Teenage Depression Essay

All of the people have these periods of times when they feel down, sad, and don't want to do anything during the day. This type of sadness may last for a few days without serious consequences on people and their normal day-to-day lives. When people feel sad others have a habit of calling it depression, wrongly thinking that depression is “just sadness”. According to the American Psychiatric Association, “Depression (major depressive disorder) is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think and how you act… Depression causes feelings of sadness and/or a loss of interest in activities you once enjoyed. It can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems and can decrease your ability to function at work and at home.” Besides feeling sadness and lack of interest, depression may cause changes in appetite, problems with sleeping, changes in physical activities, difficulty thinking, feeling worthless, self-harm behavior, and suicidal thoughts.

Together with depression most of the time teenagers and adolescents are experiencing anxiety. Thus, according to the CDC, almost 73.8% of children and teenagers from 3-17 years had anxiety together with depression. Depression and its symptoms can be different from person to person, but in this research paper, I would like to focus on adolescents who are at a higher risk of experiencing anxiety and depression since the mind of young adults is not fully grown and they are more likely to be more sensitive to the criticism from their peers and other adults. High school and college are the most stressful periods of life for today’s teenagers which puts them at a higher risk of suffering from depression rather than other adults or children. “The ADAA (The Anxiety and Depression Association of America) says 6 to 8 percent of teens may have the disease, and an estimated 2.8 million adolescents ages 12 to 17 had at least one major depressive episode in 2014” (David Levine, U.S. News). The magazine “Time” states that the rate of depression among teens 14 to 17 years old increased by 60% between 2009 and 2017, but for ages 18-21, the depression rate increased by 46%.

Adolescence is a stage in life that is accompanied by numerous physical, emotional, psychological, and social changes. Academic factors, childhood trauma, social status among peers, sexual orientation, hormones, and family well-being - all these factors have a huge impact on the mental state of a teenager and, under unfavorable circumstances, can lead to depression. A huge amount of stress in adolescents is associated with relationships: if there are no friends – it’s stress, if there are friends, but there is a conflict with them, or they betrayed them, or you betrayed them, did some bad deed - it’s stress again. Love relationships: unrequited love, love that received an answer, but things are not easy, love that ended or did not end, but some new sympathy appeared, and so on; isolation and loneliness, school bullying and stalking. Adolescents may feel that life does not matter or that it takes an effort to do so, even to maintain their own hygiene or their usual appearance. They may believe that a negative or traumatic situation will never change and see their future in a pessimistic way.

Adolescents have a very complex, controversial, and fluid social sphere, and there is a huge amount of stress that can cause depression. However, it is important to understand that depression is often quite unpredictable because it can arise from something that we did not expect, including for internal reasons, for example, from taking certain medications. Sometimes children are depressed for so long that they interpret their condition as normal and, thus, cannot complain about changes in their mood. Differentiating with bipolar disorder is very important, as often the first manifestation of bipolar disorder is a depressive episode. And the first signs of a manic episode can come after a considerable period of time.

Unlike adults who are able to seek help on their own, adolescents usually have to rely on parents and teachers to diagnose depression and get the treatment they need. According to Brett Molina from the newspaper USA Today, “Between 2005 and 2017, the rate of adolescents reporting symptoms consistent with major depression in the last 12 months jumped 52 percent, according to the study published Thursday in the peer-reviewed Journal of Abnormal Psychology, run by the American Psychological Association. The study found a 63 percent increase in young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 reporting symptoms of depression between 2009 and 2017. It also showed significant increases in the rates of young adults who reported serious psychological distress and suicidal thoughts or suicide-related outcomes during similar time periods.”

