Being a parent of a teenager is not an easy task as handling an adolescent with changing, and raging hormones can be a difficult task. When the child land in the zone of puberty, they actually come to a very strange area. They are in a confusion of identity and self-being, which lands them in emotional turmoil and uncertainty. This often pushes them to depression and makes them behave weirdly at times.
Parents often mistake this depression in moodiness and rude behavior from the teens. But this problem is way beyond normal moodiness and is a serious health problem that needs to be attended. However, it is a treatable issue with support from the parents and medical therapists. But before that, you need to know what teen depression is and how you can identify it. Here are some helpful points that will let you know about the issue in detail.
Why is the teen depressed?
Teen years are tough, and depression can affect them in the worst way than we can imagine. It is estimated one in every five adolescent boys and girls suffer from depression at some point of time in their lives. Though it is a treatable problem, in many cases, they never receive help due to a lack of understanding from the parents. Apart from the occasional display of bad moods or actions that are expected in the teen years, depression is totally different.
The effect of depression on your teen can go beyond a sad mood. It can destroy their personalities, causes overwhelming sadness, anger, and despair. Many teens resort to unruly and rebellious behavior and attitudes in teenagers, which can be a sign of depression in teens. There can be several reasons why a teenager might feel depressed and have emotional pain. The signs of depression in teen include:
Problems at school
Depression can lead to low energy and difficulty in focusing on studies at school. It might even result in poor attendance, drop grades, or frustration with schoolwork in a formerly good student.
Running away
There are cases where many depressed teenagers run away from home or mention about running away. These types of attempts are actually a cry for help from them.
Drug and alcohol abuse
Depression might make the teens resort to manage their sadness by drug or alcohol abuse. They feel euphoric by substance abuse, which makes their depression problem even worse.
Low self-esteem
Low self-esteem and worthlessness are problems that can be triggered by depression. It generally triggers feelings like ugliness, shame, and failure in life.
Smartphone addiction
Teenage to escape from their problems get indulged in excessive usage of smartphones and the internet. But such addiction only adds to their isolation and makes them more depressed.
Violence
Some depressed teens, mainly boys who become victims of bullying in the school, can become violent and can counter bullying with aggressive and sometimes lethal behavior.
Suicidal thinking This is the extreme point of depression where teenagers talk or try attempting suicide when they are not able to cope with the mental agony of depression. They start thinking or talking about death, engage in reckless behavior, say goodbye to friends and family, and seek weapons or ways to kill themselves.
Australia Health & Medicine Blog 