Youths with Depression

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Recommended: effect of depression and its social impact

Depression is a psychological disorder that not only gravely affects the state of mind of a person but also the physical body. It is characterised by behavioural changes such as differing intensities of sadness, feelings of hopelessness, low self-worth and loss of interests (“A Definition of Depression”, 2007, para. 1). Depression is a major problem among youths and the number of occurrences has been growing in recent years. Kuabara, Van Voorhees, Gollan and Alexander (2007) support this claim by citing that youths have the “highest incidence and cumulative prevalence of depression” and further reiterate that “the risk of depression in this age group [youths] has increased significantly in the last half century” (para. 1). This is based on the evidence found by Kessler and Walters (1998), through a survey to find out about the prevalence of depression among adolescents. Results showed that there is an increase in occurrences of depression in youths (p. 8). In Singapore, adolescents undergo immerse pressure having to juggle the different aspects of their life, including education which may be too much to handle and thus lead to depression.
I chose to write about youths with depression as I feel that the severity of this issue is often overlooked and it needs to be taken more seriously. This is an uprising problem among youths today, which affects their mental health and well-being. My friend used to suffer from depression and I did not know how to help her overcome this mental illness at that point of time. Therefore, I am interested in finding out more about these youths, in order to reach out them and understand them better.
One of the assumptions I have about youths with depression is that they are suicidal. According to The Ne...

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...ander, G.C. (2007, June). A qualitative exploration of depression in emerging adulthood: disorder, development, and social context. Science Direct. Retrieved May 16, 2014, from http://www.sciencedirect.com.libwww3.np.edu.sg/science/article/pii/S016383430700 062X
Mark Walters (2009). The Violent Tendencies of Depression. DIME Consultants Inc. Retrieved May 17, 2014 from http://www.dime-co.com/health/The-Violent- Tendencies-Of-Depression-_printer.shtml
Samaritans of Singapore (2010). About SOS. Retrieved May 19, 2014 from http://www.samaritans.org.sg/about.htm
The Link between Depression and Suicide (2003). Suicide. Retrieved May 17, 2014, from http://thebrain.mcgill.ca/flash/capsules/pdf_articles/link_depression_suicide.pdf
Health Promotion Board (2013). Understanding Depression. Retrieved May 18, 2014, from http://www.hpb.gov.sg/HOPPortal/health-article/10210

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