Teen Depression
Imagine yourself with no one who understands you, and being isolated from the world. All the sunny days disappeared and are replaced by black dreary clouds hovering over you. Everybody starts questioning you for the dull words you say about life. They all talk about you, and you never did anything to deserve whatever it is they are saying. There is a story behind your sadness, but then you question yourself if it is really important to talk about? Depression is a mental illness caused by the negative impact at home, school or anywhere. Depression can lead to suicide, pills, or he or she receives verbal treatment. Friends and family can help by taking the depressed person out of this black hole and encourage him or her to look at life in a positive way.
Statistics and Causes of Depression
As of 2011, 28.5% of teens were depressed and 15.8% considered suicide (King NP). However, the percentage dropped down from 2011 when the first recorded data was taken (NP). Some new data shown in late 2015, 1 in 5 teens have depression and 2 in 15 of depressive teens commit suicide (Friedman NP). Another report was taken based on survey data from a nationally representative sample of more than 17,000 people aged between 12 and 17 that have met the depression criteria:
“Nearly three-quarters of the teens meeting the criteria reported severe impairment in a key area of their lives, such as school, social life, or relationships with family members. Girls were three times as likely as boys to have had a depressive episode–17.3 percent vs. 5.7 percent. Biological differences and societal pressures may play a role in this, Blau said, as might a greater tendency among girls to discuss feelings”( Albernaz NP).
On the other hand, 41.2% of those teens have received treatment, whether it’s taking pills or talking to a therapist (Albernaz NP). Depression has taken over the world of teenagers and less than 50% of teens get help. What can be some reasons for their distress?
One of the major places most teens can get depressed is in school. Seven hours of school, homework, sports practice, weekend assignments, and tournaments are stressful because everything is seen as a step forward to get into a good college, to get a good job, and to get a great start in life (Abeles NP). Also, social belonging, which is fitting in socially and fearing not to stand out, is an enormous pressure, especially intoday’s time where everybody is under the pressure of being perfect (Albernaz NP). This kind of stress occurs in other countries as well. In India, the medical board exams are really tough. If they fail, then they do not get admission in the college. Some students are so busy studying that they don’t eat or sleep. Around 10% of the students get depressed with the thoughts of failing, and 5% of those students commit suicide thinking it is too much pressure (Lakshmi NP). Although teachers try to help calm many of the students with advice, many still get scared knowing it will start or finish his/her career (NP). Many schools should have prevention and intervention programs that teach skills to help lessen the risk of depression, especially suicide, and teachers should also attend to learn the warning signs for their own students (King NP). Having programs like these will really help give a more secure and supportive environment for students. In fact, in St. Louis Medical School, medical board scores have gone up since the stress reduction strategy started (Abeles NP). School definitely adds pressure on a lot of students, and some do not even know how to handle the pressure to excel.
All the pressure at school carries over to home. When students get home, they may stress about homework. It may take students in high school about three hours to do their homework, which gives them less free time. He or she may go to sleep early and wake up early in order to get ready for school. The more homework he or she may have, the less he or she sleeps (Abeles NP). According to “Workaholic Students” by Vicki Abeles, most students get two hours less sleep than recommended (NP). School really takes away personal time for students due to major assessments and all of the work that is piled on their shoulders. However, even being home can be depressive to many children. They tend to mentally replay negative experiences over and over again; since he or she is stuck on the negative side, he or she misses the positive aspects of life (Roth NP). He or she will miss the sunshine trying to break through the dreary clouds.
How family and friends help
As some teens grow older, they can grow apart from parents. There are a variety of ways families can help a teen in their own family suffering from depression. One way parents can help is by noticing if there are any behavioral change in their adolescent. Instead of thinking “this is just a phase,” or “they will get over it,” take action. Do not let it pass, check in and say you have noticed the change in him/her no matter how uncomfortable it is, you may have just given them the importance they needed (Albernaz NP). A connection is something that everyone feels to at least one person. What if you did not have a connection to anyone at all? Wouldn’t that make you upset? Having a connection can make anyone feel socially acceptable to others. Family connectedness establishes caring relationships between parents and child (King NP). School connectedness sets a supportive relationship between student and teachers along with their peers (NP). Finally, community connectedness will make a person feel connected to the community, neighbors, and what’s going on in his/her community (NP). All these factors are components missing in a teen’s life to make he/she connected to someone and have a support system when needed.
“Working together, parents, educators and students can make small but important changes instituting everyday homework limit, adding advisory periods for student support, and checking in by parents to see the growth of their child. It can also provide student opportunities to show their growth in creative ways beyond conventional tests (Abeles NP).”
Having resources around a teens’ environment can really help make them feel that there is a support system whether it is at home or at school. In addition, good friends and influences can really affect the chance of depression. Having friends who are always in a good mood can halve the chances of a teen getting depression (“Good Mood Infectious Among Teens…” NP). Even if a teen gets medical help the follow up appointment fall and they do not take the prescribed medicine they are supposed to (“Many Depressed Teens”… NP).
There are many ways we as family, friends, and community can help with a teen suffering from depression. Some people just see them as outcasts, but it is a serious problem in the teen community. At such a delicate time, teens are trying to figure themselves out and who they are on this Earth. It is a very dark time and the pressure from home, school, and people can make anyone question their self-esteem. Families and friends need to know what’s going on in the person’s life to see if there are any symptoms of depression or any kind of illness. Depression is taken very lightly, but it can lead to suicide, overdose of pills, and the death of the person inside.