Depression in adolescents: 8 warning signs
The depression It is a disease that can be very serious, it is the biggest cause of mental suffering of people. Normally, we associate depression with adults, since we usually have an idealized image of childhood and adolescence, assuming these stages are alien to any problem or suffering.
However, adversity can happen in these stages, being also stages of great vulnerability, since they are individuals in development, who may not have the resources to face adverse situations. Adolescence is also a stage of great changes, physical, social, personal ... which becomes a great revolution and a tremendous emotional outbreak, which in some cases can lead to a depression in adolescents.
Adolescent depression
The depression is a serious illness that also affects teenagers. In Spain, 5% of adolescents suffer from this disease. Adolescence is a stage of great changes, which means the transition from childhood to adulthood. It is the stage in which personal identity and social role are reaffirmed, the foundations of self-esteem are developed, and interactions with peers that become more important are initiated.
For all these characteristics of the stage, adolescence becomes a particularly vulnerable period for those who suffer from depression. That is to say, the depression in adolescence can have important consequences in those who suffer it, determining the image that they form of themselves, the way of perceiving themselves and the emotions that they develop towards themselves, as well as their interaction patterns with others.
Depression is a serious disorder that can have dangerous consequences if it occurs in a stage of development and therefore greater vulnerability such as adolescence. It is therefore essential to pay special attention to possible warning signs and to contact a specialist as soon as possible.
8 warning signs of teen depression
What signs can indicate the existence of depression in adolescents? Adolescence is a stage of changes, where emotions can and often are on the surface, but we must not confuse the emotional outbursts of the stage with a more serious disorder. For this, we will analyze the warning signs:
1. Feeling of sadness, which remains and remains in time. Teenagers may have outbursts of sadness or bad humor, but these outbursts, although they are very intense, remit in a short time, sometimes just a few hours. However, when the feeling of sadness is constant, although less intense, we may have signs of depression.
2. Carelessness in the physical aspect and lack of hygiene. Adolescents tend to worry a lot about their physical appearance, apathy in this aspect is very characteristic.
3. He often spends his time listening to melancholic music, leyeing about tragic subjects and the little meaning of life, or writing about it.
4. They seem to get bored with everything, have very low energy and are very apathetic with everything. Adolescents tend to have an overwhelming energy and desire to eat the world, when this is not so, we can suspect that some kind of problem occurs.
5. Social isolation. They hardly have any friendships, and they seem to refuse outings, or social encounters. For adolescents, the peer group acquires a crucial importance, isolation is a very worrying alarm signal.
6. Low self-esteem. Depression is usually linked to low self-esteem.
7. Physical discomfort. Occasionally physical symptoms appear, such as headaches or stomach aches, dizziness, nausea, etc.
8. Lack of concentration and drop in school performance. A depressed adolescent usually presents bad grades due to low concentration, they also have memory problems and difficulty in making decisions. These symptoms translate into poorer academic results.
What should we do about adolescent depression?
Depression is an especially serious disease in these stages, that is why we must act as soon as possible and help them develop resources to deal with the disorder.
1. Go to a specialist if you observe warning signs to confirm or rule out the disease.
2. Show yourself understanding and patient with the teenager
3. Do not try to pressure him to change or stop being depressed, remember that it is not something that you have chosen, but maybe you do not have the resources to get out of the situation, let it be a specialist who takes care of it.
4. Give him opportunities to develop his self-esteem, and help him. Sometimes, without giving us accounts, we undermine their self-esteem. The first step is to accept them as they are.
5. Treat the disease naturally and do not make a drama of the situation, it could make the situation worse.
6. Educate with your example, pay attention to your moods and your strategies to face certain situations, remember that boys and girls usually imitate our patterns.
Celia Rodríguez Ruiz. Clinical health psychologist. Specialist in pedagogy and child and youth psychology. Director of Educa and Learn. Author of the collection Stimulate Reading and Writing Processes.
