Many terms regarding mental health can be confusing . Many teenagers and parents commonly misunderstand and confuse mental disorders.

The following are some symptoms or signs you may experience with certain mental health issues.

Depression: A persistent feeling of sadness or hopelessness that may cause you to lose interest in things that you enjoyed or make it difficult for you to carry on with your daily activities.

Anxiety : A feeling of fear or worry that is persistent or recurrent. It can lead to dry mouth, fast heartbeat, or stomach pain and nausea. It can happen only during certain situations such as fear of being away from a safe place or fear of being in crowds or certain social situations. Or, it can be a persistent daily worry over everyday activities.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): A condition where one may have difficulty paying attention, may feel restless or fidgety, or may find themselves acting impulsively.

Eating Disorders: These are problems with eating and body image. Anorexia is when someone tries to eat very little and sees themselves as overweight. Bulimia involves binge eating followed by purging through vomiting or using laxatives. Binge-eating disorder is when one eats large quantities of food quickly and feels out of control.

Substance Use Disorders: This is when someone uses alcohol, drugs, or other substances in a harmful way, leading to problems in school, with friends, or at home.

Self-Harm: This is when one physically hurts themselves, often by cutting or burning the skin. It is a way some people cope with emotional pain.

Bipolar Disorder: A condition that causes random and extreme changes in mood. One may feeling really happy or even manic and impulsive at times and angry or sad and depressed (see above) at other times. These swings can happen suddenly.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): This condition occurrs after one experiences a scary or traumatic event. It can cause flashbacks, nightmares, and make one feel on edge or avoid things that remind them of the event.

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD): This condition involves having unwanted thoughts that won't go away (obsessions) and feeling like one has to do certain things over and over again (compulsions) to make the thoughts stop.

Schizophrenia: This is a mental illness where one might see or hear things that aren't there (hallucinations), believe things that aren't true (delusions), be paranoid or have trouble organizing thoughts.

Stress vs. Anxiety: Anxiety is usually a constant or recurrent worry or fear that can affect daily life while stress is more temporary. Usually people know what is stressing them but at times they may not understand why they are anxious. Both stress and anxiety can be tough to handle, but there are ways to cope and get support when you need it.

“I found that with depression, one of the most important things you could realize is that you're not alone. You're not the first to go through it; you're not going to be the last to go through it.” -The Rock

"I had to stop, 'cause I had everything, and I was absolutely broken inside. And I kept it all together enough to where I would never let you down. But I kept it too much together to where I let myself down ... If you are broken, you don't have to stay broken." - Selena Gomez

“Mental health is something that we all need to talk about, and we need to take the stigma away from it…let’s let everybody know it’s OK to have a mental illness” -Demi Lovato

"We can no longer afford to be silenced by stigma that portray mental health conditions as a matter of weakness or moral failing."- Lady Gaga