A famous author John Green said, “Whenever you read a cancer booklet or website or whatever they list depression among the side effects of cancer. But, in fact, depression is not a side effect of cancer. Depression is a side effect of death (“The Only Thing Worse”).” Occasional bad moods or acting out is to be expected, but depression is something different. Depression can destroy the very essence of a teenager’s personality, causing an overwhelming sense of sadness, despair, or anger (“A Guide for Parents”). The depression rate in the teen’s generation is rising every day. Teenage depression is not just bad moods and occasional melancholy; it’s a serious problem that impacts every aspect of a teen’s life (“A Guide for Parents”). To better understand why teens are depressed, it would help to know the causes of depression, such as, trauma, life experiences, and social anxiety or peer pressure. Trauma’s can definitely scare someone for a lifetime, but it can also give them depression. The traumatic events during childhood, such as, physical or emotional abuse, and the loss of a parent, may cause changes in the brain that makes a person more susceptible to depression (“Teen Depression”). Physical and emotional abuse is a main cause of trauma because the teen will not be able to trust anyone. Adolescence can be a very turbulent and difficult time, even for the well-adjusted teen. Teenagers with depression can have far-reaching implications, when young people suffer from or with emotional difficulties they aren’t sure how to manage (“10 Common Causes”). A physical abuse from a loved one or relationship has a lot of impact on a teen’s life. In the aftermath of traumatic events that a teen has gone through the teen can become depressed ... ... middle of paper ... ... might need to know the causes, for instance, trauma, life experiences, and social anxiety or peer pressure. The causes are important because as a society, the society itself needs to take notice and try to stop the depression in teenagers. Society and this generation must take notice on the anxiety, peer pressure, cyber- bullying, and traumas to help stop the causes from happening; also to greatly improve the depression rates in teenage boys and girls. Works Cited "10 Common Causes of Teenage Depression." N.p., n.d. Web. 20 Feb. 2014. Aguirre, Blaise A. Depression. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2008. Print. "Diseases and Conditions." -. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Mar. 2014. ""The Only Thing Worse than a Boy Who Hates You: A Boy That Loves You."" Popular Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. "Teen Depression: A Guide for Parents." Helpguide.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Feb. 2014
1.When a youth goes through suffering (ex. domestic violence, abusive relationships, etc.), numerous complications emerge throughout their development. They may be consumed by irritability, suspicion, and trust issues and have behavioural patterns, including paranoia, dishonesty, and impulsive behaviour. Others develop personality disorders similar to PTSD. The long-term effects of child abuse are also shown through the movie character Will Hunting who suffered child abuse in foster care and now is an impulsive man who refuses to reach out for help. Although, there are exceptions for negative development in those who have experienced childhood trauma.
People constantly overlook the severity of depression, more importantly, major teen depression, which presents a legitimate obstacle in society. The intensity of teen depression results from society’s general lack of acknowledgement of the rising affair. In 2012, “28.5% of teens were depressed” and 15.8% of teens contemplated the option of suicide (Vidourek 1 par. 1), due to their major depression going unnoticed or untreated for. Even teenagers themselves often ignore their depression or remain in denial because neither them nor anyone else recognizes the signs. “A sudden change in behavior is a main sign of someone being depressed, which could lead to having suicidal thoughts,” stated Pam Farkas, a clinical social worker in California (Aguilar 1 par. 8). The warning signs and risk factors of teen depression include behavioral issues, social withdrawal, and inadequate interest in activities (Adolescents and Clinical Depression 2 par. 3), yet the unawareness of these signs does not allow professional medical attention to intercede. Deaths, illnesses, rejection, relationship issues, and disappointment present passages down the negative path of teen depression, but treatments, such as psychotherapy, intervention programs, and antidepressants express ways to subdue this major problem. Knowledge of the increasing dilemma needs to circulate, in order to promote stable teen lives in the present and future world. Understanding major teen depression, the events and incidents that lead to depression, and how to overcome the problem will lead to a decrease in major teen depression and its growing issue in society.
Teenage Depression. Everywhere you look these two words appear together as one, in newspapers and magazines, as well as in scholarly reports. Teenage depression is one of today's "hot topics" this among other teenage mental health problems, has been brought to the forefront of public consciousness in recent years after several incidents involving school shootings (CQ 595). The environment that teens grow up in today is less supportive and more demanding than it was twenty years ago. Not only are the numbers of depressed teens rising, but children are also being diagnosed at younger and younger ages. Studies have found that, "There is an estimated 1.5-3 million American children and adolescents who suffer from depression, a condition unrecognized in children until about 20 years ago" (CQR 595). This increase in depression is due to social factors that teenagers have to deal with everyday. A recent study found that, "About five percent of teenagers have major depression at any one time. Depression can be very impairing, not only for the affected teen, but also for his or her family-and too often, if not addressed, depression can lead to substance abuse or more tragic events" (NAMI.org). Gender roles and other societal factors including the pressures on girls to look and act a certain way, the pressures on boys to suppress their emotions and put on a tough front and the pressures on both sexes to do well in school and succeed, all contribute to depression in teens today. Depression is a growing problem which crosses gender lines and one that needs to be dealt with with more than just medication.
Childhood Trauma is defined as “The experience of an event by a child that is emotionally painful or distressful, which often results in lasting mental and physical effects.” (The National Institute of Mental Health). Childhood trauma is an epidemic that seems to be running its way throughout the world. Childhood trauma is a worldwide problem that can affect anyone and everyone. People tend to just try and help the problems that occur due to the childhood trauma, but not the problem itself. Many of these issues will also follow the child into their adult years and will cause negative effects. This paper will discuss the negative outcomes for a child who suffers from childhood trauma, and the negative outcomes that can follow them into adulthood.
