional health can be challenged, especially when they encounter stressful instances.

According to experts, teens who are feeling miserable usually have negative thinking patterns.

Psychology Today describes teens' different negative thinking patterns in the article "7 Thoughts That Make Children and Teens Feel Miserable."

Here are some of the ways that teens can follow to avoid feeling miserable:

Avoid jumping into conclusions.

Indeed, things will not always turn out the way we want it. That is why we still want to be ready, even if it will be the worst.

However, being prepared does not mean that we already know what is going to happen.

Teens should learn how to keep their emotional health balanced by not assuming they can read other people's minds. This way of thinking will ruin a possibly perfect moment and limit what a teen can do.

Look into the positive side.

Negative filtering exists, according to experts. This instance happens when the negative side is given too much emphasis, overshadowing the positive side.

When teens are given comments, they tend to filter the good points and focus on the criticisms that were given in their work. Even if these criticisms are deemed to be constructive, teens lead to believing that they did nothing right.

Do not catastrophize.

The words "What if," followed by a negative thought, is catastrophizing. In doing so, teens are filled with ideas about the worst things that could happen.

Teens should learn how to prepare for back-up plans but also look forward to achieving their goals.

Stop comparing

It's a cliche, but we are indeed unique in our ways. Comparing can be too much when we only see what we have not achieved.

For teens, they tend to negatively compare their physical, mental, and emotional aspects to their peers.

Do not think to the extreme.

When teens fail at a specific aspect of their life, they start to think that they have lost altogether.

Failing a math test should not mean you are already a failure. There's such a thing as in-between or a grey area.

The same goes for not having everything. Just because a person aced an exam does not mean he has figured out everything.

There are several other means for teens to avoid negative thinking patterns and improve their emotional health.

However, parents, guardians, and peers can also help in empowering teens' emotional health.