Friday, March 15, 2013

Teenage Depression

By Sue Stein


Teenage depression isn't just mood swings and the occasional cloud above your head-it's a serious problem that impacts every aspect of a teen's life. Depression can lead to drug and alcohol abuse, self-loathing and self-mutilation, pregnancy, violence, and even suicide. But as a concerned parent, teacher, or friend, there are plenty ways you can help. Talking about the problem and offering support can go a long way toward getting your teenager back to normalcy.

The teen years can be a very confusing time in a child's life. When the teen years bring challenges kids learn to balance with the support of healthy relationships, success in school, extra curricular activities and standing firm with a strong personality. We as parents expect our teens to display mood swings and make bad decisions. This is part of life right? However if these behaviors are a manifestation of depression these behaviors mean a completely different thing. Depression reaches into a child's personality and causes unhappiness, helplessness, maybe anger. These feelings are more common than we think and should not be dismissed as a stage of life . It is a fact that only one in five teenagers receive the help the need to overcome this condition. This is where intervention is needed by a parent, a teacher or a friend.

Many questions intrude upon the teenagers daily thought life. Why is my body changing? Who am I? Where do I fit in? Then there is the fight for independence which causes the parent child battles. It is no mystery why having a teenager in the house can be so confusing and difficult. Living with them can be extremely challenging if it is not clear whether they are suffering from normal teenage swings or bouts of depression.To thicken the plot, teens suffering from depression do not always appear sad or withdrawn. What can really raise your eyebrows is when you see signs if irritability, aggression and rage, this is can be the signs of depression.

Wacky hormone levels add another dimension to your teen's mood, but this still does not preclude a presence of depression. Seek professional help. Psychologists and psychiatrists are specialists trained in diagnosing depression. Make sure you have a conversation with these professionals about the risks to your child's brain development. If a child is under 18 their brains are still developing.

Ways to beat the blues and I mean major blues are simple...diet, nutrition, exercise and nutrients. Exercise will help boost your endorphins and it will also help your confidence more than anything else. Vitamins such as B-vitamins are a very potent treatment for depression. Taking omega-3 fatty acids as found in fish oil have been shown to be potent antidepressants as well as Zinc and magnesium, two minerals found to have antidepressant effects. With research one could receive the same results from a holistic approach as one would receive with prescribed medication.

Spot the early signs of depression in your teenager and stop depression dead in its tracks.




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