Early intervention and an understanding of the adolescent brain are imperative for treating and preventing addiction and chronic mental illness, Maureen Womack, director of Merit Health River Region’s adolescent behavior program, told Vicksburg Kiwanis this week.

“For the first time we are really beginning to unlock some of the mysteries of the brain and why some people develop mental illness and some people develop addictions and other people don’t,” Womack said.

An astounding number of teens have mental illnesses, and the vast majority of those in juvenile detention centers suffer from some type of mental disorder.

“Thirty percent of all adolescents — 1 in 3 — have a biological mental illness,” Womack said. “Seventy percent of all individuals who are in the juvenile justice system have a diagnosable mental illness, yet they are being referred to juvenile justice systems. It impacts society in a lot of different ways.”

The teen brain is naturally more disposed to risk-taking behaviors because of a number of biological factors. The prefrontal cortex, a part of the brain that controls problem-solving ability shrinks while other areas that increase risky behavior is overstimulated, she said.

“It’s like putting a kid behind the wheel of a car and giving them an accelerator but taking away the brakes and steering wheel,” Womack said.

Children who are exposed to trauma such as mental, physical or sexual abuse or to disasters or violence have a much higher instance of developing mental illness, she said.

“Those environmental factors predispose adolescents to serious mental illness or addition, and that’s why it is so critical during that adolescent period that we start looking at early intervention,” Womack said.

Early warning signs include social isolation and increased anxiety. Catching the symptoms early can often help to reduce further problems.

“Every time you have one, not only are you dealing now with a mental illness, you’re starting to deal with a traumatic brain injury. Every break reduces the brain matter and the pre-frontal cortex and these individual begin to develop chronic mental illness,” Womack said.