How To Discover The Warnings And Origins Of Teenage Depression
In our nation, diseases are frequently analyzed in the adult and young childhood communities, often under the assumption that people in their teen years are more likely healthy. Consequently, physical problems and conditions impacting the mind sometimes don’t receive the attention merited during the pre-adult years – thus, an affliction such as depression can go unnoticed.
Too often, signs of teenage depression are mistaken for the typical ups and downs associated with teenage hormonal mood swings. But, what behavior is normal for the average teenager and how can it be differentiated from more serious instances of clinical depression?
If you’re a parent of a teenager or a teen yourself, it’s important to recognize and identify both the causes of teenage depression and the apparent symptoms. This is a treatable, but often misdiagnosed condition affecting one fifth of all teenagers throughout the United States.
Recognizing the Signs of Teenage Depression
Too often, parents dismiss the common symptoms associated with teenage depression as just typical teenage behavior. In addition, many teen suffering from this affliction will either hide their feelings or refuse to admit that there’s a potential problem. They may also be averse to seeking help from family or friends.
One of the major signals of teenage depression is fatigue and a lack of focused mental attention, such as the ability to concentrate on a task. The depressed teenager may also be irritable, possibly aggressive and excessively anxious. Parents may be privy to outbursts that include crying, shouting, screaming, complaining or threatening to run away.
Often, the depression can manifest itself in physical symptoms like chronic pain, stress headaches, fatigue or digestive problems. There are also the classic signs that include an obvious change in eating habits, an increase or decrease in body weight, change in sleeping patterns, consistently poor mood, feeling worthless, withdrawal from social activities and even thoughts or talk of suicide.
If more than four of the symptoms listed above continue for a period of two weeks, parents are advised to seek professional treatment. Of course, if the teenager threatens suicide, then treatment should be sought immediately, regardless of the presence of other symptoms.
The Causes of Teenage Depression and its Effects
Typically, teenage depression is brought on by external stress factors in their lives such as divorce, family financial problems, experiencing tragedy, sexual or physical abuse, dealing with drug or alcohol addiction either with themselves or a family member and other high-stress situations.
For some, depression may be brought on by a teenager’s inability to meet certain goals. These can be academic or athletic goals. For others, they may involve social goals. For example, if a teenager fails to fit in or is bullied or rejected at school, this can have devastating effects on their self-esteem, causing bouts of anxiety and depression.
The effects of teenage depression are most often seen socially and at school. Typically, a teenager exhibiting common symptoms sees their grades drop as they miss school, lose focus and abandon their drive to achieve and succeed. They may drop out of extracurricular activities and are also more prone to abuse drugs or alcohol.
