Depression is a common mental problem associated with life situations and frustrations. The problem is prevalent among adults dealing with real-life issues such as work, provisions, and relationships. The issues have, however, extended to the teenagers, affecting the way they behave, think, and function. Teen depression can be a severe issue if left undressed. Untreated depression results in complications of emotional, health, and behavioral problems affecting the teenager in their early life and extends to adult life. Some of the notable difficulties include academic issues, involvement with criminal gangs, suicidal attempts, problem forming long-lasting relationships, family conflicts, and alcohol and drug misuse. The rates of suicide rates among teenagers have been increasing, creating an alarm and need to address the issue. Studies indicate that from 2007 to 2017, the rates of suicide death among ages ten to 24 years increased with 56 percent, from 6.8 deaths to 10.6 deaths per 100,000 individuals (Freedman, 2019). The risks of depression are high, creating the need to address the problem by understanding the symptoms, causes, risk factors, treatment, and prevention measures.
Definition and Description
According to Freedman (2019), the number of teenagers screening for depression is minimal, thus making it hard to address the issues early and protect the young ones from the high suicide levels. When changes in adolescents are noted, it is ignored that it could be something serious. Such changes are considered to be associated with adolescent age. However, there are specific symptoms indicating that a teenager is depressed. Some signs are too evident as they interfere with the teenager’s normal life in school and at home. Teachers and parents should note these changes easily and determine the causes, seek medical help if necessary, to assist the youth get back on their lives.
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Emotional changes are the first symptoms to define a depressed teenager. Such individuals get frustrated easily over small matters, resulting in outbursts such as scrying spells or being rude to others. Depression leads to the feeling of hopelessness and emptiness, identified in teenagers by lack of interest in things they enjoyed, such as having fun with friends. Depressed teenagers get annoyed easily and irritable, thus having several arguments with fellow teenagers or siblings at home. They lose interest in the usual activities they enjoyed and become isolated after losing interest in family and friends. Depression leads the adolescents to get fixed on past failures, exaggerating self-criticism, leading to guilt and feelings of worthlessness, as indicated by Khesht-Masjedi et al. (2019). Such individuals are extremely sensitive to failure or rejection, needing to be reassured from time to time. Depressed adolescents have trouble thinking, concentrating on making valid decisions. They have a short-term memory, forgetting what is important such as completing their homework. The continuous feeling of life and future as grim and bleak prompts suicidal thoughts. The rates of suicide among teenagers is high, and it is caused by not taking the serious identity of these emotional changes.
Behavioral changes are the other symptoms to look into a depressed adolescent. Change in appetite, where the teenager starts to crave for specific types of food, and they gain weight. Research indicates a correlation between depression and overweight, with depressed people using food as a consolation, and mostly, they take junk food with high levels of calories, thus the weight gain. Other teenagers stop eating entirely and start losing weight and experienced associated health problems such as excessive gastric gas, causing ulcers in the long-run. Insomnia and excessive sleep also signify cases of depression (Prince, 2018). Normally, teenagers sleep less as they are either studying or interacting with friends or mostly on their phones. Excessive thinking keeps the brain active, hindering the adolescent from sleeping. Slowness is identified with body movements, thinking, and speaking. Social isolation with the teenager always locked up in their room. It leads to poor performance in school and cases of absence. Angry outbursts and disruptive behaviors at home and in school. Self-harm such as burning, excessive piercing, burning, and suicidal attempts.
At the adolescent age, it is an expectation for teenagers to be moody with the hormonal changes and body growth. Therefore, it is hard to determine what is normal and what is not. Parents and teachers have a duty to cross-check the symptoms indicated above and establish whether the changes are normal or they need to be addressed. It is necessary to determine whether the teen is capable of managing their feelings, or they are overwhelming and would require further assistance (Khesht-Masjedi et al., 2019). It is also essential to keep engaging the teenagers so that slight changes such as isolation can be addressed before they turn to serious issues. Once the symptoms are noted, teenagers should get immediate assistance to avoid waiting for severe cases when they are already depressed, affecting their entire life.
The causes of depression among teenagers vary from biological, environmental to social factors. Brain chemistry is involved in causing distress. The neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that occur naturally, carrying signals to different parts of the brain and the body. When the chemicals are impaired or abnormal, it causes change to the nerve system and nerve receptors leading to depression. Hormones are also responsible for depression, with the teenagers undergoing hormonal changes at their age, and as the balance is being established, it triggers depression (Florescu et al.2019). Inherited traits from parents or grandparents can also cause depression. Early childhood trauma can cause distress, for example, sexual or physical abuse, and the teen did not receive any help. The thoughts of the event keep recurring, creating fear, feeling of hopelessness, and desire to die. Depression can also be caused by learned patterns of negative thinking. Teens are associated with feeling helpless instead of capable of finding solutions when they are faced with challenges.
