Every one in five adolescents experiences a session of depression during their teenage years. Adolescent depression is becoming very common. Even if your teen does not have depression, there are chances that he or she has gone through some gloomy days. However, having some bad days is expected in teens. The real worry starts when your teen seems to be in the dumps for a few weeks, or even more than that. If their feeling of sadness won’t go away, then this might cause depression.
Depression is ubiquitous and can affect any person at any age, including teens. According to a survey of a high school conducted across the United States, around 31.5 percent of students agreed that they felt sad and hopeless at some point and they had stopped doing their favorite activities for some time. In this piece of writing, we will consider all about adolescent depression and how teen mental health treatment centers can help and assist parents.
What is Depression?
Everyone sometimes feels sad or has a down day. These feelings are generally temporary and go away within a couple of days. But when a person is depressed, it interferes with daily life and causes pain. Depression is common, but it is a severe illness.
Depression is a normal part of the range of emotions people experience. It is a valuable emotion that can help a teen to recognize problems and cope with difficulties. The depressed feeling when they don’t go away on their own can interfere with daily activities. That is why it is necessary to recognize and treat depression. When a teen’s mood is disturbed, his or her ability to function may indicate a severe emotional illness.
Symptoms of Adolescent Depression:
Although signs and symptoms can vary in every teen, mentioned below are some of the common symptoms of teen depression.
- Sleeping issues including chronic insomnia, excess sleep, or even disturbed sleep.
- Eating issues and weight changes like increased or decreased appetite.
- Increased energy level, which includes agitation, pacing, and restlessness.
- Lethargy, like slow body movements or slow speech.
- Lack of energy and feeling fatigued.
- A feeling of worthlessness, lower self-esteem, and lack of confidence.
- A feeling of guilt.
- Incapability to concentrate.
- Depressed mood including crying, brooding, and sadness.
- A sense of hopelessness and emptiness
- Thoughts of suicide or death.
- Loss of interest in meeting people or doing some activities.
What Causes Depression in Teens?
The real reason for depression is not apparent, though we can know some of the supporting factors. Some kinds of depression are thought to be genetic and can more commonly begin in families where one or more members cope with depression. Depression can be a sign of a physical illness, such as a disabling condition. It can be related to some other medical condition.
The frequency of depression is higher among girls than boys, though this is not clear. Some studies have suggested girls are predisposed to depression for both biological and psychological reasons. At the same time, others have reflected that depression is difficult to identify in boys.
Depression is sometimes a part of a psychological problem. For example- lower self-esteem, or negative self-concept, is often found along with depression. For teens, the changes they are experiencing can contribute to confusion and emotional anxiety.
How Can Parents Help to Treat Teen Depression?
Parents can follow the below steps to help out their teens:
Stay Involved
The support of parents during a time of potential anxiety is essential for raising teens. Parents respond to the signs of developing independence and withdraw from their teen’s lives. The most important thing parents can do is to get involved with them and spend time with them.
Support Relationships
Parent support is the essential thing that can help a teen in getting out of their depression. Parents should help their teens find interests and activities that connect with other teens and their friends. Here teens need to be exposed to other caring adults they can trust.
Listen to Your Teen
Whenever teens need to talk, parents need to be available there. Asking your teen about their life and listening to the answer is essential. Listen to your teen’s trouble, and help them find answers to their issues. Be ready to identify the signs of adolescent depression. If a teen talks of suicide, then you need to take it seriously.
Seek Professional Help to Cope with Adolescent Depression
If you notice any signs of depression in your teen, then you must seek professional help. Even if depression is absent, professional mental health counseling can help parents understand the problems teens face and learn how to help them.
Treatment
Treatment for depression can involve medications and therapies. Medicines for depression improve the neurochemical components of depression and can help improve many symptoms of depression.
However, the most effective treatments for depression involve a combination of medication and therapy both. Therapy includes psychotherapy or talks therapy. These therapies help teens to understand the source of depression and how to resolve the problem. Moreover, cognitive-behavioral therapy can help teens to change their thoughts and behaviors contributing to depression.
The teenage years are delicate, and teens need a lot of support and guidance during this time. Being there for them with open arms and listening ears whenever they need, can help someone battling with adolescent depression.
Hope this article was helpful. Please leave your valuable thoughts in the comments!
Thank you for this. Times are hard, a lot of teenagers are feeling depressed and being diagnosed with depression. Thank you so much for the tips. I will not only use this to my kid but also to my students in https://georgia.edu.ph/.
Ill keep in mind the Stay Involved, Support Relationships, Listen to Your Teen, Seek Professional Help, Treatment. Especially the support and listen. Thank you again for this wonderful article.