Young adults, they’re known to be moody or very emotional due to the experience of puberty or maturing. Emotions seem to run wild and to most parents, this is a common and normal phase for their children. Almost every adult would look at an overly upset teenager, and simply write it off as “teenage angst.” Which is why depression, self-harm, and suicides involving teenagers have become such a drastic social issue. It is easy to ignore and simply pass off as mood swings until the child has taken more drastic measures such as attempting suicide, committing suicide, or harming themselves physically. Last recorded in 2011, suicide was the third leading cause of teenage death (CDC). Parents, teachers, and even teenage peers need to know more about the signs and real causes of self-harm, suicide, and depression.
Have you ever felt that you’re living with no purpose in life, or even worse, the sensation of isolation and loneliness? For instance, imagine that you are colorblind; nevertheless, people are constantly telling you and reminding you of how colorful the world is. Similarly, this is how dreadful depression feels like; it can emotionally drain you, break you, and kill you. About 3.4 million teenagers have at least one major depressive episode annually, and studies have shown that the number keeps on increasing periodically. Teenage depression is caused primarily by getting bullied or abused; hence, developing the feeling of loneliness and isolation in the teenager as well as referring to radical methods to forget the emotional pain: suicide, drugs, or intoxicating drinks.
It is unknown to many that mental health issues can be “caused by biology, environment, or a mix of both,” and that, “ at least one in ten—as many as six million young people—may have a ‘serious emotional disturbance’” (Source C). There is very little education for the general public, especially for young people, which leads to inaccurate self diagnosis. Even until recently, it was a common belief that children and adolescents could not suffer from major depression, but experts have proved that depression disorders and other mood disorders can affect any one of any age, and now, especially, it is “being recognized more and more in young people” (Source C). Once again, this augmentation of cases being seen and treated among adolescents is disquieting, and it should be encouraging people to try to solve and help those who suffer from mental
According to the American Psychological Association, trauma is an emotional response to a terrible event. Some terrible events that happen all too often are rape, natural disasters or an accident. Immediately following the event shock and denial are likely to occur, but in the long-term flashbacks, unpredictable emotions and troubled relationships can arise. Defining emotional trauma on a child. Emotional trauma in a child can be created by bullying, emotional abuse, death of loved ones, separation from parent, or chaos and dysfunction in the household. Child symptoms of trauma can be very similar to depression symptoms. They can over sleep or sleep to little, unexplained anger, trouble focusing, obsessive worrying and some anxiety. How a child experiences an event and how it’s handled by those around him have an effect on how traumatizing it can be, notes Dr. Jerry Bubrick (Child Mind Institute , 2017). People grieve at different speeds and the way the child grieves is not the correct indicator on how the child will cope later. Defining physical trauma on a child. Physical trauma on a child is considered non-accidental or the cause of physical injury. Some households that suffer from alcoholism/substance abuse and anger issues have higher occurrences of child abuse as compared to households without according to psychology today. Sometimes kids that are abused are unaware that they are being abused and are victims of child
Depression and other mental disorders affect a teenagers life drastically. Having a mental disorder like depression, anxiety, PTSD, or OCD can greatly affect an adolescents life; OCD and PTSD are two different types of anxiety, there are other types of anxiety that come in certain phobias like social phobia(Social phobia and social anxiety are the same thing just with different names) or agoraphobia. These mental disorders can greatly affect an adolescents life and how they live it. There are many more mental disorders most worst than ocd or anxiety, some not as worse. People who have these mental disorders usually act out different than someone else with the same disorder would, or they might have it worse than someone else in the world. Depression
A lot has changed in the past decade. Due to systematic followup studies of children under treatment, and depressed parents, the onset of depression occurs during adolescence, and must be treated during adolescence (Weissman 210). Depression has a wide range of symptoms, from being sad or mad to withdrawal from others, or lashing out at others. Symptoms of youth depression are often masked. Instead of expressing sadness, teenagers may express boredom and irritability, or may choose to engage in risky behaviors. Other emotional problems make it hard to recognize depression in a child, but usually overlap with depression.
Why do so many teens go into a depression? There are multiple reasons for why a teen might become depressed. Teens can develop feelings of worthlessness when they can't express themselves as much as they wish to. Also, problems at school like too much work or problems with peers are some basic reasons.
One of the most obvious and damaging results of child abuse is death; however, research illustrating the effects on a growing child who has been abused has demonstrated many other lifelong negative factors (Felitti, Anda, Nordenberg, Williamson, Spitz, Edwards, Koss, Marks, 1998). In consonance children who suffer from abuse can show signs of depression, social withdraw, and even violent behavior. As a child grows older, they may suffer from poor physical health, such as high blood pressure, obesity, stress, and psychological disorders and disabilities (Herronkohl, T., Hong, Klika, and Herronkohl, R., 2013). Child abuse and neglect have also been associated with depression, anger disorders, and post-traumatic
Some psychological disorders can appear during adolescence like depression and anxiety unless parents or family support them. Society can help adolescents during this turbulent time of growth by creating some programs in the schools for all teenagers who do not have support. Even those who have support like family or friends need to know they have someone else they can go talk to and be able express themselves. Adolescent years are very difficult and teenagers need lots of support.
Empfield, M., Bakalar, N. (2001). Understanding Teenage Depression: A Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment and Management, Holt Paperbacks, New York.
Conclusively, teenage depression is a chronic problem in the life of teenagers, which should be properly handled. When signs of this are seen in teenagers, adequate steps should be taken, in order to ensure their safety and restore their mental strength.