Most parents have heard a teen say one of the following: “I’m too tired to get up just let me sleep” or maybe “I just want to be left alone.” Or how about “You just don’t understand what I am going through.” Unfortunately, parents have a tendency to just put these comments down to their children being everyday teenagers. Every teen will have normal bouts of depression that lasts a week or so and then they bound back to their usual cranky teenage self and get on with life. What most parents do not realize is that more and more teens suffer from clinical depression and continued comments like these are possible signs of this type of depression. There are many things that contribute to clinical depression. Just a few of contributing factors could be; being bullied, peer pressures, emotional neglect, or feelings of helplessness. If you look at all of these factors the one thing that stands out is the ability of these factors to strip a teenagers feeling of self-worth. Lack of self-worth is the biggest cause of clinical depression among teenagers and can lead to severe consequences such as; suicide, withdrawal from society, and struggles with depression as an adult. As a parent it would be a crime to ignore the signs that their teenager has long term depression cause by a lack of self-worth and shrug it off as their teen just being a normal teenager. Merriam-Webster dictionary’s definition for the word self-worth kind of says it all. Self-worth means: a feeling that you are a good person who deserves to be treated with respect. When a teenager is stripped of this very important feeling they have a tendency to spiral into a depressed state. If not treated with love and attention from family and the right counseling ... ... middle of paper ... ...ember that not every child can be a straight A student and that is ok. We need to make sure we let them know when they don’t do so well on a school assignment that it is ok because they can do better the next time. By doing these things we can help our children keep and build their self-worth and not allow others to steal their pride in themselves. These simple things that we as parents can do just might help our teens from falling into a state of depression that will be hard for them to recover from. Works Cited http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/promoting-empathy-your-teen/201301/link-between-sexual-promiscuity-and-depression-in-teens http://mindyourmind.ca/expression/blog/10-things-may-cause-teenage-depression https://www.aacap.org/aacap/Families_and_Youth/Facts_for_Families/Facts_for_Families_Pages/Peer_Pressure_104.aspx http://www.nccafv.org/child.htm
People constantly overlook the severity of depression, more importantly, major teen depression, which presents a legitimate obstacle in society. The intensity of teen depression results from society’s general lack of acknowledgement of the rising affair. In 2012, “28.5% of teens were depressed” and 15.8% of teens contemplated the option of suicide (Vidourek 1 par. 1), due to their major depression going unnoticed or untreated for. Even teenagers themselves often ignore their depression or remain in denial because neither them nor anyone else recognizes the signs. “A sudden change in behavior is a main sign of someone being depressed, which could lead to having suicidal thoughts,” stated Pam Farkas, a clinical social worker in California (Aguilar 1 par. 8). The warning signs and risk factors of teen depression include behavioral issues, social withdrawal, and inadequate interest in activities (Adolescents and Clinical Depression 2 par. 3), yet the unawareness of these signs does not allow professional medical attention to intercede. Deaths, illnesses, rejection, relationship issues, and disappointment present passages down the negative path of teen depression, but treatments, such as psychotherapy, intervention programs, and antidepressants express ways to subdue this major problem. Knowledge of the increasing dilemma needs to circulate, in order to promote stable teen lives in the present and future world. Understanding major teen depression, the events and incidents that lead to depression, and how to overcome the problem will lead to a decrease in major teen depression and its growing issue in society.
This theory lay out the concepts of what humans need to live and to succeed (Bayoumi, 2012). It is a pyramid of needs upon which humans can progress to the top. The pyramid levels are based on the needs that humans must meet before they can move to the next step (Bayoumi, 2012). The steps include, starting from the bottom, physiological needs, safety needs, belongingness, esteem, and finally at the top is self-actualization (Bayoumi, 2012). Adolescents in depression, are unable to have their needs met at many levels depending on the severity of the depression. If the depression is minor, an adolescent may be isolated and fight feelings of loneliness and is unable to progress past the level of belongingness. For adolescents with more severe depression, they may portray a decrease in self-health cares and involve themselves in risky behavior. Without proper treatment, these children would find it hard to progress beyond the safety level of Maslow’s scale. By correctly diagnosing and treating adolescent depression, health care providers will be able to free adolescent children suffering from depression and give them the tools to potentially ascend the levels of Maslow’s Hierarchy and someday reach
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.
Although teenage depression cannot always be prevented, it is up to the health care providers to take simple steps by making a difference. While it may be difficult to distinguish between clinical depression and normal adolescent development, a notable indicator is whether symptoms are all-encompassing or situational. Is there a change in the patient’s behavior and mannerisms? Is there a history of familial depression? Has the depressed episode lasted for weeks? The questions are endless, as is the important need for clinicians to ask them. Adolescent depression does not have to be a lifelong battle, and it certainly does not have to end in suicide.
