{"id":1173,"date":"2026-06-04T11:06:03","date_gmt":"2026-06-04T11:06:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1173"},"modified":"2026-06-04T11:06:03","modified_gmt":"2026-06-04T11:06:03","slug":"how-to-recognize-mental-health-struggles-your-teen-may-be-covering-up","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1173","title":{"rendered":"How to recognize mental health struggles your teen may be covering up"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many struggling teenagers do not look obviously distressed from the outside.<\/p>\n

They still go to class. They still joke with friends. They still post on social media, show up for practice, study for tests and talk about college plans.<\/p>\n

Read more Two 19-year-olds killed one man, then assaulted 3 others, Huntersville police say<\/a><\/p>\n

Which is one reason adults are so often left after a suicide asking the same agonizing question: Were there signs that somebody missed?<\/p>\n

The answer, according to mental health experts, is usually yes, but rarely in the clear way many people imagine.<\/p>\n

Instead, emotional distress often reveals itself in scattered fragments. A withdrawn lunch period. A sudden personality shift. Isolation. A troubling comment made quietly to a friend.<\/p>\n

And because teenagers often confide in one another long before they confide in adults, experts say preventing tragedy increasingly depends not just on schools and parents, but on helping entire communities better understand how emotional distress can actually look \u2014 and how to respond when they see it.<\/p>\n

Amanda McGough<\/a>, a Charlotte psychologist and suicide-prevention specialist who has worked with Myers Park students and families, says she continues to be amazed by how good people can be at hiding what they\u2019re experiencing.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd essentially,\u201d she says, \u201cwhen we look back on individuals that we\u2019ve lost to suicide, what we typically see is that there were<\/i> warning signs, but no one person (in their lives) tended to have all those pieces of the puzzle. So one person\u2019s seeing a certain thing, but everything else looks okay. Somebody else saw something else or had a different experience, but everything else looked okay on the surface. \u2026 It makes it hard to see.\u201d<\/p>\n

The signs are not always the same, says Heather Bonner, founder of the Charlotte-based mental-health nonprofit Mission 34:<\/a> \u201cYou might have a complete physical change, and then you might have a complete personality change. Different people show different signs, and some are really<\/i> good at covering it up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonner \u2014 whose son Sean, who took his own life in 2018 while in college a little more than two years after graduating from Charlotte Latin School \u2014 says distress often eventually reveals itself in some form, even if the warning signs differ dramatically from person to person.<\/p>\n

In suicide prevention training, she says, the focus is not just recognizing warning signs but building the confidence to ask direct questions when something feels off.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve noticed you\u2019re not engaging,\u201d she says as one example. \u201cWhat\u2019s going on?\u201d<\/p>\n

Kate Weaver, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness\u2019 Charlotte chapter<\/a>, adds that \u201ca lot of people, when someone dies by suicide, say there were no signs. And we believe, in fact, that\u2019s rarely true. There are signs. It\u2019s hard to know what they are if you don\u2019t know what to look for. And a lot of kids are masking and not telling anyone the way they\u2019re feeling \u2026 for many reasons \u2014 whether it\u2019s stigma or the inability to articulate what it is.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Sewage spews into Lake Norman after \u2018pipe failure\u2019 Tuesday, Charlotte Water says<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cWe want kids to have the tools to talk to each other, to find a trusted adult, and to understand when not to keep the secret,\u201d Weaver says. \u201cBecause a lot of the time, kids will say, \u2018Don\u2019t tell anybody.\u2019 And we know that they need to tell someone when something is really wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n

She adds: \u201cThere\u2019s a myth that asking someone if they\u2019re thinking about suicide will give them the idea, or make it more likely.\u201d But she says the research shows that asking directly about suicide does not increase risk \u2014 but in fact can reduce it.<\/p>\n

McGough also notes that teenagers are more likely to confide in one another than in adults.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of research that points to that,\u201d she says. \u201cThat\u2019s just kind of part of teenage culture.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo not only do we need to help each individual teen know that there\u2019s support out there, but they also need to know, if my friend is struggling, what do I need to do? When should I break their privacy \u2014 their confidentiality \u2014 and share this with a trusted adult?\u201d<\/p>\n

McGough says that some students worry peers will notice them seeking counseling, particularly in high-achieving environments where stigma around mental health can remain strong. \u201cBecause then if I need help, perhaps I\u2019m signaling, \u2018Actually, I\u2019m not<\/i> okay.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

The experts also stressed that schools alone cannot solve a broader youth mental-health crisis, particularly as counselors and educators are increasingly asked to navigate emotional needs far beyond traditional academic roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think that as adults, we can look back at high school and realize, from the adult perspective, that everything is problem-solvable,\u201d McGough says. \u201cThings get better. Life does not end in high school. And yet, in the moment, for an adolescent, it can feel extremely different. The things that they care about, the things that feel big to them, important to them, we really need to take that seriously \u2014 even if we see it differently.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be open to listening. We need to be very nonjudgmental. We really need to lean in with validation, support and care.\u201d<\/p>\n

If you or someone you know is experiencing a crisis, help is available. In the U.S., you can call or text 988 to reach the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, or visit 988lifeline.org<\/a> for confidential support.<\/i><\/p>\n

Read more Let\u2019s be clear about the value of an American Airlines hub in Charlotte | Opinion<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published June 4, 2026 at 5:00 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NC mental health experts: Struggling teens can hide emotional distress in ways that make warning signs difficult for adults, teachers and friends to recognize.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1172,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-todays-edition"],"yoast_head":"\nHow to recognize mental health struggles your teen may be covering up - \u0421harlotte Relocation Guide<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/charlotterelocationguide.com\/?p=1173\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How to recognize mental health struggles your teen may be covering up - 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