Depression can often be caused by frequent usage of social media platforms. We all are living in a time of modern technologies when everybody has their smartphones in their pockets with a bunch of social media installed on their devices, such as Facebook, Instagram, or Snapchat. The more social networks a person uses and the longer he sits in them, the more depressed and anxious he will be, and if the person suffers from depression then it will only worsen, researchers from the University of Pittsburgh found. The risk group includes people who regularly use 7-11 social networks: they feel 2.7 times worse than those who use them less often. British scientists consider Instagram and Snapchat as the most harmful to human mental health since both are focused on appearance and contribute to a decrease in self-esteem. The research shows that those young adults who are spending more time on social media are way more socially isolated and less emotionally satisfied than their peers who spend equal time on social media and offline. According to the National Center for Health Research, almost 25% of adolescents believe that social media has a mostly negative effect. The research showed that more than 25% of teenagers and adolescents have been bullied through the Internet and cell phones, but only 1 out of 10 teenagers told their parents or other trusted adults that they have been bullied.

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Depression has a lot in common with alcohol and drug usage not only among adults but among teenagers as well. Alcohol may help ease the pain, stress, anxiety, or negative thoughts for some periods of time, but if the person has depression, then the usage of alcoholic drinks may cause abuse and only worsen the situation, therefore adding some more serious mental issues. The studies showed that about two-thirds of 10,000 adolescents who developed alcohol or substance abuse already had one or more mental issues. Teenagers are at the more risk of having trouble with alcohol since they are not fully grown up yet and the alcohol effect is different for the youth than for adults. Adolescents become more energetic, and aggressive, and get riskier behavior after alcohol. Teenagers under alcohol effect are more prone to suicide since their mind becomes blurry and they do not care about the things that stopped them from suicide when they were sober. Their brain hasn’t fully developed yet, which gives them higher chances of getting addicted to alcohol or drugs than if they started using them at 30 or later.

Together with alcohol and drugs, teenagers and adolescents have a tendency to smoke at the time of their depression. Smoking, including passive smoking, is one of the main risk factors for morbidity and mortality worldwide, the authors of the work note. Almost 90% of smokers acquire this habit before the age of majority, and 98% - before the age of 26. Teenagers with depression are 13 times more likely to start smoking. “According to the Centers for Disease Control, cigarette use among youth has declined over the past decade, but 19.5 percent of high school students report smoking one or more cigarettes in the past month,” – says Brian Krans, the writer of “Healthline”. As the research showed, one-third of teenagers with depression by 19 years old, who were smoking daily, had some heart diseases, and the quarter of them had obesity and were the least active. “…The behaviors associated with depression, including inactivity and cigarette smoking, can increase cardiac risk,” – says the reporter of “Healthline”.

Mental health issues are very common and are more serious among LGBT teenagers than among their heterosexual friends, even in 2020. Misunderstanding from family, friends, and society is still a problem among homosexual teenagers. Even though more countries are accepting same-sex marriage and homosexuality becomes more common in today’s world, some people still do not find enough support and understanding are still keep being under pressure because of their sexual orientation. Research shows that people who identify as sexual minorities are more likely than heterosexuals to become depressed, hurt, and attempt suicide. However, so far there have been few large studies looking at when the risks of depressive symptoms appear and how they develop in sexual minorities compared to heterosexuals. “Lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths in grades 7-12 are twice as likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers,” – says the reporter Michael Kerr. Adolescents of the LGBT community from their junior year of high school and through their junior year of college reported higher depressive symptoms. It was also reported that sexual minority adolescents were more likely to experience lower family satisfaction and cyberbullying, with the fact that homosexual males had a higher risk of being cyberbullied, than females.

Depression closely connects to the academic part of teenager's and adolescents’ lives. Depression is a very common disease among high school and college students. A huge workload for college students and an important exam schedule cause a poor sleep schedule among college students which is one of the high factors of depression. Most of the students who are just going to college are facing a lot of stress due to getting more responsibilities. Students are used to moving away from their parents and have to live on their own without anybody supervising them. They start living without the rules for their sleeping schedule and the time they spend playing video games or watching TV. Living alone means having a job and getting money on their own, which also can cause a huge amount of stress. Typical disorders that students feel together with depression are anxiety, eating disorders, social phobia, panic disorder, OCD, and PTSD. “Depression and anxiety affect all areas of an individual’s well-being including sleep, diet, mental and physical health, self-esteem, social interaction, and academic performance” (IBCCES). Students who have anxiety and depression used to experience poor academic performance, bad relationships with their peers and teachers, low interest in the learning process, and disinterest in planning their future. “A student dealing with one of these disorders can experience negative effects on their attention, interpretation, concentration, memory, social interaction, and physical health” (IBCCES).

