why is teenage depression so common....do essay?
Answers
Teenage depression is increasing briskly and often being treated erroneously. This is a major problem because depression has fatal effects on adolescents. It was stated by the National Alliance on Mental Illness, that depression is experience by 20% of people during their teen years. Each year, there are stories of thousands of adolescents committing suicide. There are also various causes of depression which lead to disastrous effects that might impair a teenager’s life. Every human being can infrequently feel down, yet depression is a constant feeling which is considered to be a mental disorder. There are two major diverse forms of depression; major and minor depression. Major depression affects one’s life from functioning normally. For instance, it affects a person’s daily routine as it also affects one’s capability to sleep, eat, and enjoy delightful events. Furthermore, minor depression is not permanent; it lasts for at least 2 weeks. Minor depression eventually leads to major depression. It is necessary for one to know the causes and symptoms of teenage depression in order to know how to avoid and confront it. Teenage depression has many different causes; this paper will discuss some of these causes. This topic is considered to be important because depression is a regular disease that affects teenagers. This essay will discuss the symptoms of depression and demonstrate some of the environmental causes of depression that alter teenagers’ lives. Some of the causes are; extreme trauma, family issues. Moreover, it demonstrates genetic causes; inherited depression. It also examines the effects of adolescents’ depression. This essay ventilates some of the previous recommended solutions on how to treat depression. Finally, it reviews the best solution acquired for teenagers to treat depression.
If one is alert to the symptoms; it is easy to prevent the disease. The symptoms are considered very helpful determinants that foreshadow to teenagers the depression they might face. Symptoms can also help teenagers avoid depression, since symptoms happen before they are actually depressed. Moreover, it notifies the teenagers’ parents that their children are going to suffer from depression. Most probably the teenagers’ family and friends will be the first to notice the depression symptoms. One of the main symptoms of depression is losing interest in all activities. It is an obvious symptom when teenagers start withdrawing from activities. When teenagers sleep too much or experience insomnia, it is, definitely, a symptom of depression (Schwanke, n.d.). Anhedonia is another symptom that occurs to adolescents, it is known as the teenagers’ inability to enjoy things that was previously enjoyable (Brennan, n.d.). There are no symptoms for traumatic events because it is unexpected to happen. If symptoms of depression are not noticed by teenagers and dealt with, it will not prevent the cause from happening.
The question ascends why depression is common in one’s teenage years. One of the main causes of teenage depression is extreme trauma. In other words, teenagers are depressed when they are sexually, mentally, or physically abused. Moreover, trauma might also occur to those who lost a parent, someone they love, or faced medical illness. An example of traumatic event, a teenage girl lost her father in a motorcycle accident which made her suffer and eventually became depressed (Kelly, 2011). Another example, two teenage brothers lost their mother in a car accident, and after six months they lost their father in another car accident. This is a traumatic situation that caused depression for both teenagers. Moreover, it was stated by their relative that both brothers have been suffering from depression for more than six months (Alleman, 2012). These examples indicate how traumatic events can cause teenage depression. Stressful events can negatively impact teenagers because if they attempted to handle a situation and it did not work out, it will eventually lead to depression. It was stated by Krans (2012) that traumatic events change adolescent’s life as it leaves a permanent effect on their brain, which suddenly leads to depression. When teenagers are traumatized, it makes them feel insecure, unsafe, and helpless (Lubow, 2010). According to teen treatment center, it was stated that teenagers who face traumatic events do not get the effective treatment they need. This is because approximately eighty six percent of sexual abuses on adolescents are not reported. It was also stated that about 5 percent of teenagers in the world suffer from depression (Framingham, n.d.). This shows the seriousness of teenage depression which leads to severe effects, moreover, it might lead to suicide.
Answer:
Teenage depression is a growing problem in today's society and is often a major contributing factor for most adolescent problems. The statistics about teenage runaways, alcoholism, drug problems, pregnancy, eating disorders, and suicide are alarming. The common link to all of these crises is often depression. The path into adolescence is a difficult one, and the choices a teen makes can leave lasting scars on the lives of an entire generation of young men and women. There is a growing realization that teenage depression can be life changing, even life- threatening.
Depression can be described in many ways. Its main description is that it is a serious mental disorder in which a person suffers long periods of sadness, loneliness, and other negative feelings. Teenagers have always been vulnerable to depression for a variety of reasons. It's a confusing time of life because a teen's body is changing along with their relationships. Teenagers constantly teeter-totter between striving for independence from family and still trying to be a child and depend on it. But today's teens face an additional challenge: They're growing up in a world quite different from that of their parent's youth. Adolescents today are faced with stresses that were unknown to previous generations and are dealing with them in an often self – destructive way.
I am writing an abstract for the article Assessment and Treatment of Adolescent Depression and Suicidal taken from the Journal of Mental Health Counseling. It states that "from 1980-1997, the rate of suicide among 15-19 year old adolescents increased by 11% and among those aged 10-14 by 109%"
The thought of suicide is most commonly brought on by depression. Some types of significant loss can be a factor in triggering teenage depression.