Recognizing and Addressing Teen Burnout

As you know, being a parent is quite a journey filled with joy and challenges. Unfortunately, the stress, burnout, and exhaustion we experience as parents are not exclusive to us. In today’s fast-paced world, our teens and young adults are also wrestling with mental, emotional, and physical health issues. The demands of school, sports, social media, and various relationships can take a toll on our teens, making it crucial for you parents to actively engage in supporting them.

If your teen is struggling in any way and you’re not sure how to help them, this is the blog for you.

Understanding the Perfect Storm

It’s important to recognize that the challenges your teen may be facing is not solely a result of their current stressors. Recent research suggests that our modern environment and lifestyle create a “Perfect Storm,” affecting neurological and physiological development from an early age. If your teen is struggling with health and neurological issues in their formative years, they may find it increasingly challenging to cope with stress as they enter adolescence.

Recognizing the Early Signs

Before burnout and exhaustion set in, your teen has experienced two distinct stages of stress and what we call subluxation: sympathetic fight or flight overload and Neurological Dysfunction. Identifying these stages early can help you to take proactive steps to support your teen.

The 5 Signs of Burnout + Exhaustion in Teens Today:

• 1. Sleep, Gut, and Immune Health Challenges:
  • Addressing basic physiological functions is crucial to prevent constant wear and exhaustion, ensuring a healthy brain and autonomic nervous system regulation.
• 2. Physical Pain, Posture, Headaches:
  • Recognizing signs of neurological exhaustion, such as poor posture and frequent injuries, can aid in early intervention.
• 3. Irritability, Agitation, and Big Mood Swings:
  • Acknowledging the impact of exhaustion on teens’ emotional well-being is essential to understanding their struggles.
• 4. Mental and Emotional Dysregulation:
  • Identifying impulsive behaviors and difficulty concentrating as signs of neurological exhaustion allows for targeted support.
• 5. Poor Lifestyle Choices + Eating Habits:
  • Monitoring and guiding teens towards healthier choices can mitigate the impact of exhaustion on their overall well-being.

Taking Proactive Steps: How Parents Can Help Their Teens

Neurologically-Focused Chiropractic Adjustments are a specialized form of care that specifically targets the autonomic nervous system. These adjustments serve as a crucial initial step towards achieving better health by directly stimulating the nervous system. This approach recognizes the integral role the autonomic nervous system plays in regulating all bodily functions and seeks to optimize its functioning.

Prioritizing healthy sleep patterns is emphasized as a key component in promoting overall well-being for your child. The understanding here is that improved sleep can have a significant positive impact on their energy levels and contribute to better overall health. This highlights the importance of incorporating good sleep habits into your teen’s lifestyle as a fundamental aspect of maintaining and enhancing physical well-being. This is one of the biggest things we hear from our patients once they start care; their sleep greatly improves.

Understanding the connection between gut health and mental well-being and promoting a balanced diet is crucial.  Chiropractic adjustments help to activate the vagus nerve, which is sometimes called the rest and digest nerve, because of the crucial role it plays in those functions. Recognizing the relationship between the digestive system and mental health, the approach could also encourage your teen to adopt dietary practices that support both gut and immune health. 

Empowerment, engagement, and health education are highlighted as crucial strategies, particularly for your teen. Actively engaging with your teen, understanding their interests, and providing education on the link between physical health and mental well-being are identified as powerful initial steps. This approach seeks to empower teens with the knowledge and tools necessary to make informed decisions about their health, fostering a sense of responsibility.

Lastly, as Neurologically-Focused Pediatric Chiropractors, we love to connect and collaborate with other health professionals. We encourage it, and it can end up being a very well-rounded strategy for your teen.

Addressing the Root Cause

While medication may be necessary in some extreme cases, addressing the root cause of your teens’ challenges involves understanding the neurological imbalances and dysfunctions contributing to burnout and exhaustion.

As parents, our role is pivotal in supporting our teens’ mental health. By recognizing the signs of burnout, taking meaningful actions, and collaborating with healthcare professionals, we can empower our teens to lead healthier, more balanced lives.

Please do not hesitate to reach out to us today at Freedom Chiropractic to schedule a consultation. We want to strive towards a future where teens are not only healthier but also equipped with the knowledge and support needed to navigate their well-being with confidence. We are here to support you every step of the way!