How to help a teenager with depression

There is much talk about depression in the adult stage, however, little is known about the Depression in adolescence, which causes young people or their families not to seek the necessary help. Depression is a disease that can affect people of any age, educational or cultural level and economic position. Adolescence is a stage of continuous physical, psychological and continuous search changes of one's identity, which can sometimes generate confusion about how to recognize if a teenager has depression.

To know How to help a teenager with depression, It is necessary to be informed in more detail about this disease and perform a series of actions aimed at achieving it. In this Psychology-online article we analyze how depression in adolescence manifests, what are their symptoms, causes, which is the best treatment to overcome it and what parents and/or close people can do to help at this stage.

1. How to know if a teenager has depression
2. Factors that increase the risk of adolescent depression
3. Problems that a depressed teenager can have
4. My teenage son has depression: how he helped him

How to know if a teenager has depression

The teenagers with depression They can show symptoms other than adults, since they tend to be in a bad mood, have conflicting behaviors in school, get angry, be continuously irritated and feel misunderstood. This is what makes it difficult to recognize whether it is a depression or not, since as already mentioned above, these attitudes and changes in mood usually also be common at this stage. An important aspect that must be taken into account is that when a teenager is depressed, he does not necessarily have to show a sad or decayed mood, he does not have to isolate himself from others. Although this can happen, it does not always have to be like that.

To help you identify when it comes to depression, you can take into account this series of symptoms and be aware of the duration and intensity of each of them.

Symptoms of depression in adolescent

• Irritability and gets angry.
• Tiredness, loss of energy (seems to be exhausted most of the day).
• Sleep problems (it is very difficult to get up in the morning and sleep at night).
• Desire to cry for no apparent reason.
• Difficulty concentrating, you can also suffer memory problems and reduce your school performance.
• Feelings of uselessness or guilt.
• Does not enjoy the activities you used to enjoy.
• Increase or loss of appetite.
• Under mood (you feel sad most of the time for no apparent reason).
• Apathy.
• Negative thoughts and continuously self -critic.
• Frequent Sensation of Boredom
• Physical pain and discomfort (they usually appear inexplicably)
• Suicide ideas: mentions that you want to die or leave forever, give away your belongings, write stories or listen to music about death, joke about committing suicide, etc.

If you want to help teenagers with depression, this guide with real examples will show you The fast and easy way to be a happy teenager. They will learn to understand and control their thoughts and feelings. ¡Do not hesitate to recommend this book!

Buy would do it, but my mind does not leave me ⧉

Factors that increase the risk of adolescent depression

There are a number of factors that are present in the adolescent's life, it makes it more prone to develop a depression. Some of them are the following:

• Parents with Depression.
• School and/or social problems.
• Stress or duel experiences for death of their loved ones.
• Loneliness.
• Changes in your lifestyle (city or country change, separation or divorce from parents).
• Scientific research has shown that before puberty, children have the same possibility of depression, however, from the age of 15, women have twice as much possibilities.
• Family problems (conflicts in the family environment).
• Physical or psychological traumas (verbal or physical abuse, bullying, sexual abuse, etc.).
• Reaction of some medications (consult with your doctor).
• Alcohol abuse and other substances.
• Serious health problems.

Problems that a depressed teenager can have

Depression has a great impact on adolescent's life and affects their development and personal growth. It is also important to know that if a teenager with depression does not receive a treatment, it can persist and extend in adulthood causing even more problems in the future. A teenager suffering from depression It will start having problems in one or more areas of your life, which can increase their gravity and it is important to take them into account. Some of them are the following:

• Decreased school performance.
• Problems at school with teachers and classmates.
• Alcohol abuse and other substances harmful to health.
• High -risk and self -colon behaviors.
• Leave school and leave home.
• Develop an eating disorder.
• Low self-esteem.
• Suicide risk.

My teenage son has depression: how he helped him

After having informed more depth about several aspects related to adolescent depression, such as learning to identify it, the factors that influence to occur and the problems that a depressed teenager can have, we will point out a series of guidelines to help To a teenager with depression:

Psychological treatment

It is necessary to know that depression is not cured only by willpower and that it requires being treated by a professional. So if you have a teenage son or if you are a friend or relative of him, the first thing you have to do is get a psychological therapy.

The objective of psychological therapy is to help the patient Eliminate depression symptoms and to overcome other problems related to it. Through psychoeducation, the adolescent will be informed that depression, their symptoms, what are its causes, what causes this problem to persist, etc., Techniques will be taught to apply in their daily lives aimed at the elimination of symptoms, work with their negative thoughts to modify them by more positive and rational ones, as well as other problems that have appeared secondary to depression.

On some occasions, it is necessary that psychotherapy be combined with the administration of certain drugs such as antidepressants To treat the problem.

Tips to help a depressed teenager

It is necessary for the teenager to feel supported and understood by his family or nearby people, especially for his parents. If you have a depressed teenage child, you must know that to help him, he needs. Here are some tips to know how to help a teenager with depression:

• Get involved in treatment. It is necessary to stay involved in the treatment, both in the psychological and in the pharmacological and support it at home. It is necessary to be close and aware of your needs.
• Put in your place. This is usually difficult for many people, since first of all we want to impose our beliefs and ideas based on what is correct or not for us. However, to be able to understand someone, you have to really know to put ourselves in the shoes of the other person. ¿You have ever felt misunderstood? Knowing that nobody understands you makes you lock yourself more in yourself and generates a feeling of loneliness, and this is what a teenager with depression least needs. Therefore, it is important that you listen to him without judging him and that you can win his trust.
• Find out About depression. It is necessary to be extremely informed about this disease. Know your symptoms, causes, consequences, treatment, etc., To be able to offer better help to the affected person and so you can understand it better.
• Affection and affection. Treat it with love and affection, always showing it closeness and unconditional support, letting him know that he is not alone and that you are there to help him regardless how difficult the situation is.
• Be patient. Patience is essential to help the adolescent with this disease. On many occasions, people tend to despair before certain attitudes of the affected person, especially when it comes to teenage children. However, we must remember at all times that it is worth making the effort, especially because it is about your well -being. You can support yourself in family and friends to help you face the situation.
• Importance of physical exercise. Physical exercise releases a series of hormones beneficial to our physical and emotional health such as serotonin that provides several benefits, including a sense of calm and improves our mood. It is important to motivate the teenager to stay active. It is not necessary for him to perform high intensity exercises, it is only enough for him to walk about 20 or 30 minutes a day so that he begins to notice its benefits.

This article is merely informative, in psychology-online we have no power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.

If you want to read more articles similar to How to help a teenager with depression, We recommend that you enter our category of emotional and behavioral disorders.