Today’s teenagers are faced with the ever changing world around them and the biological changes of their bodies. Many teens are also faced with depression. Approximately half of teenagers with untreated depression may attempt suicide, which remains the third leading cause of death in this age group. (Bostic). This depression affects their school, family lives, and robs them of their self image. Depression affects many teens and often goes by unnoticed and untreated. What is depression? Depression is the most common of all psychological disorders, affecting 100 million people worldwide. The depression ranges from mild feelings of uneasiness, sadness, and apathy to intense suicidal despair. (Kasschau) If left untreated, it could lead the …show more content…
What causes depression? The main cause of depression is stress. Some teens stress over trying to achieve academic success, while others might stress about their family and home life. Bullying can also be a major cause of depression. Being bullied or teased will cause their self-esteem to lower and inflict a feeling of being inferior to others. Other causes or depression could be problems in their personal life such as break ups or fights with friends. The maximum amount of mental, physical, and emotional distress one can experiences to become depressed can vary from person to person. How does it affect their school performance? Two of the more common symptoms of depression are lack of focus, and an inability to concentrate for extended periods of time (Martin). This can cause a drop in ones grades and decrease participation in group projects or presentations. For some, their depression could be bad enough to where it is hard for them to get out of bed to go to school, causing more absences. Some may get themselves in to trouble more often. Depression can also make them isolate themselves from other students and teachers. As a teen said in an interview, “I used to be an excellent student, always got 100’s. I got depression, and they all went down. I was so distracted. I was so confused. I wanted to rebel. I felt horrible.”
Depression can destroy the essence of a teen’s personality, which can cause an overwhelming sense of sadness, anger, and despair. Depression is a serious problem that impacts every aspect of a person’s life. Signs and symptoms of depression can include sadness and hopelessness; irritability, anger, hostility; frequent crying; withdrawal from friends and family; a loss of interest in activities; changes in eating and sleeping habits; restlessness and aggravation;
Depression is a health condition that can affect a person emotionally and physically. Untreated, depression can even lead to suicide, which is the third-leading cause of death among people under the age of 18 (“Antidepressant Drugs” 1). Depression
Causes of depression vary from reasons such as a recent death or loss, family conflict or divorce, financial difficulties, major life transitions and other stressors that may contribute to a depressive episode.
Even though the discussion about mental health has become more common, teenage mental health is often left neglected. 37 percent of students 14 and older drop out of school because of mental illnesses like depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, and the number continues to grow (“Mental Health by the Numbers”). Untreated mental illness in teens can be particularly debilitating because of the added stress from family life, school, work, and the pressure of adolescence. Teenage brains are still learning and developing, yet some are suffering so much that they commit suicide, the third most common cause of death in young adults (“Suicide”).
The causes behind depression are complex and not yet fully understood. Many times, it is not triggered by a single factor, it is a combination of many things, such as genetic vulnerability, certain forms of stress or changes in the brain. The latest research is now suggesting that it is also hereditary. The people with major depression in their immediate family are up to three times more vulnerable to have the disorder, but still the environment may often trigger the disorder. Another factor in causing depression is external stresses or significant life changes, such as death of a loved one, divorce, miscarriage and losing a
Only in the past two decades has depression in adolescents been taken seriously. Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood and thoughts. It affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. Therefore it comes to no surprise to discover that adolescent depression is strongly linked to teen suicide. Adolescent suicide is now responsible for more deaths in youths aged 15 to 19 than cardiovascular disease or cancer (Blackman, 1995). Despite this alarming increased suicide rate, depression in this age group is greatly under diagnosed and can lead to serious difficulties in school, work, and
Depression is the most widespread mental illness in today’s society. Studies have found that, 1 out of 8 teens are affected with this disease. It also predominantly affects young ladies than it does males. (www.kidshealth.org). Teens are at a position in their lives when they must face significant transition and peer pressures. They are trying to identify with themselves and trying to figure out where there puzzle piece fits in society, all of which can show the way to behavioral and emotional changes. This is also a stage when families suffer from poor communication: teenagers often tend to keep their feelings and concerns to themselves away from their parents and other authority figures. Therefore, identifying depression in teenagers
