Depression in Teenagers
A big issue many people (especially teenagers) struggle with is depression. Characters in "The Perks Of Being A Wallflower" portrayed this very well. Charlie, the main character in the book, struggles everyday with depression and anxiety. He's very in tune with his thoughts and emotions, so he feels it on an even deeper level than most people and he is set off easily. I think most teenagers go through some form of depression, obviously some more serious and for different time periods than others though. I also don't think it's taken as seriously as it should be. A big misconception about depression is that it's "just a mood" or "all in your head", but it's simply not true. I think it's true that you can put yourself in a bad mood, but people don't purposely try to be more depressed than they feel. Even if nothing's wrong or "missing" in your life, you can still be depressed, because it's a chemical imbalance in the brain. "Suicide is the third-leading cause of death for young people ages 15 to 24. Approximately 20 percent of teens experience depression before they reach adulthood, and between 10 to 15 percent suffer from symptoms at any one time" (World of Psychology).
"Why Are So Many Teens Depressed?" World of Psychology. N.p., 03 June 2016. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.National Institutes of Health. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, n.d. Web. 06 Mar. 2017.
I too think that depression is worse in teens than it is in any other age category. There have been many studies done to prove this too. I also think that the book, Perks of being a wall flower portrays just some struggles teenagers have to deal with.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you in the fact that people dont take teenage depression very seriously. From my experience alot of parents just tell there kids to get over it and move on. One thing most parents dont get is that its not that easy. Most teenagers who struggle with depression are going through something really rough. I think parents need to get more in depth with there kids and find out what is happening inside there thoughts rather than assume they already know whats going on.
ReplyDeleteDepression in my eyes is a very big problem in teenager's today, just like you have addressed. Depression is sometime's uncontrollable. For example, you may have it but not no why or how. Many cases of depression have inflicted teenager's in ways of suicide and/or self harm. I do believe that depression is a big problem needing attention. We need to turn our heads more towards this topic and do something about it.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your statement that most teenagers go through some sort of depression. I found it very interesting that females are found to have depression more then males. Here is what I found more on that subject, https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/hide-and-seek/201205/the-7-reasons-why-depression-is-more-common-in-women
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ReplyDeleteI agree that depression in teens is a very big deal. It should be taken more seriously because when you are in your teens, life hasn’t really started yet. It is true that teens are more stressed out now a days from school, social life and even the stresses that parents can put on their kids to do good. Also during those years, teens are dealing with hormones changing and maybe not being able to deal with their emotions very well and being a teen there are a lot of changes that happen in life. New school, new friends, new situations all the time. In an article from Mental Health America, they talk a lot about what teens go through and how they are easily persuaded and don’t know what the right thing to do is sometimes. “Teens need adult guidance more than ever to understand all the emotional and physical changes they are experiencing.” Some teens get rattled when they are unsure of something and overreact which messes with their emotions and then turns to depression. Parents need to encourage their kids to get involved so they have things to do to keep their teens busy and not have the possibility of getting depressed. But depression is sometimes not avoidable so there needs to be more action taken to get the teen help.
I really like the graph you out in here it shows that towards the end of your teenage years you do get better control of your emotions and become more chemically balanced within your self. The teens that are depressed the most certainly hide it the most and try to put on a fake face and try to be happy. Depression is not a joke yet sadly that's how most take it. This post is great for anyone to read and hopefully it will be taken seriously and people will start to try and talk things out instead of resulting to violence.
ReplyDeleteIt is interesting to me that depression is so prevalent in teenagers in this day and age. Has it always been this way? Is it because, as teenagers, we are still learning and growing and our unsure of ourselves? Is it because there is so much stimuli and technology around us that we get overwhelmed? I also find it interesting that women are way more likely to be depressed than men. Is this due to different chemical imbalances? I agree that this topic is really sad, yet important to know about as it can affect everyone!
ReplyDeletei agree, depression has caused all of us teenagers to be very questionable about themselves and the things they do. and i also think its very interesting that women are more likely to be more depressed then men. i feel like parents should send their kids to go out more or take them to like a social group for their kids to be more engaged ad talking to people with the same interest as them so they wont feel depressed or alone.
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