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PRE-TEENS
AND TEENAGERS
ALWAYS BE KIND.
The pre-teen and teenage years are a time of big emotions, identity shifts, and growing pressures. From social stress to academic demands, young people ages 11–18 are navigating a world that often feels overwhelming. Our center focuses on helping teens build resilience, confidence, and emotional awareness—while learning how to cope with anxiety, manage relationships, and make healthy choices. With tools made for their stage of life, we’re here to support both teens and the adults guiding them.
Understanding Feelings
and Empathy
Learning to recognize and understand your own feelings is an important step in growing up. It helps you know what you need and how to express yourself in a healthy way. But it’s not just about your feelings — understanding how others feel is just as important. This is called empathy.
Empathy means putting yourself in someone else’s shoes and trying to see things from their point of view. When you practice empathy, you become a better friend, classmate, and family member. It helps you treat others with kindness and respect, even when you don’t always agree with them.
By learning about your feelings and the feelings of others, you can build stronger, more caring relationships and create a more supportive environment for everyone around you.
Teens and Self-Esteem
Self-esteem and self-confidence play a big role in how we see ourselves and how we show up in the world—especially during the teenage years and into young adulthood. These years are full of changes, and many factors can impact how we feel about ourselves, including grades, appearance, friendships, popularity, and even social media.
Self-esteem is how you feel about yourself on the inside. It deeply influences your confidence—the energy and belief you project outward. It’s common to struggle with self-esteem in high school and college, and that’s okay. What matters is learning how to build it and recognizing that your worth is not defined by what others think.
Strong self-esteem and self-confidence are key to your success, well-being, and future goals. The One Life Project created this page to help you strengthen your self-worth, believe in yourself, and take steps toward becoming your best self.
Teens and Mental Health
Being a teen today comes with a lot of pressure. From navigating school and home life to managing packed schedules and discovering personal identity, it can feel overwhelming. Mental health challenges like anxiety, depression, self-harm, eating disorders, and low self-esteem are more common among teens now than in past generations. On top of that, the pressure to fit in—especially in the digital age—often keeps young people from asking for help.
That’s why it’s crucial for parents, friends, and trusted adults to learn how to recognize the warning signs of mental health struggles and suicide. Early understanding and support can make all the difference.
Globally, over 16% of teens experience a mental health disorder, and many go untreated until much later. With awareness, education, and advocacy, we can help teens feel seen, heard, and supported.
Teens and Suicide Prevention
Since the COVID-19 pandemic, teen suicide rates have increased—and it’s more important than ever that we come together to support, educate, and protect young people who may be struggling.
Suicide prevention is not just about responding in a crisis—it's about understanding the mental, emotional, social, and environmental pressures teens face every day. Recognizing the warning signs, creating safe spaces, and being there for one another can make a life-saving difference.
Everyone can play a role. Whether it's checking in on a friend, speaking up when you see someone struggling, or learning more about mental health, your support matters.
The One Life Project is committed to this mission. We promote self-care, empower teens with education and advocacy, and support those facing mental health challenges. We believe every teen deserves to feel seen, heard, and safe asking for help—without judgment or shame.
Teens and Bullying
Bullying is a serious and ongoing issue among teens, especially in school environments. In 2022, over 1 in 4 teens (ages 13–18) reported experiencing some form of bullying. This can include verbal harassment, spreading rumors, name-calling, physical aggression like pushing or shoving, social exclusion, threats, or damaging someone’s property. With the rise of technology, bullying has also gone digital—cyberbullying is now just as harmful as bullying that happens face-to-face.
Bullying has a complex and deeply concerning connection to mental health and suicide. Research shows that teens who are frequently bullied are more likely to experience suicidal thoughts, engage in self-harm, or even develop intentions to harm others.
Most schools in the U.S. have a zero-tolerance policy toward bullying, but enforcement isn't always consistent. Too often, schools fail to hold students accountable until serious harm is done. Whether it's in person or online, bullying must always be taken seriously—and addressed with compassion, accountability, and action.
Social Media Safety
Social media is everywhere—and it’s not going away anytime soon. New apps and platforms pop up all the time, giving teens endless ways to connect, scroll, and share. From TikTok and Snapchat to Instagram and YouTube, most teens are online every day—sometimes every hour.
In fact, 92% of teens use social media, and more than half say it would be really hard to give it up. Whether it's for news, trends, events, or just staying in touch, social media plays a big role in how we experience the world.
But with so many platforms—some of them anonymous or unfiltered—knowing how to stay safe is super important. It’s easy to get caught up in likes, messages, and comparisons, but your safety, mental health, and privacy should always come first. Be smart about who you talk to, what you share, and how long you spend online. Social media should be a tool—not a trap.
