On a Mission

When you first meet someone, being swept off your feet can feel fun and exciting. Having someone shower you with affection and admiration is especially exhilarating when you’re in the beginning stages of a new relationship.

Love bombing, however, is another story. It happens when someone overwhelms you with loving words, actions, and behavior as a manipulation technique.

During NAHM, sustain equitable, accessible, youth-friendly services
Join the Office of Population Affairs during National Adolescent Health Month to sustain equitable, accessible, youth-friendly services. Young people—especially those with chronic conditions and disabilities—can experience serious gaps in care as they get older. Young people who experience homelessness, foster care, and the juvenile justice system and who live in mixed immigration status households can have a difficult time obtaining healthcare. Access to healthcare services is essential, and it's important for parents, caregivers, and healthcare providers to help adolescents learn to navigate the healthcare system.

Resources to sustain equitable, accessible, youth-friendly services

Vaccines

• Videos for Healthcare Providers | HHS Office of Population Affairs
• Videos about Flu Vaccination | HHS Office of Population Affairs
• Vaccines for Teens and Pre-Teens | HHS Office of Population Affairs

Youth-Friendly Services

• Listen Up! Youth Listening Session Toolkit | HHS Office of Population Affairs
• Promoting Positive Adolescent Health Behaviors and Outcomes: Thriving in the 21st Century | National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
• TAG Multimedia | Youth.gov
• Gender-Affirming Care and Young People | HHS Office of Population Affairs - PDF
• Clinical Preventive Services | HHS Office of Population Affairs
• Recommended Clinical Preventive Services for Adolescents | HHS Office of Population Affairs
• Adolescent Development Explained | HHS Office of Population Affairs
• Where Teens Receive Preventive Healthcare | HHS Office of Population Affairs
• Learning to Use the Healthcare System | HHS Office of Population Affairs
• Tips for Parents, Guardians, and Caregivers | HHS Office of Population Affairs

Sexual and Reproductive Health

• Reproductive Health and Teen Pregnancy | HHS Office of Population Affairs
• Reproductive Health | HHS Office of Population Affairs

As symptoms of mental health disorders emerge and develop, they have strong influences on an adolescent’s behavior and can become more difficult to treat. Although effective therapies exist for many mental health disorders, not all adolescents who need treatment receive it. In this episode, we talk about some disparities that may partially explain why use of mental health services differs. We also go over many mental health resources.

Mental health is not simply the presence or absence of symptoms. Variations in how adolescents experience symptoms can make identification and diagnosis of mental health disorders challenging.  In this episode, we go over some warning signs of mental health disorders in adolescence, as well as, common mental health disorders in adolescence include those related to anxiety, depression, attention deficit-hyperactivity, and eating.

During adolescence, youth grow physically, try new activities, begin to think more critically, and develop more varied and complex relationships. Ensuring adolescent health requires giving youth the sexual and reproductive health information and services they need to empower healthy decision-making.

In this podcast we go over some tips on how to talk to your teen about relationships.