Don’t Miss The Warning Signs of Adolescent Depression!

Unfortunately, mistreatment of adolescent depression can potentially lead to catastrophic consequences. Below are ten signs to help parents identify whether their teen suffers from depression or not.

1 - Anxiety

Teens suffering from depression will often have a difficult time managing stress or anxiety in an appropriate manner. If a teen seems to be overly stressed or mishandling their anxiety, then depression is a possible culprit.

2 - Frequent headaches

Since depression makes it difficult to handle anxiety, stress levels in a depressed teen may be intense. Headaches are often a side effect in depressed adolescents who cannot handle their stress.

3 - Withdrawing from normal activities

Adolescents who are depressed may show a lack of interest in activities they would enjoy participating in otherwise. If your child has quit activities they regularly show interest in, then depression may be to blame. 

4 - Anger or irritability

Anger, like headaches, usually ties into the anxiety that comes along with depression. As stress levels build in a depressed teen, they will often lash out at those around them. If your child shows a sudden lack of restraint in dealing with anger, it is crucial to ask why.

5 - Difficulty in school

Depression can affect a teen’s ability to concentrate in school, regardless of their intellect. A sudden drop in academic performance may correlate to a teen’s state of depression.

6 - Extreme fatigue

The high-stress levels that come along with depression can leave an adolescent completely drained causing them to appear exhausted.

7 - Poor eating habits

If your child is truly suffering from depression, it may effect their diet substantially. A teen may use food as a coping mechanism, causing them to gain weight. Contrariwise, other depressed teens may lose their appetite, causing them to lose weight very abruptly. Whether it is an increase or decrease, weight fluctuations should be a warning sign to parents.

8 - Sleeping disorder

Depressed adolescents tend to develop some kind of sleeping disorder. For some, getting to sleep may be seemingly impossible due to overwhelming stresses. However, an increased appetite for sleep is also prevalent in depressed teens. Pay close attention to their sleep patterns to get a gauge on whether or not they may be depressed.

9 - Loss of interest in social interactions with friends/family

Teens who are seriously depressed will lose social benefits. If you are a parent of a teen who was once a social butterfly, but now would rather isolate than socialize, they are more than likely showing signs of depression.

10 - Self-harm

Teens who suffer from being depressed may choose to be self-destructive and opt to harm themselves. If your child displays any type of self- harm, it is most likely due extreme sadness they are feeling inside.

For further reading, refer to the article and its link below: 

A Few Signs Your Teenager May Be Depressed

We all know the typical stereotype that teens are moody. You remember your own teen years … how intense your feelings were, how you soared to edgy emotional highs and then plummeted down into stress and heartache over troubles that seem now insignificant.

via http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2012/07/21/a-few-signs-your-teenager-may-be-depressed/