There are different risk factors that increase the chances of teens getting depressed. Teenagers depend on their peers and society to define their self-esteem. Rejection by a certain group leads to low self-esteem, and such individuals start to develop depression. Physical appearances also lead to depression, with overweight teens having low self-esteem, feeling ugly, and unloved, and such leads to depression. Some health conditions such as anxiety disorder, personality, and bipolar disorders are a risk to depression. Other health conditions associated with ongoing pain or chronic conditions such as asthma, cancer, or diabetes can lead to depression. Some personality traits are most common among teenagers, such as pessimistic, overly dependent on others, and self-criticism. The sexuality of teenagers affects them, with gay, lesbians, bisexual, and transgender having higher levels of depression due to growing in an unsupportive environment. Higher levels of depression are seen among adolescents who abuse drugs and alcohol.
Prevention and Treatment
Depression is a state of mind which makes it hard to prevent unless the teens are willing to seek help whenever they are faced with challenging situations. However, there are various strategies that can be applied to prevent mental conditions. the first method is controlling stress before it proceeds to a harmful situation, which is depression. According to Florescu et al. (2019), schools should have programs where they assist teenagers in dealing with self-esteem issues. It will assist such adolescents embrace their physical appearance and appreciate other strengths they have to handle the problem. Teenagers should be shown healthy ways of dealing with rejection and failure to avoid falling into depression and contemplating suicide. According to Davidson (2019), teenagers should be encouraged to reach out to family, teachers, and social support when faced with a crisis, instead of facing the situation alone. Once treatment has been administered, it should be done continuously to overcome the problem entirely and avoid cases of relapse, which are worse to overcome. Teenagers should be introduced to personal practices that help control depression, such as regular exercise and checking diet.
Depression treatment in teenagers can take place in three methods. The treatment strategy selected depends on the severity of the condition. There are three types of therapies applicable to depression treatment, and there are cognitive-behavioral therapy, behavioral therapy, and psychotherapy. Cognitive-behavioral therapy requires teenagers to attend sessions aimed at modifying negative thoughts, emotional and behavioral responses associated with psychological distress. Behavioral therapy strategy is aimed at modifying harmful behaviors such as suicidal thoughts. Psychotherapy deals with the treatment of behavioral or mental treatment using talk therapy. Depending on the causes of depression on a specific teenager, a therapist will choose the best type of approach, though the most effective approach is combining the three methods (Davidson, 2019). Different medications can be administered though they are recommended only when depression is at a progressed stage. Most used medications are antidepressants, anxiolytics, and antipsychotic medications. However, these drugs are taken with control measures due to high addiction levels. Electroconvulsive therapy is a medical procedure involving sending an electric current to the brain of the patient, and it is also referred to as shock treatment. The method is, however, useful in severe depression cases, which is hardly attained in teenagers. At times therapies and medicine are combined when treating teenage depression to increase the effectiveness of the approaches.
Conclusion
Depression is a common condition, even with teenagers. It is caused by daily life situations such as education stress, family situations, social relationship, and physical changes. Parents and teachers should assist each other in identifying any emotional or behavioral changes in teens, establishing the cause and treatment. Early treatment helps teenagers learn to deal with rejection and life crises from an early age, thus learning how to control stress levels.
References
Davidson, T. J. (2019). Fighting Invisible Tigers: Stress, Anxiety, and Depression in Teenagers, Part 1.
Florescu, S., Mihaescu Pintia, C., Ciutan, M., Sasu, C., Sfetcu, R., Scintee, S. G., & Vladescu, C. (2019). Interventions to reduce stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms in teenagers–a systematic review: Silvia Florescu. European Journal of Public Health , 29 (Supplement_4), ckz186-581.
Freedman, M. (2019). Too few teenagers are screened for depression. Contemporary Pediatrics , 36 (3), 11-11.
Khesht-Masjedi, M. F., Shokrgozar, S., Abdollahi, E., Habibi, B., Asghari, T., Ofoghi, R. S., & Pazhooman, S. (2019). The relationship between gender, age, anxiety, depression, and academic achievement among teenagers. Journal of Family Medicine and Primary Care , 8 (3), 799.
Prince, J. (2018). Saffron Extract Improves Depression and Anxiety in Teenagers in New Study.
