Are you a parent or a guardian of a teen going through depression? Then this blog is for you. Studies have shown that the number one problem with teen depression is that, it is difficult for those who suffer from it to tell you how they feel. And this might leave any parent or guardian short of ideas on how he or she could be of help to their child suffering from teen depression. In that case, this blog might just about offer you the tips you have been seeking to enable you be of help to your depressed teen.
But just so we're clear your child is actually suffering from teen depression, I'll briefly explain what it is and enlist a few symptoms.
Any serious health problem that are related to mental or emotional health, which affects your teenager’s behavior, feelings, reasoning, and then causes an incessant disinterest in pleasurable activities and unhappy feeling can be associated with depression. Granted that depression has no particular age limit, the symptoms may, however, differ between adults and teens.
Symptoms of teen depression
- Feeling empty or hopeless
- Easily Annoyed or Irritable mood
- Sudden change or disinterest in pleasurable activities he or she enjoyed before
- Guilty feeling or self-blame
- Expression of anger over minor issues
- Thoughts of suicide
- Use of drugs or alcohol
- Loss of energy and tiredness
- Excessive negative thoughts or pessimistic attitude like nothing excites them
- In general, those who suffer from teen depression feel very hurt and think nobody cares about how they feel. Below are some tips you should know to enable you better understand and be of help to your child suffering from depression.
1. Allow your depressed teen to make a choice on the form of help he or she will receive.
As a parent to a child suffering from teen depression, that child expects you to consider their wishes. Therefore, your depressed teen would appreciate if he or she is given a say in deciding the form of help or treatment to receive. So, regardless of your previous experience or opinion of a particular kind of help or treatment, your depressed teen would love nothing more than to be given a chance to consider the available options. And as a therapist, I encourage you should give your teen some choices on the type of help they need. This way teen tend to be more willing to go with the process and as such recovers even faster.
2. Give your depressed teen a fresh start in the recovery process.
There comes the point when your depressed teen may realize that getting better is as a matter of fact possible. Giving your teen a fresh physical start to set the mental recovery rolling is a good way to set your depressed teen on the recovery road. And this can be achieved by changing and clearing the room of your depressed teen to eradicate any form of bad memory.
3. Know that depression in general and teen depression, in particular, is not common among healthy individuals.
It’s true that in most cases, teens undergo phases of inferiority complex, frustration, irritable feelings and so on. However, if these phases continue in your teen for a long period without any hope of an end, you should know your teen might just be suffering from a clinical depression.
4. Employ the right therapy.
Granted that there are several types of therapies out there. However, two of those (interpersonal and cognitive behavioral therapies) have been certified to be more effective against depression. To know if the therapy treatment your depressed teen is receiving is effective, you need to pay close attention to his or her progress over time.
5. Your child suffering from teen depression might still look physically strong.
As a parent, you must be aware of the fact that a depressed teen or individual in general, can still look physically healthy or strong. Therefore, paying a very close attention to behavioral changes in your teen can help you in realizing that your teen is going through or suffering from teen depression.
With this discovery, therefore, you can subject you child to the process of recovery as quickly as possible.
6. Subject your child to medication.
In the event that every other recovery method proves ineffective, then consulting with psychiatrist might be helpful to discuss psychotropic medication. The use of antidepressants can help in relieving some of all of the symptoms of depression. Sometimes combination of therapy & medication management if highly effective in teens.
Knowing a thing or two about your teen’s depression can go a long way in helping your depressed teen to recover, and I hope this article has been of great help in that regard. Do share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.
For more information, visit our teen counseling page or call 919-647-4600 to book for a session.