Teens Talk Mental Health on BeSmartBeWell.com

In recognition of Mental Health Awareness Month, BeSmartBeWell.com features videos of teens talking about depression, anxiety and addiction.

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Health Care Service Corporation

May 19, 2011, 02:54 ET

CHICAGO, May 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As many as one in five U.S. teens suffers from disabling mental illness. Throughout Mental Health Awareness Month in May, BeSmartBeWell.com highlights the issue of mental illness in teens and tells the stories of two teens who moved from diagnosis through treatment and recovery.

To view the multimedia assets associated with this release, please click: http://multivu.prnewswire.com/mnr/besmartbewell/50033/

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110518/MM98798)

What does mental illness look like in teens? It looks like Colleen, who's battled depression and anxiety since she was 13, and Katie, who struggled with addiction in her early teens. Mental illness in teens looks just like the kid next door - studies show nearly half of all youth will experience a mental disorder at some point in their lives.

How do you help someone with a mental illness?

Half of all mental disorders start by age 14, and 75 percent start by age 24. That means the earlier signs of mental illness are recognized, the sooner people can get the treatment they need. On BeSmartBeWell.com, experts explain the different types of mental illness, and real people living with mental disorders talk about the importance of seeking medical help.

Where can I learn more?

BeSmartBeWell.com/Mental-Health is a website that features life stories, interviews with leading mental health experts, resources, and health tools and quizzes to help people better understand mental illness.

For information about other health topics important to teens and young adults and to register for the Spotlight Newsletter and News Alerts visit BeSmartBeWell.com.

About Be Smart. Be Well.

BeSmartBeWell.com is sponsored by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Oklahoma and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Texas, Divisions of Health Care Service Corporation, a Mutual Legal Reserve Company, an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association.

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SOURCE Health Care Service Corporation