Much is said about depression in adulthood, however, little is known about the adolescent depression, which causes that young people or their families do not seek the necessary help. Depression is an illness that can affect people of any age, educational or cultural level, and economic status. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), by 2020 depression will be in the second position among mental and physical disorders. As adolescence is a stage of continuous physical and psychological changes and the continuous search for one's own identity, can sometimes lead to confusion as to knowing whether or not the adolescent is suffering from depression. However, once adolescent depression is recognized, it is necessary to help and support him so that he can overcome it. But how can we help you? To know how to help a teenager with depression, it is necessary to be informed in more detail about this disease and carry out a series of actions aimed at achieving it.
That is why in this Psychology-Online article, we will analyze how depression manifests itself in adolescence, what its symptoms are, causes, what is the treatment that should be carried out to overcome it and what parents and / or people close to the adolescent can do to help relieve it.
Index
- How to tell if a teenager has depression
- Factors that increase the risk of adolescent depression
- Problems a depressed teenager can have
- My Teen Has Depression: How I Help Him
How to know if a teenager has depression.
The teens with depression may show different symptoms than adults, as they tend to be in a bad mood, have conflicting behaviors at school, getting angry, being continually irritated, and feeling misunderstood. This is what makes it difficult to recognize if it is a depression or not, since as already mentioned Previously, these attitudes and mood swings are also often common in this stage. An important aspect to keep in mind is that when a teenager is depressed, they do not necessarily have to show a sad or depressed mood, nor does he have to isolate himself from others. Although this can happen, it does not always have to be.
To help you identify when it is a depression, you can take into account these series of symptoms and be aware of the duration and intensity of each of them.
Symptoms of depression in adolescents
- Irritability and easily angered.
- Tiredness, loss of energy (seems to be exhausted most of the day).
- Sleep problems (you have a hard time getting up in the morning and sleeping at night).
- You want to cry for no apparent reason.
- Difficulty concentrating, you can also suffer from memory problems and decrease your school performance.
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt.
- You don't enjoy the activities you used to enjoy.
- Increase or loss of appetite.
- Low mood (feeling sad most of the time for no apparent reason).
- Apathy.
- Negative thoughts and self-criticism continually.
- Frequent feeling of boredom
- Physical aches and pains (usually inexplicable)
- Suicide ideas: mention that you want to die or leave forever, give away your belongings, write stories or listen to music about death, joke about committing suicide, etc.
Factors that increase the risk of adolescent depression.
There are a series of factors that, if present in the adolescent's life, make him more prone to developing depression. Some of them are the following:
- Having parents with depression.
- School and / or social problems.
- Experiences of stress or grief due to the death of loved ones.
- Loneliness.
- Changes in your lifestyle (change of city or country, separation or divorce of the parents).
- Scientific research has shown that before puberty, boys and girls have the same possibility of suffering from depression, however, from the age of 15, women have twice as many possibilities.
- Family problems (conflicts in the family environment).
- Physical or psychological trauma (verbal or physical abuse, bullying, sexual abuse, etc.).
- Reaction of some medicines (check with your doctor).
- Alcohol and other substance abuse.
- Serious health problems.
Problems that a depressed teenager can have.
Depression has a great impact on the life of the adolescent and affects their personal growth and development. It is also important to know that if a teenager with depression does not receive treatment, it can persist and continue into adulthood, causing even more problems in the future. A adolescent suffering from depression will start to have problems in one or more areas of your life, which can increase in severity and it is important to take them into account. Some of them are the following:
- Decrease in school performance.
- Problems at school with teachers and classmates.
- Abuse of alcohol and other substances harmful to health.
- High-risk and self-injurious behaviors.
- Drop out of school and leave home.
- Develop an eating disorder
- Low self-esteem.
- Suicide risk.
My Teen Has Depression - How I Help Him.
After having informed ourselves in greater depth about various aspects related to adolescent depression, such as learning to identify it, the factors that influence so that it occurs and the problems that a depressed adolescent may have, we are going to point out a series of guidelines to be able to help an adolescent with depression:
Psychological treatment
It is necessary to know that depression is not cured solely by force of will and that it needs to be treated by a professional. So if you have a teenage son or if you are a friend or relative of him, the first thing you have to do is get him to start psychological therapy.
The goal of psychological therapy is to help the patient eliminate symptoms of depression and to overcome other problems related to it. Through psychoeducation, the adolescent will be informed what depression is, its symptoms, what causes it, what causes it to problem persists, etc., you will be taught techniques to apply in your daily life aimed at eliminating symptoms, you will work with your negative thoughts to modify them for more positive and rational ones, as well as other problems that have appeared secondary to the Depression.
On some occasions, it is necessary that psychotherapy be combined with the administration of certain drugs such as antidepressants to treat the problem.
Tips to help a depressed teenager
The adolescent needs to feel supported and understood by his family or close people, especially her parents. If you have a depressed teenager, you should know that to help him, he needs to stop being judged, to be listened to even if sometimes you do not agree with him, to try to understand him and above all accept it. Here are some tips for how to help a teen with depression:
- Get involved in treatment. It is necessary to stay involved in the treatment, both psychological and pharmacological and support it at home. It is necessary to be close and aware of her needs.
- Put yourself in their place. This is often difficult for many people, as we first want to impose our beliefs and ideas based on what is right or wrong for us. However, in order to understand someone, you have to really know how to put yourself in the other person's shoes. Have you ever felt misunderstood? Knowing that no one understands you makes you withdraw more into yourself and generates a feeling of loneliness, and this is what a teenager with depression needs the least. Therefore, it is important that you listen to him without judgment and that you can earn his trust.
- Get informed about depression. It is necessary to be highly informed about this disease. Know its symptoms, causes, consequences, treatment, etc., in order to offer better help to the affected person and so that you can understand them better.
- Affection and affection. Treat him with love and affection, always showing him closeness and unconditional support, letting him know that he is not alone and that you are there to help him no matter how difficult the situation is.
- Be patient. Patience is essential to help the adolescent with this disease. On many occasions, people tend to despair at certain attitudes of the affected person, especially when it comes to teenage children. However, you must remember at all times that it is worth the effort, especially since it is about his well-being. You can lean on family and friends to help you cope.
- Importance of physical exercise. Physical exercise releases a series of beneficial hormones for our physical and emotional health such as serotonin that provides several benefits, among them, causes a feeling of calm and improves our state of cheer up. It is important to motivate the adolescent to be active. You do not need to do high intensity exercises, just take a walk for 20 to 30 minutes a day for you to start to notice its benefits.
This article is merely informative, in Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to help a teenager with depression, we recommend that you enter our category of Emotional and behavioral disorders.
