Why are teenagers often rebellious?

Adolescents are an age that is emotionally susceptible, sensitive to many problems around, even strange behaviors, thought to be due to facing anxiety disorders.

Youth is a period of development before adulthood. This is an age that is often susceptible to emotional impact, or sensitive to problems of life and has many strange behaviors. In the process of development, children of this age often face many emotional and social challenges , such as starting an independent life, joining a certain group or forming awareness. about myself.

However, there are other aspects of this age group, so far, not all parents or all others understand thoroughly. One of them is the tendency to appear and increase the feeling of anxiety and fear. Until recently, psychological problems were considered to be the cause of anxiety or fear at this age.

Compared to children and adults, adolescence will experience more anxiety and fear and more time consuming to learn how to overcome it. According to the researchers, this is also a particularly vulnerable age group . The top three dangers for them are accidents, murder and suicide.

Compared to children and adults, adolescence will experience more anxiety and fear and more time consuming to learn how to overcome it.(Artwork: teendrugrehabs.com)

Impact of brain structure

In the human brain, different areas or brain circuits grow at different speeds.Almond lymph nodes (amygdala) are located in the center of the brain, where the emotional factors in humans are handled. This area usually develops earlier than the prefrontal cortex, which handles theoretical or control problems. This means that in adolescence, the brain is more susceptible to fear or anxiety than the ability to self-regulate emotions and explain problems.

Amygdala is an area deep beneath the cortex, which has important functions in assessing and responding to human fears. It will transmit and receive signals that connect to the prefrontal cortex and warn of dangers, even before we have time to think about it.

When receiving a warning from the amygdala, the prefrontal cortex will help people control their emotions and respond to that warning. However, because the prefrontal cortex is one of the slower growing regions in the brain, adjusting the emotional behavior of teenagers may not be controlled by this department.

According to a study using brain MRI results, scientists from Stanford University and the Weill Cornell University School of Medicine found that when children showed a frightened, reactive expression in their amygdala. they will be stronger than other ages.

Professor Richard A. Friedman is an expert in psychiatry and has been treating neurological disorders related to adult anxiety. According to him, almost all of these people have signs related to the disease since young. Most of them have a peaceful childhood, until they are affected by fear when they enter adolescence. For many others, anxiety or fear appears to be difficult to explain.

Signs of psychological and anxiety disorders are not self-developed in most people of this age group , but they can control their fear through the development of the prefrontal cortex, usually around the age of 25 However, 20% of teenagers experience an anxiety disorder (can be diagnosed) affected by genetic and environmental factors.

In people with long-term anxiety disorders, their ability to assess situations that cause fear and repetition of fear is often inferior to others.(Artwork: NY Times)

We all have to experience anxiety. This is one of the emotional responses that are easy to understand in threatening situations. Signs of anxiety disorder symptoms are the prolonged existence of that anxiety even when the threat is no longer there.

The causes or situations that once made people afraid before can be forgotten, making people feel safe. At that time, we can reevaluate these situations and take measures to avoid the same thing repeating. However, in people with anxiety disorders, this is their problem.

One of Friedman's patients had a problem of panic disorder when he was young, after watching an advertisement for asthma. Since then, she has always had a feeling of anxiety and panic for no reason. A little older, she felt scared to have close contact with homeless people and would hold her breath when near them.

Treatments

One of the most popular methods of supporting anxiety disorders is behavioral therapy . In this method, a stimulus has been a threat. For example, patients with spider scare will be treated by slowly contacting spiders in non-hazardous environmental conditions. The treatment process will cause the patient to gradually lose the fear of spider.

However, this method may not be really effective for severe psychological injuries from their own behavior. Many of these will continue to show stress disorder after psychological trauma.

A study with children and adolescents with anxiety disorders showed that only 55-60% responded positively to behavioral therapy or antidepressant drugs, 81% of them showed positive signs. when applied for treatment by both methods. Compared with children or adults, cognitive behavioral therapy has a poor effect on adolescence.

The use of drugs or stimulants can alleviate the fear, but will make it difficult for children of this age to learn to overcome that fear, according to the usual logic development process. The need to use stimulants today is considered quite common for people with long-term anxiety disorders. However, theoretically, these stimulants may have a negative impact on the natural development of humans.

According to the researchers, the role of parents and the surrounding environment are important factors that can limit the risk of children's anxiety and anxiety disorders.