The year 2020 is the year of the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, which made a huge impact on education and the level of depression among teenagers and adolescents. All schools had to shut down due to the widespread virus, which made all students across the United States and many other countries around the world study from home. A lot of kids and college students are stuck at home for months being unable to see their friends and take part in school activities. During the pandemic, kids could have trouble falling asleep, or in the other way, they started sleeping all the time, they got changes in appetite, or started showing worse academic scores. It also became a problem to get appropriate mental help for those who need it at home. “Sixty percent of college students say the pandemic has made it harder to access mental health care, even as financial stresses and prevalence of depression increased among them,” – says Elizabeth Redden from Inside Higher Ed. Social isolation and social distancing put kids and young adults into difficulties with interactions with their friends and peers. “Social isolation, anxiety, fear of contagion, uncertainty, chronic stress, and economic difficulties may lead to the development or exacerbation of depression, anxiety, substance use, and other psychiatric disorders in vulnerable populations including individuals with pre-existing psychiatric disorders and people who reside in high COVID-19 prevalence areas” (Sher 710). According to the research, 40.9% of students reported depression in March-May 2020, in comparison with 35.7% of depression among students in Fall 2019. 

The research shows that the amount of suicides is extremely high among adolescents and teenagers. Depression plays a big role in the amount of suicide cases among young adults. There was a big wave of suicide attempts and cases in the 1990s, but, as the magazine “Time” says, these numbers became significantly higher. “The CDC has also issued reports showing that rates of suicide among young people jumped 56% between 2007 and 2016, after declining between 1999 and 2007,” – states magazine “Time”. According to The CDC, in 2018 the number of suicide cases between 15 and 24 was 6,211. The Stanford Children’s Health lists the warning signs of teen suicide:

• Acting out behaviors and running away
• Alcohol and drug use
• Neglecting one’s personal appearance
• Unnecessary risk-taking
• Obsession with death and dying
• More physical complaints often linked to emotional distress, such as stomachaches, headaches, and extreme tiredness (fatigue)
• Feeling he or she wants to die

Depression is a thing that is very serious among the youth and which cannot and should not be left without attention. Depression is not just sadness! Depression is an issue that needs to get the right solution. If a child once suffered a bout of depression, it is most likely that it will recur again in the future. In the first place, parents are the ones who need to care about their children not only their physical health but their mental health as well. If the person shows big changes in mood, loss of interest in his/her hobbies, changes in eating habits, and changes in weight, first of all, there should be a conversation that will make a depressed teen understand that he/she may not be afraid to talk about what they feel and what bothers them. The ones who find it difficult to talk about their feelings and experiences can show their emotional experiences, internal stress, and physical discomfort in the form of physical self-harm, for example, they can cut their bodies. Timely and early detection of the symptoms of a depressive disorder influences the outcome of the course of the disorder and reduces the risk of its protracted course. There are several treatment options for depression in adolescents, including individual therapy or group sessions. There is also a family therapy method. Medicines are the last, and this is only part of a comprehensive treatment and not a panacea. Psychological therapies of any kind are often good for treating mild to moderate depression. Antidepressants should be used as part of a more comprehensive treatment plan in more severe cases. The best way to help the person to get out of the depression is to be with him, show support and care, and show him that he is not alone and that he has people who can help to get out of a difficult situation. If a parent/friend's help is still not the way that makes a person feel better, then it is necessary to provide special professional treatment.