How Teenage Depression Differs From Adult Depression

Unfortunately, depression often goes undetected in teenagers. Parents sometimes don’t identify the symptoms because depression in teenagers looks quite different than depression in adults. As a result, many teens unnecessarily suffer in silence.

Depression in teenagers can be of different types and can appear in various forms. It can affect all teens regardless of their gender, popularity, academic success, or athletic abilities. It’s essential to familiarize yourself with the ordinary symptoms of depression in teens.

Physical Health Problems

While depressed adults often talk about emotional pain, depressed teens tend to report physical aches and pains. They may report headaches, stomach problems or say they just don’t feel well. Physical exams, however, won’t reveal any findings.

Irritability

Adults generally describe feeling sad when they’re depressed, but teenagers often become increasingly irritable. They may behave disrespectfully or may have less patience than usual. They also may become defiant. While mood swings can be usual during the teenage years, an unusually high amount of irritability should be considered a warning sign of possible depression.

 Academic changes

Teens may experience a sharp decline in their grades when depression strikes. But, that’s not always the case. Some teens maintain a high-grade point average even in the midst of emotional turmoil.

In fact, sometimes the pressure to maintain good grades becomes a factor in depression. A teen who feels the immense need to get accepted into an Ivy League college, or someone who insists that a disappointing SAT score could ruin her life, may remain driven to achieve despite being depressed.

Sensitivity to criticism

Depression can lead to an intense sensitivity to criticism. Sometimes teens deal with this enlarged sensitivity by avoiding activities where they fear failure. A teen may refuse to try out for the soccer team or may refuse to invite a date to dance in an attempt to avoid rejection.

At other times, teens may deal with the fear by becoming an overachiever. A depressed teen may become a perfectionist in an attempt to avoid the risk of being rejected. It’s significant to monitor how your teen responds to risk, criticism and failure as changes in a teen’s behaviour could signal that they are depressed.

Social withdrawal

Social isolation is an ordinary problem for everyone with depression, but teens don’t necessarily withdraw from everyone when they become depressed. Sometimes they simply change peer groups. A teen may begin to hang out with the wrong crowd or may stop talking to certain friends or family members.

At other times, teens withdraw from real-life activities and focus their attention on the online world when they’re feeling depressed. A depressed teen may generate an online persona and may engage in online chats or play role playing games for hours on end to escape the realities of life.

Seek Help for a Depressed Teen

If you think your teen may be depressed, seek professional help. Schedule an appointment with your teen’s paediatrician or reach out to a mental health professional. Treatment for adolescent depression may contain therapy, medication or a combination of the two. It’s essential to be involved in your teen’s treatment.