Teenage Depression – is your Teen Depressed? Signs and Symptoms

Depression in teenagers is as high as depression in adults and it can lead to self harm and even suicide so make sure you know the signs of teenage depression before its to late.

Depression in Teenagers – How do I Know of my Teen is Depressed?

Teenagers with depression do not exhibit the same behavior as adults with depression and the difficulty for many parents is that much of the behavior that is diagnostically attributed to teenage depression, are the behaviors that most of experience with out teens at some stage.

A clinical diagnosis of depression may describe the following behaviors:-

• Feelings of not be understood by parents or teachers

• Increasing antisocial behavior

• Wanting to leave home

• Becoming negative and feeling ‘picked on’ or disapproved of

• Aggression

• Withdrawal from family and other social activities

• Spends more time in own company

• Lack of attention to personal grooming

If your teenager is depressed they may exhibit some or all of these symptoms.

In general, teenage girls with depression may become preoccupied with this of a morbid nature, while teenage boys will act up, becoming aggressive at school or at home, and perhaps getting into trouble with the police.

Depression in Teenagers – Getting Help

Teenage boys will often become aggressive, agitated, and get into trouble at home, at school, or with the law. Teenage girls will sometimes become preoccupied with themes of death or dying, and become decreasing concerned about how they look. Suicidal thoughts are common.

Some studies suggest that 500,000 teens attempt suicide each year, and 5000 are successful.

Increased use of alcohol or other drugs is common, along with other forms of "self-destructive behaviors." Poor self-esteem is common with teenagers, but especially with those who are depressed.

Parents are often confused and frustrated when their teens begin to act like this.

Sometimes parents become stern disciplinarians, or even put the teen down, which only serves to increase feelings of guilt and depression.

Other times, parents feel helpless, and stand by waiting for adulthood to arrive. Of course neither course is the right one to take.

If you know of a teen whose behaviors have changed to look like what has been described above, let the parents know that there is help available, and encourage the family to seek help from a professional.

With proper diagnosis and treatment a depressed teen, or adult, can be greatly helped.

If someone close to you is suffering from depression, first please understand that depression is a very emotionally painful condition. For some people with depression it turns into a "terminal illness" due to suicide. Please take the situation seriously.

1) Get a medical evaluation. Symptoms of depression can be the result of a wide assortment of illnesses, including thyroid problems, viral infections, and other factors.

2) Deprex is an amino acid and homeopathic medicine for the treatment of depression that we have seen work well with our patients. It may be worth trying as long as the situation is "stable" and there is no suicidal thinking on the part of the depressed person.

3) Medications such as Prozac can be very helpful for more difficult cases. Consult your doctor. These medications are often prescribed by Family Practice Doctors, but in most cases ought to be monitored by Psychiatrists.

4) Increase intake of Protein somewhat. Use a protein powder supplement, just like a weight lifter.

5) Exercise daily. Just get out and walk for about 15 minutes.

6) Seek out counseling from someone who is good at treating depression. This can do a world of good for you. However, always use great wisdom and common sense when choosing a therapist. Some are good, and some are not, so choose wisely.

Teenage depression is something that is hard to see. You look at them and their moodiness that comes just from being teenagers and try to figure out what moodiness is normal and what moodiness is not normal. This can be very hard to tell at times because teenagers are just moody by nature.

Yet, as parents, you have a sense when it is different and you need to take it seriously. Many teenagers die from untreated depression and, more often than not, you hear people saying, "they never saw it coming".

This is not something that needs to happen. If you feel something is wrong, have them checked out and make sure that it is nothing before you assume that it is nothing to worry about.

There are some signs that you can look for that will help you figure out if it is something to worry about or not. The first thing that you should be thinking about is how long has the moodiness been going on. Sure, they may be moody a lot of the time but you may have noticed that it has changed.

Normal moodiness lasts for a day here and a day there, but the moodiness we are talking about is the kind that goes on for days and stops them from functioning as they would normally.

Look for changes in their behavior, such as how they are around their friends and family members.

Have they stopped doing anything that they used to enjoy doing?

Are they giving away things that have meaning to them? Has the amount of sleep or food they eat suddenly changed?

Have they lost weight or gained weight lately and we are not talking about a 5-pound gain or loss.

Are their grades slipping in a class they have always done well in?

Are they not hanging out with their friends like they used to?

Have they dropped out of any clubs that they were active in?

Have they gotten into an argument or broken up with a significant other recently?

Are there any problems going on at home, like a pending divorce or the death of a family member?

Knowing what is going on in the life of your teenager is hard enough but if you suspect that they may be suffering from depression, it is critical to know what is going on.

The knowledge you gain can help figure out if depression is going on and it may also help to identify what has caused it. There may have been an event that has triggered it and it will be very helpful to know this.

Take teenager depression seriously and remember its easy to put right if you can spot the situation in advance.