What Is Teenage Depression Essay

Depression in Teenagers

Depression in teenagers is a very serious condition. Many are thought to be attention seekers, moody or just going through a phase typical of the age, yet, each year the amount of teenagers committing suicide is alarming. Suicide is actually the third leading cause of death in people between the ages of 10 and 24 years old at a rate of approximately 4,600 deaths a year (Pappas, 2016). More teenagers die from committing suicide than from car accidents, cancer, heart disease, stroke, pneumonia, AIDS and influenza combined.
The American Psychiatric Association (2016) defines depression as a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act. Many people associate

Studies show that up to nine percent of teenagers meet criteria for depression at any one time, with as many as one in five teens having a history of depression at some point during adolescence (Cheung et al., 2007). Symptoms in adolescents can manifest differently than in adults due to the physical and social challenges that teenagers encounter. Some of the challenges that teenagers encounter that might lead to depression are peer pressure, changes due to developing bodies, changing hormone levels, peer pressure and sports among others. These challenges present in a teenager’s life can cause high levels of stress and anxiety that affect the teenager’s life in different areas such as school, work, family and their personal, social and family lives. Due to the challenges confronted when living with depression, it is completely necessary to seek professional help once symptoms

Major depression in teenagers can be caused by biological issues, traumatic events or learned patterns (Bhatia & Bhatia, 2007). Biological issues that may cause depression in a teenager are caused by differences in the brain where neurotransmitters affect the ability of brain cell communication, therefore, affecting their mood and their behavior. Hormones also play an important role in mood disorders that may lead to depression as well as inherited traits of depression from blood relatives. Traumatic events in early childhood is also a known cause for depression in teenagers due to the fact that children have poor ability to cope with stressful situations such as physical, sexual or emotional abuse which may contribute to depression later on in life. Teenagers can also have episodes of depression by learning patterns of negative thinking from those closest to them instead of learning to find solutions to the challenges they encounter in