• Teen depression is a serious mental health problem that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in activities.
• It affects how your teenager thinks, feels and behaves,
• 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.
• Reasons such as peer pressure, academic expectations and changing bodies can bring a lot of ups and downs for teens.
• But for some teens, the lows are more than just temporary feelings — they’re a symptom of depression.
• Teen depression isn’t a weakness or something that can be overcome with willpower
• it can have serious consequences and requires long-term treatment.
• For most teens, depression symptoms ease with homeopathic treatment along with psychological counselling.
• How to recognize teen depression signs and symptoms include a change from the teenager’s previous attitude and behavior that can cause significant distress and problems at school or home, in social activities, or in other areas of life.
• Depression symptoms can vary in severity, but changes in your teen’s emotions and behavior may include…

Emotional changes

• Feelings of sadness, which can include crying spells for no apparent reason
• Frustration or feelings of anger, even over small matters
• Feeling hopeless or empty
• Irritable or annoyed mood
• Loss of interest or pleasure in usual activities
• Loss of interest in, or conflict with, family and friends
• Low self-esteem
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
• Fixation on past failures or exaggerated self-blame or self-criticism
• Extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure, and the need for excessive reassurance
• Trouble thinking, concentrating, making decisions and remembering things
• On-going sense that life and the future are grim and bleak
• Frequent thoughts of death, dying or suicide
• Tiredness and loss of energy
• Insomnia or sleeping too much
• Changes in appetite — decreased appetite and weight loss, or increased cravings for food and weight gain
• Use of alcohol or drugs

WATCH FOR BEHAVIOR CHANGES!

1. Agitation or restlessness — for example, pacing, hand-wringing or an inability to sit still
2. Slowed thinking, speaking or body movements
3. Frequent complaints of unexplained body aches and headaches, which may include frequent visits to the school nurse
4. Social isolation
5. Poor school performance or frequent absences from school
6. Less attention to personal hygiene or appearance
7. Angry outbursts, disruptive or risky behavior, or other acting-out behaviors
8. Self-harm — for example, cutting, burning, or excessive piercing or tattooing
9. Making a suicide plan or a suicide attempt
10. What’s normal and what’s not
11. It can be difficult to tell the difference between ups and downs that are just part of being a teenager and teen depression.
12. Talk with your teen.
13. Try to determine whether he or she seems capable of managing challenging feelings, or if life seems overwhelming.

When to see a doctor.

1. If depression signs and symptoms continue, begin to interfere in your teen’s life,
2. Talk to a doctor (Homeopathic works very well in such problems) or a mental health professional trained to work with adolescents.
3. Depression symptoms likely won’t get better on their own — and they may get worse or lead to other problems if untreated.
4. Depressed teenagers may be at risk of suicide, even if signs and symptoms don’t appear to be severe
5. If you’re a teen and you think you may be depressed — or you have a friend who may be depressed — don’t wait to get help.
6. Share your concerns with the parents, a close friend, a spiritual healer, a teacher or someone else you trust.
7. Seek help from your primary care doctor or other health care provider.
8. Reach out to a close friend or loved one.
9. If a loved one or friend is in danger of attempting suicide or has made an attempt:
10. Make sure someone stays with that person.
11. Causes
12. It’s not known exactly what causes depression, but a variety of issues may be involved
13. Brain chemistry. Neurotransmitters are naturally occurring brain chemicals that carry signals to other parts of your brain and body.
14. When these chemicals are abnormal or impaired, the function of nerve receptors and nerve systems changes, leading to depression.
15. Hormones. Changes in the body’s balance of hormones may be involved in causing or triggering depression.
16. Inherited traits. Depression is more common in people whose blood relatives — such as a parent or grandparent — also have the condition.
17. Early childhood trauma. Traumatic events during childhood, such as physical or emotional abuse, or loss of a parent, may cause changes in the brain that make a person more susceptible to depression.
18. Learned patterns of negative thinking. Teen depression may be linked to learning to feel helpless — rather than learning to feel capable of finding solutions for life’s challenges.

Risk factors

1. Many factors increase the risk of developing or triggering teen depression, including:
2. Having issues that negatively impact self-esteem, such as obesity, peer problems, long-term bullying or academic problems
3. Having been the victim or witness of violence, such as physical or sexual abuse
4. Having other mental health conditions, such as bipolar disorder, an anxiety disorder, a personality disorder, anorexia or bulimia
5. Having a learning disability or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
6. Having ongoing pain or a chronic physical illness such as cancer, diabetes or asthma
7. Having certain personality traits, such as low self-esteem or being overly dependent, self-critical or pessimistic
8. Abusing alcohol, nicotine or other drugs
9. Being gay, lesbian, bisexual or transgender in an unsupportive environment
10. Family history and issues with family or others may also increase your teenager’s risk of depression, such as:
11. Having a parent, grandparent or other blood relative with depression, bipolar disorder or alcohol use problems
12. Having a family member who died by suicide
13. Having a dysfunctional family and family conflict
14. Having experienced recent stressful life events, such as parental divorce, parental military service or the death of a loved one