Understanding Teen Depression

What Causes Teen Depression?

Depression is by far the most common of all mental health problems for teenagers. Although biology and genetics play an important role in determining who is at risk for depression, looking at the common causes for depression shows us why teens are vulnerable for this disease. Depression can occur under many circumstances but most commonly is present in these two situations:

  • Sudden Severe Loss. In this situation, you may have experienced a sudden, perhaps surprising severe loss. This loss may be the death of a loved one - a parent, grandparent, your favorite aunt or a friend, for example; breaking up with a girlfriend or boyfriend; loss of a friendship; loss of a school or community after a move; or loss of a traditional family unit after the divorce of your parents. In many of these cases, you may be able to see why you are feeling depressed, but not always.
  • Long-term High Stress Level. In this situation, you may feel or act depressed but can't quite put their finger on the cause. This cause of depression is more common than the Severe Loss type. This type of depression creeps up on you over a period of time, so it may be more difficult to detect. The causes of long-term stress are many - here are only a few - you can probably think of more!
I have a test tomorrow . . . I'm bullied all the time at school . . . I don't have a boy (or girl) friend . . . I think I'm pregnant. . . I think I may be gay . . . My parents fight all the time . . . I was raped on a date . . . The other kids make fun of me . . . I don't know if I'll get into a good college . . .I don't know where my next meal is coming from . . . My parents are never home . . . Are we going to war . . . My boyfriend is pressuring me for sex . . . I flunked another test . . . how can I work and get good grades . . . my mother is a drug addict . . . no one ever smiles at me . . . my father always criticizes me . . . .

Too many triggers over time may cause depression. When this type of depression is experienced, you may say: "I don't know what's wrong," "I don't know how I feel," "My feelings are numb," or "Leave me alone!"

Am I Depressed or Normal?

You may not even recognize some of the symptoms in yourself or in a friend. Here are some clues:

(The following is from the National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association.)

  1. Do you feel sad a lot and it just doesn't go away?
  2. Do you feel guilty for no particular reason, or do you think you're no good, or have no confidence in yourself?
  3. Have you lost interest in what used to be ordinary pleasures for you? For example, if you used to love doing sports and now find yourself uninterested or apathetic about them, that may be a symptom. If you never cared for sports and still don't, it is not a symptom. Likewise for music, dance, hanging out with friends, other things you do for fun.
  4. Do you feel restless or tired, most of the time? (A common situation is being too restless at night to sleep so you stay up and watch TV or surf the Internet till 4am, then get good and tired the following days and spend most of the day sleeping, and repeating until you are really stressed out.).
  5. Are your thoughts racing through your head like a flies buzzing in a lampshade? Is it hard to concentrate on anything? Are your grades going down?
  6. Are you thinking about running away?
  7. Are you thinking a lot about death or are thoughts about suicide popping into your head?
  8. Do you enjoy doing extremely dangerous activities like reckless or high-speed driving, heavy drinking, unprotected sex or using drugs?

What To Do

Items 7 and 8 are really important. If you or a friend are having suicidal thoughts or taking really unnecessary risks, do what you have to do to get help. Get help even if your friend doesn't want you to. Talk to your parents or other relative or a teacher or a couple of teachers or your guidance counselor or a friend or a couple of friends or call one of the help lines listed on this website and don't stop trying to get help if people you turn to don't help you enough.

If you or a friend have some of the other "clues," talk to your parents or other adult to see whether you can talk with a Mental Health Professional, or call one of organizations listed on this website.

 

Note to the Adults

Depressed teenagers are at increased risk for committing suicide. If teen says, "I want to kill myself," or "I'm going to commit suicide," always take the statement seriously and seek evaluation from a child or adolescent psychiatrist or other mental health professional. Perhaps you feel uncomfortable talking about death, but asking whether he or she is depressed or thinking about suicide can be helpful. Asking such a question will provide assurance that somebody cares and will give this young person the chance to talk about problems.

Don't expect every depressed teen to talk about how they feel - they may not even recognize their situation. It may be difficult for grownups to recognize that there's a problem. With some teenagers, the symptoms of depression are the same as in adults - apathy, persistent sadness, trouble concentrating. But other kids behave in opposite way - they are very angry and fight a lot either in school or at home, they are hyper, they get into trouble, they steal, they take unnecessary risks. They may be diagnosed as having attention deficit disorder or a learning disorder."

Here are 3 questions to ask when deciding what to do:

  1. Do the symptoms or behavior represent a change for the child, something new?
  2. Are the symptoms persistent, lasting at least two weeks or more?
  3. Is the problem interfering with the child's life, social activities or school?

 

Treating Depression

Depression is a disease and it very treatable in its early stages, in particular. It does require professional help. Left untreated, the teen may continue to have depressive episodes his whole life or may become so depressed he tries to end his life or is hospitalized.

Nowadays, treatment often includes both individual and family therapy. Some mental health professionals may also recommend the use of antidepressant medication, at least for the short term.

For teens with milder forms of depression, a brief period of psychotherapy may be all the treatment that is needed.

Ask your doctor for a referral mental health professional who can diagnose and treat depression in adolescents. By getting help early, you will reduce the risk of long-term difficulties for your child.

Information

We hope you will use the resources listed on this site to learn more about teen depression and how to help a teen - yourself, a friend, your child or student - who is depressed.

 

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