myth: Troubled youth just need more discipline.

fact: Almost 20% of youths in juvenile justice facilities have a serious emotional disturbance and most have a diagnosable mental disorder.

US Department of Justice

myth: Teenagers don't suffer from "real" mental illnesses–they are just moody.

fact: One in five teens has some type of mental health problem in a given year. Ten million children and adolescents suffer from a diagnosable psychiatric disorder.

myth: People who abuse drugs aren't sick, they're just weak.

fact: Over 66% of young people with a substance use disorder have a co-occurring mental health problem which complicates treatment.

Surgeon General's Report on Mental Health

myth: Eating disorders only affect celebrities and models.

fact: 3–5% of teenage girls and 4–10% of boys have a diagnosable eating disorder. Anorexia affects 2.5 million Americans and has the highest mortality rate of any mental illness.

myth: Children are too young to get depressed, it must be something else.

fact: More than two million children suffer from depression in the United States and more than half of them go untreated.

US Center for Mental Health Services

myth: We're good people. Mental illness doesn't happen in our family.

fact: One in four families is affected by a mental health problem.

National Alliance for the Mentally Ill

myth: Childhood mental health problems are the result of poor parenting.

fact: If someone in your family has a mental illness, then you may have a greater chance of developing the illness. Mental illness generally has little or nothing to do with parenting.

myth: Talk about suicide is an idle threat that need not be taken seriously.

fact: Suicide is the third leading cause of death among high school students and the second leading among college students. Talk about suicide should always be taken seriously.