The Growing Problem of Teenage Depression in Today's Society Teenage depression is a growing problem in today's society and is often a major contributing factor for a multitude of adolescent problems. The statistics about teenage runaways, alcoholism, drug problems, pregnancy, eating disorders, and suicide are alarming. Even more startling are the individual stories behind these statistics because the young people involved come from all communities, all economic levels, and all home situations-anyone's family. The common link is often depression. For the individuals experiencing this crisis, the statistics become relatively meaningless. The difficult passage into adolescence and early adulthood can leave lasting scars on the lives and psyches of an entire generation of young men and women. There is growing realization that teenage depression can be life- changing, even life threatening. Depression is a murky pool of feelings and actions scientists have been trying to understand since the days of Hippocrates, who called it a "black bile." It has been called "the common cold of mental illness and, like the cold, it's difficult to quantify. If feelings of great sadness or agitation last for much more than two weeks, it may be depression. For a long time, people who were feeling depressed were told to "snap out of it." According to a study done by National Institute of Mental Health, half of all Americans still view depression as a personal weakness or character flaw. Depression, however, is considered a medical disorder and can affect thoughts, feelings, physical health, and behaviors. It interferes with daily life such as school, friends, and family. Clinical depression is the most incapacitating of all chronic c... ... middle of paper ... ...owing problem amongst today's teenagers. Depression brings with it many problems that can be self-destructive. If a teenager has the benefit of early intervention and help in coping with his or her depression, however, the life script can be quite different. Bibliography: Works Cited Arbetter, Sandra. "Depression: Way Beyond the Blues." Current Health Dec.1993:4-10. Dowling, Colette. I Don't You Mean Have to Feel this Way? New York: Macmillan, 1991 Elkind, David. Parenting Your Teenager. New York:Ballantine Books, 1993 McCoy, Kathleen. Understanding Your Teenager's Depression. New York: Perigee Books, 1994 Papolos, Demitri and Papolos, Janice. Overcoming Depression. New York: Harper, 1987 Solin, Sabrina. "I did not Want to Live" Seventeen Apr. 1995: 155-157 Stern, Loraine. "I Feel So Sad..." Woman's Day Oct. 1994: 28.
Depression is considered a mental disorder that can lead an individual to commit suicide, experiment fatal risk that can injure his or her life. Furthermore, an individual feeling depressed lacks motivation to do anything progressive with his or her life. With that said, these individuals sometime gives up interest in activities that were once enjoyable, gets in a phase were he or she loses appetite, begins to overeat, loses concentration on what he or she is trying to complete, and becomes indecisiveness. Moreover, depression is a condition that makes an individual feel miserable, have no motivation to any activity that can influence his or her views, actions, welfare. Furthermore, depressed individuals at times may feel sad, apprehensive, desperate, destitute, useless, awkward, short-tempered, and agitated. In addition, the melancholy of depression is categorized by a greater concentration and length that is attached to severe symptoms. According to Wedding & Corsini (2014) states, “Physical disease, severe and acute stress, and chronic stress area also precipitating factors” (Pp. 240) of an individu...
Depression is a mental disorder that currently affects more than 350 million people worldwide (who, 2012). With such a staggering amount of people suffering from depression it is important for people to know about it. While some people think that depression is just short term differences in one’s mood that is not the case at all (who, 2012). Someone suffering from depression can have their disorder have negative effects on their life and other people’s lives. Luckily for most people suffering from depression there is treatment available Sadly though because many people don’t understand depression they may not seek treatment at all (NIH, n.d). In order to truly understand depression you need to understand what it is, signs and symptoms, causes, how to diagnose it, and treatment.
Depression is an equal opportunity disorder, it can affect any group of people with any background, race, gender, or age. Depression is a sneak thief that slips quietly and gradually into people’s lives - robbing them of their time, and their focus. At first, depression may be undetectable, but in the long run a person could become so weighed down that their life may feel empty and meaningless. Contrary to popular belief, not everyone who commits suicide is depressed, but majority of people who commits suicide do so during a severe depressive episode. There are over 300 million people in the world today who suffer from depression. Depression has affected people for a long as records have been kept. It was first called out by the famous Greek philosopher Hippocrates over 2,400 years ago. Hippocrates called it “melancholia”. Many times we think of depression as one disorder alone, when in fact there are many different types of depression. The different types of depression are major depressive disorder, dysthymic disorder, atypical disorder, adjustment disorder, and depressive personality disorder. All types of depression share at least one common symptom. It is commons from the person who suffers from any form of depression to feel an unshakable sadness, anxious, or empty mood. Major depressive disorder also known as unipolar depression or recurrent depressive disorder is the most severe depressive disorder out of all of the depressive in my estimation. Major depressive disorder is a condition in which affects a person’s family, work or school life, sleeping, eating and general health. It is important to emphasize that we can understand the mechanics of this disorder and how it affects people with major depressive disorder.
Today, teenagers and adults share a multitude of problems such as losing a loved one, drugs, alcohol, and peer pressure that lead to depression and we need families to take notice and do something to stop teen depression. Works Cited Salinger, J. D. The Catcher in the Rye.
