Your teenager comes home flat. You ask what happened and they say nothing. That can be the literal truth. Chris Coulter remembers when his daughter could name what upset her: a photo that only got forty-two likes. Today the pressure arrives in small pieces a teen can't explain. Here's why hunting for the incident backfires, and a better way to talk to your teenager about mental health.

The signs that something is wrong with your teenager are rarely obvious. They are small shifts — less talking, less laughing, a door that stays closed. Parents miss them because each one feels like a phase. This post names what early teen mental health warning signs actually look like and what to do when you notice them.