All of us humans sometimes do not feel good and we feel tired and sad, which cannot be said to be depression. But if these symptoms continue for several days, it is possible that we have this mental illness. Depression in teenagers, if not treated, can cause more serious problems in the future for these people. According to the reports in this field, most of the people who suffer from this disease are in the age group of 6 to 25 years.
What is the depression in teenagers?
Depression in teenagers is a serious disease and it may affect all aspects of a teenager’s life. But fortunately, we must say that this mental illness is treatable and the family plays an important role in their treatment. Your love, interest and guidance. It helps teenagers who are suffering from depression to overcome this disease.
Causes of depression in teenagers
According to the research that exists in this field, depression in teenagers does not have a specific cause and usually appears in the teenage years. Biological, environmental, genetic, and psychological factors are among the most important factors in the occurrence of depression in teenagers. However, at the same time, environmental factors, divorce, loss, conflict and family fights, and lack of emotional support can cause depression.
Genetics
One of the important factors in depression is genetic diseases. Also, having a family history of this disease can be one of the causes of depression in teenagers.
Neglect
One of the most important needs of teenagers at this age is to attract love and attention from the people around them. There is a possibility that teenagers are neglected by their parents and the people around them for any reason, which can lead to the emergence of this disease. Psychologically effective in teenagers.
Childhood injuries
A teenager may have experienced an unfortunate event during his childhood, such as sexual abuse, loss of loved ones, lack of affection, public abuse, etc. These issues may be remembered during adolescence and cause the occurrence of depression in a person.
Hormones
Some hormonal problems, such as hypothyroidism, affect the function of hormones and are likely to cause depression in teenagers. But this problem should be followed up and treated by a doctor. One of the important things that exist is that the curiosity of teenagers can cause them to become addicted to drugs, and the use of these drugs can affect hormones and eventually cause depression in teenagers.
Signs and symptoms of depression in teenagers
The signs and symptoms of adolescent depression include obvious changes in their previous attitudes and behaviors. These changes can cause discomfort and significant problems at school or at home. Also, these changes can keep the depressed teenager away from social activities and weaken him in other areas of life.
Usually, teenagers are completely depressed or are experiencing symptoms of depression, they feel sad all the time. This sadness includes crying without reason and openly. Your child is constantly feeling frustrated and expressing negative thoughts about issues. He may feel angry and angry over very small issues.
Symptoms of depression in adolescents
The symptoms of depression can vary in severity, so never compare your child with another affected teenager or people in your family who have experienced depression. But in general, changes in your teen’s feelings and behavior may include the following :
- Irritable or annoying mood
- Loss of interest or pleasure in normally enjoyable activities
- Decreased self-esteem
- Frequent thoughts about death, suicide attempts
- A persistent feeling that life and the future are bleak
- Disruption in thinking, concentrating, making decisions, and remembering thin
- feel sad
- Irritable and frustrated
- The feeling of despair and emptinessgs
- Extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure and excessive need for reassurance
- Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
- Fixation on past failures or exaggerated self-blame or self-criticism
- Behavioral changes in adolescent depression
- Loss of interest or conflict with family and friends
Usually, teenagers are exposed to depression, and the following behavioral changes are observed in them :
- Indulge in alcohol or drug use
- Feeling tired and losing energy
- Insomnia or oversleeping
- Changes in appetite, decreased appetite and weight loss, or increased appetite and subsequent weight gain
- Slowed thinking, speaking, or body movements
- Restlessness, such as pacing, hand wringing, or an inability to sit still
- Avoiding society
- Frequent complaints of body aches, unexplained headaches
- Planning for suicide or attempted suicide
- Self-harm e.g. cutting, burning, or excessive body piercing or tattooing
- Less attention to personal hygiene or appearance
- Outbursts of anger, risky behavior, or other aggressive behavior
- Decreased performance in school or frequent absences from school
Ways to treat depression in teenagers
Depression is a kind of disease that affects many people today, and it doesn’t matter what age and condition the person is in, what is important is the treatment of this disease. Depression is very common in teenagers and children, and you should note that parents cannot cure this mental illness alone. The best way to treat this disease in teenagers is to see a doctor or a specialist consultant.
To treat depression in children and adolescents, a very important issue is “behavioral activation”, so programs are considered for adolescents and children to make them move, but it does not take much energy from them, such as encouraging them to Do something that we can accompany them to make them feel less alone and depressed.
Treatment of depression in teenagers
There are ways to treatment depression in teenagers, some of them are :
improving communication skills
Adolescents are sensitive to the judgments of those around them and constantly judge themselves from the eyes of other people, so they will feel better if they communicate with others. Adolescents become mentally preoccupied with their social relationships with others and fear Judging others, they try to stay away from social groups, and this factor makes them depressed.
Thinking about mistakes
Most of the time, these people judge themselves and stay away from dying for the fear of making a mistake, so they make fewer mistakes. Staying away from others makes them suffer from depression. To treat depression in teenagers, we need to help them learn new skills or take steps to create new and new relationships so that they stay away from judging and blaming others.
Finding poisonous thoughts
When teenagers suffer from depression, they always attribute their mistakes and wrong decisions to themselves and say to themselves, “I always make mistakes and…”. In some cases where the exam was difficult, they don’t say that the teacher made the exam difficult, but rather he says that I don’t have good intelligence and I couldn’t do well in the exam. We must say that it is these destructive thoughts that cause depression.