The suicide rate for adolescents has increased more than 200% over the last decade.[2] Adolescent suicide is now responsible for more deaths in youths aged 15 to 19 than cardiovascular disease or cancer. Recent studies have shown that greater than 20% of adolescents in the general population have emotional problems and one-third of adolescents attending psychiatric clinics suffer from depression.[3] Despite this, depression in this age group is greatly underdiagnosed, leading to serious difficulties in school, work and personal adjustment which often continue into adulthood.
Depression is an illness within itself that affects the “whole body”. (Staywell,1998) The body, feelings, thoughts, and behavior are all immensely altered when someone is depressed. It is not a sign of personal weakness, or a condition that can be wished or willed away. For some people depression is just temporary, but for others it can last for weeks, months and even years.
Depression is a serious mental health illness which affects an individuals’ mind, body and mood. It is a chronic and lifelong health condition (NICE, 2006) thought to be caused by a number of biological factors including neurotransmitter disturbances in the brain and an element of genetic vulnerability; these are often in addition to psychosocial factors such as the occurrence of undesirable life events, limited social network options, poor self esteem and the occurrence of any adverse life events during a persons’ lifetime (Bernstein, 2006). Depression can have an impact on a persons’ ability to do many things including working, engaging with others, participating fully in family life or maintaining relationships, and it can also impact on a person...
Teens who suffer from depression usually do not appear sad, nor do they seem to withdraw from people, making it more complicated to notice the signs of depression. Although, a way to catch these signs is to have a parental figure, or someone that the teen cares for be always around if they need to talk or convey their inner thoughts and emotions (JBG, 2012). With this, a teen can feel more comfortable and may eliminate any negative thoughts due to the positive and caring atmosphere. In addition, family-members should never take suicide threats or any depression symptoms lightly, because every little detail can affect a teenager’s
Teenage Depression. Everywhere you look these two words appear together as one, in newspapers and magazines, as well as in scholarly reports. Teenage depression is one of today's "hot topics" this among other teenage mental health problems, has been brought to the forefront of public consciousness in recent years after several incidents involving school shootings (CQ 595). The environment that teens grow up in today is less supportive and more demanding than it was twenty years ago. Not only are the numbers of depressed teens rising, but children are also being diagnosed at younger and younger ages. Studies have found that, "There is an estimated 1.5-3 million American children and adolescents who suffer from depression, a condition unrecognized in children until about 20 years ago" (CQR 595). This increase in depression is due to social factors that teenagers have to deal with everyday. A recent study found that, "About five percent of teenagers have major depression at any one time. Depression can be very impairing, not only for the affected teen, but also for his or her family-and too often, if not addressed, depression can lead to substance abuse or more tragic events" (NAMI.org). Gender roles and other societal factors including the pressures on girls to look and act a certain way, the pressures on boys to suppress their emotions and put on a tough front and the pressures on both sexes to do well in school and succeed, all contribute to depression in teens today. Depression is a growing problem which crosses gender lines and one that needs to be dealt with with more than just medication.
Depression is the most common mental health problem in the United States. It affects people of all ages, races and economic backgrounds. In adolescents, as many as one in eight teens suffers with this condition. It can interfere with day-to-day functioning. Many times adolescents feel lost or hopeless and may not know who to turn to for help. This therapeutic environment uses specific objectives and goals to give adolescents the tools and skills they need to cope and function more successfully. This is a positive, caring environment so that each member will feel ready to share and cope with their problems. Currently, there is a lack of support and resources for adolescents with this mental illness and this group fulfills that need. This group is different from other groups of this nature, as members are carefully screened to make sure only those who can truly benefit from it are included.
Depression is well known for its mental or emotional symptoms. Symptoms for depression include: persistently sad or unhappy mood, loss of interest or pleasure in previously enjoyable activities, difficulty concentrating, remembering, making decisions, anxiety, feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness, and thoughts of death or dying. “People who have endured a major depressive episode describe the experience as a descent into t...
There are three main types of sociological perspectives in which you can perceive different sociological issues and concepts; structural-functional, symbolic-interaction, and social conflict. Structural-functional looks at society as a whole and how it works together. Symbolic-interaction is how different symbols spark particular thoughts and emotions by examining the meanings that people impose on objects, events and behaviors. Social conflict studies how power and coercion affect social order. Based off these types of perspectives, an analysis on teen depression and suicide can be evaluated from a sociological standpoint.
There are many people in the world who are struggling with the disease depression. Depression is the state in which a person feels very sad, hopeless and unimportant. The thing about depression is that it affects both genders and any ages. Depression is something that deserves full attention. For many reasons doctors believe that when a person has depression, they have to start taking medication for it as if medications help. People are becoming more dependent on antidepressants when there are other techniques for dealing with depression.
Empfield, M., Bakalar, N. (2001). Understanding Teenage Depression: A Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment and Management, Holt Paperbacks, New York.
Conclusively, teenage depression is a chronic problem in the life of teenagers, which should be properly handled. When signs of this are seen in teenagers, adequate steps should be taken, in order to ensure their safety and restore their mental strength.