Depression of Teens in High School and Younger Ages

Introduction

Entertainment Tonight, a television station, had reported recently that a TV superstar, Marie Osmond who was 18 years old and living in Los Angeles, committed suicide due to depression related problems. In his suicide note, he explained that he had fought with depression for long time and also gave his reasons for committing suicide. His parents explained that his cause of depression was related to their marriage problems. According to suicide.org in 2012, the reports revealed that a child committed suicide in every 100 minutes. In addition, the reports showed that suicide was the third cause of death among children aged between 15 and 24 years. In an estimate, 20 percent of children experienced depression at least during one time in their adolescent and some of them were at more risk of depression and committing suicide than others (Schwartz, 2014).The reports indicated that the depression symptoms varied across different children for many reasons. For instance, teen females were likely to experience depression faster than men. Young people who experience home problems such as divorce, or the death of their parents were likely to experience depression (Hart, 2008).

Depression may occur during the adolescent, when children are undergoing great personal changes. Children can experience depression when they are interacting with their peers in school, with their friends, when outside schools and when they are with their family members. Some of the problems children face that lead them to have depression include plans of what they would want to do in future, the kind of a person they would want to be, and they may be making those decisions for the first time. Many children who experience depression problems do not know where to get help. In fact, they do not know whether they could be suffering from the depression problems and as a result, they do not know where to go for mental health treatment, or they believe that the treatment may not help. Others do not get help at all because they think that depression is a part of the common stresses of life ant that it will pass. Some children worry that others may perceive them to be suffering from a mental health problem and that they should be taken to a mental hospital. All these problems have raised the question about what is the exact definition of depression. According to Mental Institute of Health, depression has been defined as a “common but serious illness that is typically marked by anxiety or sadness” (Schwartz, 2014). As such, most children occasionally experience sadness or anxiety but these emotions may pass quickly. Mostly, these emotions last for some few day but lack of treatment of depression can last for a long time and interfere with the children’s daily activities. Therefore, there is the need to identify these symptoms and the different types of depression and the possible interventions that can be used to children who could be suffering from depression.

Causes of Depression in Teens and Ways of treating them

There are various common warning signs of depression that can be used to identify children with the condition and provide the necessary treatment. Some of these warning signs include: sadness, anxiety, worthless, helpless, irritable, empty and guilty. Children that are suffering from depression may also experience loss o energy, loss of interest in activities they loved, problems concentrating and remembering in class, problems when eating, loss of appetite or eating too much. Children may also attempt to commit suicide, experiences, aches, cramps and digestive problems that do not stop. Depression in young children is also associated with other problems such as substance abuse and disruptive behavior (Schwartz, 2014).

Furthermore, there are different types of depression and which share some of the symptoms that have been mentioned above. One of the types of depression is known as major depressive disorder. Children experience this type of depression have problems when studying eating and sleeping. Children experience major depression can have only one episode in their lifetime; however, the symptoms of major depression occur repeatedly (Schwartz, 2014).

Another type of depression is known as Dysthymic disorder and which is also known as dysthymia. Dysthymia is mild and a chronic type of depression that lasts for two or more years. However, dysthymia is less severe than major depressive disorder but it disrupts the individual’s daily activities. Children with this type of depression can experience symptoms of major depression t one time in their lifetime.

Minor depression is another type of depression which shares the same symptoms as those of major depression and dysthymia. Symptoms of minor depression are less severe and usually last for a shorter time. However, if not treated, children with minor depression stand at higher chances of developing symptoms of major depressive disorder (Schwartz, 2014).

There are various factors that have been identified to cause depression in teens and young adults. There are people who carry genes that increase their likelihood of getting depression. However, not all people contain these genes; environmental and life experiences can also cause depression problems among the teens and younger ages. For instance, many school going children who suffer from depression problems is as a result of a number of stressful situations such as role identity and peer pressure.

Most of these children who suffer from depression may not know that they have such symptoms. As a result, there are common steps that can be followed to guide in identifying these problems. The first step involves talking to the children parents so that they can assist the children to see a doctor. The second step involves the doctor providing an exam to determine whether the children could be suffering from depression or other health related problems (Krucik, 2012). The third step involves giving out medications for reducing and reducing the symptoms of depression. Doctors may require information such as the “child’s symptoms, history of depression, the families’ history of depression, any thoughts of suicide and drugs uses and abuse” (Schwartz, 2014).

Once the doctor has obtained the information, they should provide early interventions since children suffering from depression may not only need help, but they can also be experiencing low energy and poor concentration, two factors that can affect their social life, as well as their academic performance. As such, teens suffering from depression are given antidepressants (Greener & Guest, 2005). Moreover, psychotherapy is the most effective form of treatment compared to medication since it involves taking mental health care of the patients. Psychotherapy can help children suffering from depression through: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)-facilitates positive thinking and behavior and, Interpersonal Therapy (IPT)-helps people to deal with problems that can worsen depression (Schwartz, 2014).

Conclusion

New efforts are underway to help high school children and teens who could be suffering from depression. Scientists are trying to come up with new ways of identifying and treating depression including early interventions. As a result, early detections and intervention have been considered not only to improve the children’s health, but also to help children to succeed academically.

References

Greener, M. J. & Guest, J. F. (2005). Do antidepressants reduce the burden imposed by depression on

employers? CNS Drugs,19(3), 253-264.

Hart, A. (2008). Is your teen stressed or depressed?: A practical and inspirational guide for

parents of hurting teenagers. New York, NY: Thomas Nelson Inc

Krucik, G. (2012). Teenage Depression: Statistics, Treatments, Symptoms, & Diagnosis.

Healthline. Retrievd from: http://www.healthline.com/health/depression/teenage-depression

Schwartz, T.P. (2014). Depression: The ultimate teen guide. London: Scarecrow Press

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