When we talk of depression among children and teenagers, it was not known until recently. And research shows that the teen depression is on a rapid rise. It has been found that approximately 3 to 5 percent of adolescents suffer from depression that accounts to 1 in every 8 teens develops depression each year, which maybe quite alarming among the adults.
For we always look at the adolescent period as years filled with adventures, growth and joyous times. However, this is a period filled with mixed emotions of pain, confusion, uncertainty, stress, a time of ups and downs. Depression among teens is usually misdiagnosed as moodiness but it is something more than that, which needs immediate attention for the outcome, can be very dangerous at times.
So far, researchers have not been able to rule out the exact cause of depression among adolescent. The diagnosis of depression has very often been confused with other disorders such as conduct disorder, disassociative states or anxiety. And the main reason for this is that teenagers don’t usually show the signs of depression like an adult exhibit it. Usually, a teenager tries to medicate himself by doing drugs or experimenting with alcohols.
Since teen depression is all about teenagers, many misconceptions are formed about it. We may sometimes link with a teen’s bad mood or acing out with depression but its not that. Depression is a totally different thing, which can lead to self destruction causing overwhelming sense of sadness, angst, and despair, which might make them feel suicidal.
Depression does not arise out of a single cause; there are rather a variety of factors which contribute to it. Stress is one of the major factors that contribute to teen depression. The child could be going through stress at school or even parents might be responsible for creating a stressful situation by imposing on them unrealistic expectations.
It has also been ruled out that imbalance of chemicals in the brain affects the mood of a person, and can also cause depression. Yet the fact remains that it is not simply ‘errors in thinking’ or ‘chemical imbalances’ that causes depression but it is due to a complex organization of biological, psychological and social systems.
Other factors which attribute to depression are break up of a relationship, physiological illness, physical or sexual abuse, sudden loss of a family member or friend or a close relative, failure in school etc. If your child is failing in relations with friends and family, displays negative attitude, persistently depressed and constantly falters in academic records, then this indicates that s/he is under severe depression. Family history of depression is also one major causes.
A teenager who is severely depressed may manifest symptoms like lack of or excessive sleep, change in eating habits, criminal behavior, sudden mood swings, suicidal thoughts, obsession with death or fear of death. It has been seen that depression affects more girls than boys however, it affects everyone irrespective of their race, color, economic status or age. During the maturation period, it is very common among the teens to undergo depression as independent conflicts, influence of sex hormones and a lot of stress associates with it.
However, parents should take note of their children as teen depression is not simply an occasional melancholy and just bad mood. It is a serious problem which may intensely impact the life of a teenager and can lead to drug abuse, self loathing, problems at home and school and may even cause homicide or suicide.
It is important for the caregivers to recognize their despair and sufferings as teenagers unlike adults need to rely on their teachers or parents for assistance. Any mention of threats should be taken with grave seriousness. Fortunately, teen depression can be treated well in time. Do not hesitate to get any professional help for it is always better to be on the safer side than to be sorry.
