What Is Teenage depression? And What As A Parent I Should Do
Teenage depression- probably the most critical and mishandled depression of all types. It’s different from child and adult depression, as it develops in age between childhood and adulthood, so the problems that lead to it are also quite confusing as they’re a mixture of both.
CAUSES:-
Our problems increase and intensify as we grow, and teenage is a phase where everyone just wants to be independent and are working towards it. They’re unsure of what future holds for them and whether or not they’re going to achieve their goals and succeed in life. At the same time, they start facing real-life problems and now have certain responsibilities to take care of. Hormonal changes are also on max and due to these changes, they face mood swings, impulsiveness, etc. They are in the most vulnerable phase of their life where any minor problem can have a big impact on them and they easily get worried about it. They aren’t necessarily happy entering this phase of life and are constantly looking for ways to make their life and have fun at the same time. They have a burden of not only fulfilling their parent’s expectations but their own as well.
Teenage depression exists in an alarming amount. It is because as they move towards independence, they often feel like they should no longer share their problems with their family and just handle them themselves. They keep their emotions to themselves and often act as if they are the emotionally strongest of all. And at a time like this, what they’d hate the most is seeking help from an elder.
SYMPTOMS:-
As the child shy away from asking help, it becomes the adult’s responsibility to keep a check on their kids and ensure that they’re not getting themselves into depression. It is really tough to differentiate between teen depression and normal ups and downs but talking to your child can help you determine.
The symptoms to watch out are:
- Feeling sad, frustrated or annoyed at most times
- Avoiding social events, people, and even family. Spending almost all the time in their room or away from home.
- Not caring about their personal hygiene and appearance
- Cooperating less with family and friends.
- Handling things in a very non-serious way, reckless
- Getting into trouble with school mates or authorities.
- Loss of interest in studies and other activities
- Loss of excessive hunger, or sleep
- Feeling worthless
WHAT YOU AS A PARENT CAN DO:-
Dealing with teen depression can turn out to be very difficult and has to be handled with tact as they’re already very sensitive and wanting to be independent. They are most likely to not welcome any interference of others in their decisions, and life. And surely feel that they do not need anyone’s suggestion. So you’ll have to be extra careful with them. Here are a few points on what you can do. - Take them to a psychiatrist if needed. They play an important role in treating depression as they are the experts and know the tactics better than anyone else.
- Tell them they’re precious to you and that they’ll always have your back no matter what. Take care of them and make them feel valuable and important.
- Try to talk to them yourself and have fun with them. Spend more time together and focus on doing the fun stuff more than talking about problems. When the child feels secure enough he’ll himself talk to you about it. Don’t overly ask him as he would withdraw and not tell. Have a friendly relationship with your teen.
- Keep an eye on your teen without letting him know. Be very careful in this step. It is important just to ensure that he’s safe and nothing else.
- Take him out on trips one on one. This will bring you and your teen close, feel loved, and you’ll both get time to talk things out. Be a listener during your time out.
- Tell your kids about your own teenage struggles and how you overcame them or how you embraced them and how they helped you mature and bloom. This will give your teens an idea of what to do in tough situations they’re going through and how to take it positively. Also tell them the importance of embracing change in life and, specifically, teenage.
- Get them to read about the struggles of successful people around the world. Their hardships and how they handled them and got up again will motivate your child to do better in life and stand up again, even better and even stronger.
