Axyz  Lucena

Depression  in  teens
     
 Sometimes  people  feel  sad  or  maybe  get  the  feeling  that  they  have  no  energy  for  anything,  but that  doesn't  necessarily  mean  that  you  are  “depressed”.  Depression  is  more  than  the  feeling  of being  sad  or  feeling  the  “blues”. In  fact  it  is  more  than  just  a  sad  feeling  especially  in  teenagers. Although  not  everyone  shows  symptoms  of  depression  and  not  everyone  reacts  the  same, it  is very  important  to  be  aware  of  this  illness.
   
 Teenagers  often  get  misunderstood  because  of  certain  behaviors such  as  being  “a  troubled  child”  or “reckless”.  Little  do  people  know  is  that  many  adolescents  who  react  in  aggressive  behaviors, have  problems  at  school,  run  away,  or  are  violent  have  depression  although  some  don’t  even make  a  peep according to Raising Troubled Kids.  Not  everybody  reacts  to  depression  the  same  way.    Most  don’t  even  have symptoms  of  depression.

Depressed  teenagers  should  be  taken  seriously  when  they  think about  or  speak  of  making  suicide  attempts,  because  an  alarming  and  increasing  number  of teenagers  have  made successful suicide attempts.
   

 Depression  is  a  sadness  or  downing  of  moods,  a  reflection  of  life  struggles,  setbacks  and disappointments.  Although  depression  infers  sadness  it  is  more  than  just  a  sad  feeling. In  fact some people do not show any  signs  of  depression  as well as teenagers.  Depression  is caused by the blockage of a serotonin, which is a calming brain chemical known as a neurotransmitter. It's also thought that the neurotransmitter norepinephrine may be involved in depression according to Depression Health Center. Neurotransmitters  are  the chemicals  brain  cells  use  to  communicate according to Pearls Causes And Effects Of Depression . If the brain cells do not have enough norepinephrine and serotonin then this could lead to depression.


Depression  can  occur  in  children  of  all  ages,  although adolescents  have  the  highest  risk.  Women  also  have  a  higher  risk  also  after  having  a  baby.  other ways  that  can  trigger  depression  is  having  depressed  parents,  early  negative  experience, neglect, and abuse. Depression  is  a  condition  that  reportedly  affects  1  out  of  10  Americans, although  the  number  of  patients  diagnosed  with  depression  increased  approximately  20%  per year (http://www.healthline.com/health/depression/statistics).  Healthline.com also notes, sadly  over  80%  of  patients  diagnosed  with  depression  are  not  receiving  treatment.  A New york Times article titled "Depression in Depth Report" claimed, teens in  the  ages  of  18  through  24,  8%  suffer  from  depression  and  3-­5%  of  adolescents  suffer  from clinical  depression  but  only  10-­15%  actually  have  depressive  symptoms. The more we lack knowledge or interest in the statistics about depression, especially teenage depression,the greater the chance of these numbers to increase.

 We  should aid  those  with  depression and encourage them to seek help, because  I  believe  that depression  is not  an  easy  thing  to  go  through.  Depression  although  it’s  not  a  disease  should  be  taken  serious and  you  should  never  hesitate  to  speak  up  about  it.

There  are  many  people/places  who  are  more than  happy  to  help  and  support  young  adults  to  maintain  a  healthy  life.  It  can  be  a  neighbor,  close friend,  teacher,  doctor,  therapist,  or  maybe  your  local  mailman. There are many places where teens battling with depression can seek help, for example, they could call 1-800-273-TALK in the U.S. to speak in confidence to someone who can understand (helpguide.org). They could also call a free and confidential number 1800-999-9999 to speak with someone with questions they may have about depression, especially if they are unsure whether or not they suffer from it (helpguide.org). Teenagers if feeling like they might commit suicide can also call a suicide hotline like, the national hope line network 1-800-SUICIDE or the youth line at 1-877-YOUTHLINE to speak to trained people (suicidehotlines.com). Talking  is  always  good  although there  may  be  people  like  me  who  don’t  necessarily  like  sharing  their  problems.  It is a  good  feeling  to  let  things  out  regardless  of  how  long  it  takes  you  to  say  what's  on  your mind.  This  article  is  intended  to  raise  awareness  and  support  our  youth/or  anyone  really  who  is feeling  “blue”. I suggest to any teen who is feeling depressed or may think that they are depressed to smile,  smiling  is  a  beautiful thing  and  its  warming  to  the  heart and remember time heals all.


References:
http://www.raisingtroubledkids.com/category/parenting/teenagers/
http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/causes-depression
http://www.pearlsprogram.org/Our-Program/About-Depression/Causes-and-Effects-of-Depression.aspx
http://www.healthline.com/health/depression/statistics
http://www.nytimes.com/health/guides/symptoms/depression/print.html
http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_teen_teenagers.htm
http://suicidehotlines.com/newyork.html