Teenage Depression

Only twenty years ago, teenage depression was extremely scarce and almost unknown. Nowadays, depression among young people has the highest rate of increase.

This can be explained by the major changes in society, where our basic needs and goals are no longer automatically met. Teenagers are constantly fed with all sorts of information on the way they are supposed to look and what they should have.

During adolescence, the pressure to conform with their peers is incredibly high. If they feel inadequate, different or deprived in a certain way, they find it very difficult to deal with it and depression is a possible outcome.

Symptoms of Teenage Depression

In addition to the classic symptoms of adult depression, teenage depression has some other symptoms too:

• Decreased performance in school
• Change in appearance and personal hygiene
• Destructive or defiant behavior
• Hallucinations or unrealistic beliefs
• Significant changes in appetite or weight
• Agitation or slowness
• Low energy level, tiredness
• Excessive feelings of guilt and worthlessness
• Thoughts about life not being worth living

Causes of Teenage Depression

Teenage depression is often caused by different triggers than in adults, such as:     

• Social rejection
• Family problems 
• Failing exams

Even though many of the events leading to teenage depression may appear less significant to adults, it is rather the depressed person's perception than the situation itself that is actually important .
 
Teenage Depression and Suicide

The suicide rate among teenagers and young adults is three times higher now than in 1970. About 90% of teenage suicide cases are associated with a diagnosis of mental illness, especially depression.

In 1996, suicide was the 4th most important cause of death for kids between 10 to 14 years old and the 3rd for those between 15 and 24 years old.

This shows teenagers and young people are not only becoming more depressed, but also responding to this depression by ending their lives. This may be caused by the high pressure felt by teens, in conjunction with their lack of experience. Experience often tells us all situations, no matter how bad they seem, tend to get better later on.

Teenagers also lack the ability of more subtle thinking, usually possessing a “black or white”, “all or nothing” thinking style.

Most people commit suicide because they are faced with what seems to be an intolerable situation. They do not necessarily want to die, but find there is no other way to run from it.

Antidepressants are often prescribed in cases of teenage depression. However, there hasn't been enough research to prove their effectiveness. Teenagers who suffer from depression have different chemical changes than adult sufferers.

Antidepressants are aimed to treat these chemical changes. However, the same medication is prescribed for both teens and adults, despite the fact that they experience different changes.

In fact, even the way the brain is functioning is different to teenagers. For example, the frontal lobe is still developing until the age of twenty. Consequently, teenage depression is quite different from adult depression and needs a different approach in order to be cured.

Many experts are reserved in treating it with medication, focusing rather on different kinds of psychotherapy to help adolescence overcome their illness.