Depression affects teens

Many parents and teachers miss the fact that a teen is depressed. They often view behaviours as typical adolescent angst or melodrama. However, depression occurs commonly and should be correctly diagnosed and treated.

“There is no question that depression affects teens more than younger children, in fact, it’s probably one of the most dramatic changes in the pattern of depression across a life span …  So this is one of the reasons why this is such an important period of life for understanding depression…  And for many people that don’t have problems with depression over their lifetime, adolescence is the first time it presents itself as a serious problem”. Professor Nick Allen, The School of Psychological Sciences , the University of Melbourne.

The numbers speak for themselves:

Around 160,000 Australians aged between 16 and 24 live with depression each year. Although alarming in size, the reality of this figure is illustrated by a recent study, indicating that 1 in 12 Australian adolescents self-harm.

The causes of adolescent depression were studied by Professor Allen. He acknowledges that genetics, family history and stressful events all “feed into the risk machine” for the development of depression.

However, Professor Allen  emphasises that “families are a very important part of the picture.”

This is helpful information because it means that parents can exert a positive influence on their teenager’s mental health and help their teens if they do become depressed.

Moving forward, it is vital that you look out for signs of depression in your child or student. Common signs are:

• Weight gain or loss
• Change in sleeping habits. The most common is sleeping all day and being up all night
• Loss of interest in appearance
• Lack of energy
• No enjoyment of daily life

Reading through the symptoms, you can see how easy it is to view these behaviours as typical teenager antics. However, there is a qualitative difference. If you are not sure, seek expert guidance.

Are you overlooking a depressed teen in your midst?

Renee Mill has written 311 articles on this blog.

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