Teenage depression is an often overlooked condition because depression is thought to be a natural state for teenagers. While teenagers are prone to strong emotions, depression is never a natural state and with the strong emotions that teenagers feel it is especially important to recognize and address depression in teens.
Here are some basic facts about teenage depression so that you know what to look for..
What Are The Symptoms Of Teenage Depression?
Depressed teenagers may exhibit a wide variety of symptoms of depression. They may be sad and hopeless or they may be angry and irritable. They may cry often and withdraw from social events with family and friends. They may demonstrate a lack of interest in their usual activities and their eating and sleeping habits may go through changes.
Teenagers with depression often feel worthless and don’t feel motivated to do anything. They may be tired all the time, have trouble concentrating, and think about committing suicide.
How Is Teenage Depression Different From Adult Depression?
From the previous paragraph, you may feel like teenage depression and adult depression are pretty much the same. This is not the case as there are some notable differences between the two types of depression.
While signs of sadness are possible in depressed teens, they will often just appear angry or irritable instead. Because of this, their depression may be overlooked.
Depressed teens tend to have physical symptoms such as frequent headaches or stomachaches. If these physical symptoms have no physical cause then they could indicate depression.
Depressed teenagers may be incredibly sensitive to criticism of any kind. The feelings of worthlessness that they carry can make criticism in any form almost impossible to bear.
Finally, while adults with depression usually withdraw from everyone they know, teens often maintain a few relationships. They are likely to have fewer friends or different friends and often distance themselves from their parents but they may not totally withdraw from social contact.
What Happens If Depressed Teens Don’t Get Treatment?
For those who think that teens just get depressed and that you can just let it take care of itself, you need to know what untreated teenage depression can lead to.
Without therapy for depression, teenagers can have problems at school, develop eating disorders, run away from home, deliberately injure themselves, develop alcohol or substance abuse problems, develop other addictions, reckless behavior, violence, and even death through suicide.
Depression in teenagers can be treated but it must first be recognized and then professional help must be sought out. Never think that teenage depression is normal because it could lead to something even worse than depression.
