Teen Depression

Teen Depression is a Rapidly Growing Problem Which Many Parents Need to Keep a Careful Lookout For

Aside from obesity, teen depression is one of the largest growing problems in our nation today.  Reaching near epidemic proportions, teen depression is vastly contributing to countless numbers of teen deaths via suicide – nearly five thousand per year with five hundred thousand attempts. Due to the generally troubled nature of teenagers as they start to feel unique emotions as they begin to grow older, teen depression can be a difficult problem to diagnose. Fortunately, there is one important symptom to look our for if you think your teenager may be depressed. Symptoms of teen depression are roughly the same as adult depression, so if you notice your child is feeling hopeless, suicidal or has lost all motivation to participate in normal daily tasks for more than a couple of weeks, then you should take him or her to see a doctor immediately for treatment.

Scientific studies over the past few years have reached some startling conclusions about teen depression. Recently, several studies have concluded that suicide rates have actually gone up for teens taking antidepressant drugs. The validity of such a study has yet to be determined – as people who are taking heavy doses of antidepressants are generally suicidal anyway, so it makes it difficult to tell if the drug itself is actually contributing to suicidal thoughts and behavior or if the teens are either not taking their drugs or the drugs are not acting quickly enough to relieve depression. No matter the outcome of later studies on antidepressants in teens, there are other treatment options available for your depressed child. Depression chat through counseling is one possible option if your child is not suffering from severe depression. Alternatively, you could consider electroconvulsive therapy or nerve stimulation as possible treatment options for those suffering with teen depression. Magnetic and hormone based therapies are also possibilities for treatment, but they are completely experimental at this point and nobody knows for sure yet if they will actually work to prevent depression in the long term.