Studies show that up to nine percent of teenagers meet criteria for depression at any one time, with as many as one in five teens having a history of depression at some point during adolescence (Cheung et al., 2007). Symptoms in adolescents can manifest differently than in adults due to the physical and social challenges that teenagers encounter. Some of the challenges that teenagers encounter that might lead to depression are peer pressure, changes due to developing bodies, changing hormone levels, peer pressure and sports among others. These challenges present in a teenager’s life can cause high levels of stress and anxiety that affect the teenager’s life in different areas such as school, work, family and their personal, social and family lives. Due to the challenges confronted when living with depression, it is completely necessary to seek professional help once symptoms
Most adults and many children and adolescents have a few bad days here and there, sometimes three or four in a row. When this happens, your mood is bad, you feel like jumping on people for nothing. You sleep, but you do not rest. You eat, but you are not hungry. Your life is one big chore. Everything that was fun is work and what usually is work is like walking with lead boots. Often you have stomach aches, headaches, aching, dizziness and other symptoms, but the doctors can not find anything wrong. When family and friends want to talk, you do not listen. If you can, you stay alone and wish they would all just go away. And you think about what you have got to do, and you wish you could put it off for ever. And about what you have done, and about what could go wrong, and how you could never live like this for 30 more years.
Times are changing is an evident statement. Our young Americans are also changing. They seem to be more confident, tolerant, and more open-minded than ever before, but they also seem to feel very entitled. Our youth are both demanding and self-centered for the most part, expecting things to just happen because they want them to, and feel they are entitled to such. We have been told that high self-esteem is the key to children’s happiness and success, and we’ve been praising and protecting them ever since. We have been teaching our children to feel good about themselves even when they have done nothing special to feel good about. The overall belief that if we increase self-esteem among society it will increase the goodness in society is a nice thought but it lacks the evidence proving so. Low self-esteem has been the blame for many issues of today’s times. However, others believe that low self-esteem carries little or no factor in negative outcomes, but that inflated self-esteem is the actual culprit of such negative results. It is likely that this debate will continue for quite some time. The self-esteem movement has gone too far; it is crippling our children.
The prevalence of depression in young children and adolescents today is astounding; one out of thirty three children suffer from depression. Shockingly, until fairly recently deprssion in small children was not established as a real disorder. Consequently, the scientific research needed to comprehend how children experience depression, the causes of their depression, and treatment options have emerged over the past twenty years. (the psychiatry depressed source book) &( Dubuque, S.(1998) . Depression is defined as a serious medical condition where a person is in a constant state of sadness, feels hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way (merriam- webster.com) children who suffer from depression have constant feelings of sadness while similtaneously experience problems concentrating, have very little motivation, are often irratible, suffer from seperation anxiety and can even experience relentless physical pain like headaches and stomach pain which does not improve with treatment. Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry
Its symptoms often differ, too, so many depressed teens are dismissed as simply being “difficult” or “delinquent.” Yet it is a serious problem, particularly when one considers the high rate of depression-related suicide among teenagers. Because its symptoms are varied and often subtle, depression at any age can be hard to identify. Many people, particularly teens, who are undergoing so many changes that affect mood and behavior are unaware that they are depressed. Even when they seek treatment, it is often only for the physical symptoms, such as sleeplessness or fatigue, and not the actual underlying cause. Many factors increase the risk of developing or triggering teen depression, those factors include - having issues that negatively impact self-esteem, such as obesity, peer problems, bullying, or academic
Have you ever felt that you’re living with no purpose in life, or even worse, the sensation of isolation and loneliness? For instance, imagine that you are colorblind; nevertheless, people are constantly telling you and reminding you of how colorful the world is. Similarly, this is how dreadful depression feels like; it can emotionally drain you, break you, and kill you. About 3.4 million teenagers have at least one major depressive episode annually, and studies have shown that the number keeps on increasing periodically. Teenage depression is caused primarily by getting bullied or abused; hence, developing the feeling of loneliness and isolation in the teenager as well as referring to radical methods to forget the emotional pain: suicide, drugs, or intoxicating drinks.
for that reason. Children tend to express their sadness by behavioral changes, poor Recognizing the symptoms and early signs of childhood depression, seeking diagnosis and treatment and learning to live with and accept the disorder and still live for yourself are all important steps for knowledgeable parents.
Depression is the most widespread mental illness in today’s society. Studies have found that, 1 out of 8 teens are affected with this disease. It also predominantly affects young ladies than it does males. (www.kidshealth.org). Teens are at a position in their lives when they must face significant transition and peer pressures. They are trying to identify with themselves and trying to figure out where there puzzle piece fits in society, all of which can show the way to behavioral and emotional changes. This is also a stage when families suffer from poor communication: teenagers often tend to keep their feelings and concerns to themselves away from their parents and other authority figures. Therefore, identifying depression in teenagers can be difficult for adults to notice. However, it is very essential that adolescents with depression get assistance on handling their problems. For this reason, the focus of this paper will be about how parents can identify if their child are depressed. If adults are able to identify and have an understanding about depression so many lives could be saved.
...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.
Teen stress is a big issue in today's society. Recent studies have shown that teens may develop more stress then adults. Few adults can remember the truth about adolescence. "Their minds "censor" their memories, and have them believe that being a teenager was was one big party, free of cares and responsibilities"( ). There aren't that many adults around who realize what adolescence was really like. The anguish, the fear, the anxiety, the stress. People don't remember those problems because they want to forget them. Stress is a significant problem for teens. There are many factors that lead into teen stress, such as school, drugs, peer pressure and relationships.
Sometimes teenagers may struggle with certain actions which may lead to them being depressed. These causes maybe, academic pressure from parents, bullying, verbal abuse, and chronic illness. Parents' most times place high academic expectations on their kids, not considering the child’s academic ability. When kids are not appreciated for the effort they put into their school work, but rather are scolded, they may end up seeing their selves as not good enough. This can lead to them being depressed and may consider dropping out of school.