Depression in Teenagers

Depression is the most common mental health problem or set of problems among teenagers.

Teens or adolescents can become persistently depressed. Adolescents with depression may present with suicidal thoughts, self-harm, self-mutilation, severe self-neglect, starvation or extreme agitation. 

They start feeling sad all the time. And the sadness does not get better in response to changes in circumstances and may be worse in the morning. Sometimes teens may be anxious or irritable. The teenager worries about trivial matters and have negative thinking. They express that they are incapable of doing anything, feel worthless and nothing good is going to happen to them in the future. He or she may express guilt about their past acts or decisions. They lose interest in day to day activities and do not enjoy previously pleasurable activities like watching television, reading the newspaper, meeting with friends and family.

Your teen may feel tired even without doing much activity and have difficulty in carrying out day to day tasks. They complain of memory loss which is due to poor concentration. Their speech, walk, and other actions become slow. They also start withdrawing from social interactions and prefer to stay alone.

Common symptoms include a combination of: 

• Low self-esteem and negative self-image
• Somatic complaints
• Social withdrawal
• Depressed mood
• Marked diminution of or loss of the capacity to enjoy things (Anhedonia).
• Anxiety (including separation anxiety) and agitation.
• Irritability or anger (to self or others) and lowered frustration tolerance.
• Loss of appetite (with loss of weight in the more severe form) or increase in food intake (‘comfort eating’)
• Sleep problems of various kinds – an anxious child or adolescent with Depression may have trouble falling asleep or be stay awake by depressive thoughts. In the most severe form, the young person wakes early can’t get back to sleep and lies awake with profound feelings of hopelessness; others they will want to stay in bed and sleep for long periods.
• Suicidal ideation: this is uncommon in pre-pubertal children, but children of this age may express thoughts of, for example, running away or jumping into the middle of the road or out of a window.

Moreover, Suicidal ideation is more common in adolescents with depression, sometimes as a fleeting thought but sometimes as a more formed idea and with clear intention to act on this.

Finally, if you are the parent or guardian of a teenager who is suffering from depression, please meet with an experienced Psychologist. When the treatment of depression starts early it can be treated. Untreated depression can become chronic and it is far more complex to heal.  As Frederick Douglass said, “It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken adults.”

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To learn more about Myths about Depression click here