Everyday, teenagers have a routine. They usually get up, go to school, and come home. Each of these activities are filled with many complex issues, stress related problems, and pressure. These issues can lead to depression. Every 1 teenager out of 5 will develop a type of depression (Jones 1). “Adolescent depression is a disease that affects the psyche in a way that the person affected with it will act and react abnormally toward others and themselves” (Blackman 2). About 19 million Americans are diagnosed with some sort of depression. 9 million of them are adolescents (Jones 1). Suicide is affiliated with depression greatly. 15% of all adolescents who are diagnosed with depression commit suicide (Jones 1). “Since 1995, suicide is
Depression is something that can cause an individual’s life to change drastically. It is a mental illness that needs to be taken seriously and have active actions throughout the process of becoming better. People may see depression as an illness that does not need much attention, or is nothing to worry about, but that is when they are wrong. Depression has many warning signs that need to be looked for and noticed carefully since they can be very hard to determine. Teen depression changes the daily lives of individuals and the people around them who are suffering. Depression is also one of the major reasons why the suicide rate is high. Depression is the cause of over two-thirds of the 30,000 reported suicides in the U.S. each year. (White House Conference on Mental Health, 1999). Untreated depression is the number one risk for suicide among youth. Suicide is the third leading cause of death in 15 to 24 year olds and the fourth leading cause of death in 10 to 14 year olds. Young males age 15 to 24 are at highest risk for suicide, with a ratio of males to females at 7:1. (American Association of Suicidology, 1996). Depression is a very serious illness that needs to be brought to everyone’s
Depression is something that I really have had no experience with in my life. Personally, I might have thought about killing myself figuratively at one specific point in my life. I thought about what the consequences would be and how it would effect the people who surround me in my life. As soon as these thoughts raced through my mind, I quickly realized that suicide is the wrong way to deal with life. I know that depression plays an essential role when dealing with suicide. There are three main depressive orders: Major Depressive Disorder, Dysthymia, and Bipolar Disorder.
Only in the past two decades, have depression and suicide been taken seriously. Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood and thoughts. Depression affects the way a person eats and sleeps, feels about themselves, and the way they think of the things around them. It comes as no surprise to discover that adolescent depression is strongly linked to teen suicide. Adolescent suicide is now responsible for more deaths in youths aged 15 to 19 than cardiovascular disease or cancer (Blackman, 1995). Teen suicide has more than tripled since the 1960's (Santrock, 2003). Despite this alarming increased suicide rate, depression in this age group is largely under-diagnosed and can lead to serious difficulties in school,
There are many causes of depression and there 's a low amount of people aware of teen depression, which creates a serious matter in the world. Teens are under many of pressure to succeed in school. Stressing over classes, grades and tests can cause someone to be depressed, especially if they are struggling. Fifteen point eight percent of teens have considered suicide, within the past year,due to their major depression going unnoticed. Deaths, illnesses, rejection, relationship issues, and disappointment present passages down the negative path of teen depression. Depression is a mental disorder that involves being either bitter or irritable nearly all the time, or losing interest or enjoyment in almost every
Depression affects everyone's life at sometime or another. Depression comes in a wide variety of forms, from mild unhappiness to a chemical imbalance in the mind. There are many different symptoms that reveal a person's problem with depression. If left untreated, depression may continue to develop into a serious illness or even death.
Perhaps no subject in the contemporary society is as controversial as teenage depression. As we know, people express themselves through their feelings and behaviors. Unfortunately, some people cannot either express their emotion or communicate with others, which leads to depression. It is a mounting problem in today’s society and is often a major factor causing most adolescents’ psychological problems. Teenage depression can change and even threaten their life. Therefore, we should have knowledge to solve and prevent this problem.
Teen depression is a serious condition causing persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in activities. It affects a teenager’s way of thinking , feelings and behaviour, and it can cause emotional, functional and physical problems. Although depression can occur at any time in life, symptoms may be different between teens and adults.