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Guide For Parents Of Teenagers Who Need Help With Depression
By Carl Clark | September 12, 2009
Many say that the best stage in life is during the teenage years. Perhaps this is true. But one cannot deny that it is also the stage when your life becomes one big soap opera. You begin to become self-conscious because of changes in puberty. You become part of a groupie and experience the pressure of trying to look good and fit in. You begin to have crushes and believe you are in love. You get genuinely hurt for the silliest reasons such as your crush not liking you back. You begin to have questions about who you really are and what your purpose in this world is. You begin to argue with your parents as you insist on fighting for your right to be independent and decide on certain things. You begin to feel confused. With all the drama involved, it is not so easy to determine if your teenager is just being what a normal teenager should be or if his or her behavior is already an indication of depression.
There are some signs that might be able to help you tell when a teenager requires help with depression. Some of these are regular crying, loneliness, isolation from other people, anger, feeling of guilt, lack of interest in activities and energy, struggle with concentration, skipping of meals and even thinking or actually attempting suicide. If you are confused if it is just a normal phase for a teenager or if he needs help with depression, you should consider how often the aforementioned signs happen, how extreme they are and just how different your teen acts compared to his or her previous normal behavior.
If the help with depression they need is not given to them, then their depression could lead to more than just an atmosphere of melancholy. Most depressed teenagers would attempt to cope with their sadness and emotional pain on their own. Most often, this untreated depression leads to substance abuse, reckless behavior, problems at school, sensitivity to criticism, violence, running away, self-injury, addiction to the Internet, eating disorders, and even suicidal attempts.
The possibility to commit suicide is very possible since a depressed teenager would usually no longer be thinking rationally. Thus, you must be very keen and be on the watch for any warning signs of suicide in your teenager. These warning signs include: giving away prized possessions, taking pills even if they do not have any medical condition, saying goodbye to friends or family members as if making their last farewell, joking about committing suicide, saying things like Maybe if I die, they will miss me, or At least I wont feel this pain if Im already dead, writing poetry about death or dying, and cutting themselves. If your teen is showing one or more of these signs, the likelihood that they need help with depression should not be dismissed. In fact, it is almost certain that this is the case.
The first thing to do is to converse with your teenager in a loving manner. Make him or her realize that you are there to show support. Make your teen open up to you about the phase he or she is going through and make him or her realize that you are always there when you are needed. If your teen does not budge, do not be tough. Instead, be gentle and caring. Once he or she starts to converse with you, just listen. Do not scold or reprimand him or her even if his or her source of depression is unreasonable. Acknowledge the pain your teen feels instead of forcing him to quit depression. Doing so will make him or her realize that you are serious about helping. You should always trust your instincts as well.
Get in touch with your doctor at once and have your teenager be examined to see if he or she has a medical condition which could have given rise to the depression. If it was established that the depression was not the result of any health disorder, then ask help from a psychologist. Only a psychologist is qualified to tell whether your teenager is really suffering from depression.
To find more information for help with depression, Visit our website about overcoming depression.
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