Symptoms of Depression in Teenagers

Being a teenager in this day and age is very stressful. The consumer and possession focused society which we live contributes to much childhood depression for a number of reasons.

One of which is that we're not designed to focus on THINGS even though our society measures a persons worth based on their possessions.

When I was a teen and reading everything from novels to Reader’s Digests to Mom or Dad's encyclopedias and self-help books, I was fascinated with a particular malaise that I had felt for years but had no words to articulate... namely depression.

What I really was looking for was a checklist of symptoms so I could, in my teen years, identify what my problem actually was.

I had most of the symptoms of depression so I started as an adolescent to try and understand everything I could about this mental disorder. That was about thirty years ago, so while the info then was more limited than it is now, I have a better understanding of an illness or syndrome that severely impacts those with it and especially teenagers and those who live with the 12 to 19 year olds who have it. Such statistics that hold that in any given year, some 13 to 14 million people will suffer some degree of depressive disorder (according to www.add-adhd-help-center.com).

One article I read recently actually had a checklist and contained information on the symptoms of depression that although was a little outdated, the checklist points still hold true.

The clinically depressed person is restless, sleepless, sleeps too much, and/or is irritable.

He or she loses interest in once-enjoyable activities and pastimes, in food, and in taking care of his or her person hygiene needs.

Another of the early-read symptoms of depression also holds true today: the depressed person is continuously or consistently tired or exhausted and has less than usual energy.

Further studies, increased numbers of depressed persons, and updated documentation also address additional symptoms of depression: also according to www.add-adhd-help-center.com, these symptoms include the following:

Perpetual, or persistent sadness, worthlessness, and/or attitudes of futility

Weight loss or gain

Overeating (akin to under eating)

Persistent physical manifestations of (but not limited to) depression such as headache, pain, stomach and digestion problems all of which may be resistant to treatment

Recurring thought of or obsession with suicide/death.

I found out in my forties I have ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) which is typically a child, sibling or teen problem . A sister disorder is depression. It makes sense that I was fascinated with, intrigued by, or made it imperative to study the disorder of depression, as wherever I went, ADD went, and wherever ADD went, depression went. If you have ADD, depression, and/or experience symptoms of one or both, please know there are many, many books, articles, people, treatments, and solutions. You are not alone and you are not hopeless.

The key to remember is that there isn't really any signs of depression that are specific to any age. While reading about any depression symptoms, realize that they are NOT age specific. You teen, you or even your elderly mother, father or uncle can exhibit the signs.

You can get that refrigerator you are carrying around off your back. You can stop eating everything in that refrigerator, can wake up from heavy-boned sleep and escape, can shut up the seemingly convincing voice that recommends suicide as a solution, and can actually, one day, smile or even laugh at something again. This is the life of an adolescent teen who hasn't had the time or life perspective to understand everything that's happening to them.

If you think you have a teenager at risk and is exhibiting depression symptoms, you need to take action now.

Find a support group in your area and get some professional help for your teen. In addition, there are many natural supplements that have been known to help with the symptoms of depression.

Take care and take action

Here's a few links to these types of products.

You should really Bookmark this site and check back to to see what other methods and strategies I've used to combat depression. Anxiety and depression in all forms is a long term illness with new treatment strategies always being developed. Don't you want to know the latest information?

symptoms of depression in teenagers