Depression and Teenagers
Depression and TeenagersThere are many misconceptions about depression. Pathological depression is not the "dispirited" or "down" mood, which we all experience from time to time, and which causes us to say, "I'm depressed," but it is a debilitating illness that affects one in five people of all ages from children to adults. It is not just a passing mood swing. Depression can affect not only a person's mood but also his or her ability to function normally. Treatment is available yet quite a number do not seek it.
Depression is the most common psychiatric disease in society nowadays. Over eighteen million Americans over the age of eighteen suffer from it. Depression is thought to occur from a chemical imbalance in the brain. Medicines are used to try to correct the imbalance and relieve emotional and physical symptoms. However pathological depression can also occur from stress, a crisis such as a death or other problem in the persons life and even wrong diet.
Depression in teenagers has however been underrated as mood swings or that he or she is just going through a "phase". In the past decade, suicide in teenagers has increased by 200% in America, which is a startling figure. Adolescent suicide is now responsible for more deaths in youths aged 15 to 19 than cardiovascular disease or cancer. Depression has been missed and not treated in many cases of teenagers because adolescence is such a time of mood and emotional changes as well as heightened sensitivity etc. Out of 100,000 adolescents, two to three thousand will have mood disorders out of which eight-ten will commit suicide. Wrist cutting and overdosing are the commonest means of suicide for women, while men have a higher rate of shooting and hanging. . The number of depressed teenagers that attempt suicide yet do not succeed is much higher. These attempts at suicide should be seen as a cry of help.
Symptoms of depression are varied from person to person, but there are some common ones, such as difficulty in concentration or decision making, pessimism, lessened sexual activity, social withdrawal, temper outbursts, constant tiredness, over sleeping or insomnia.
In teenagers these symptoms are common; but other signs such as a drop in school grades, loss of appetite or over eating, sleep disturbance ( e.g. staying awake all-night and sleeping during the day) can also be prevalent....
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