subject: A Quick Look at Teen Depression [print this page] A Quick Look at Teen Depression
Being unhappy, moody, and angst-ridden has somehow been a typical trademark of a normal teenager. To some extent, it is normal for teenagers to be in a dark mood sometimes, and for this mood to change a lot, primarily because teenagers are dealing with many physical and sociological adjustments and developments happening in and around them. However, teen depression is a very dangerous thing to contend with. Many teens who suffer from severe depression engage in dangerous activities, associate with the wrong crowd, develop drug or alcoholism problems, hurt themselves, or even commit suicide. Many parents are heartbroken over the fact that they didn't see it coming, and they weren't able to help their child about it.
Turning Winds has dealt with numerous cases of teen depression in their program. One has to recognize that teens who are depressed often cannot help themselves out of it, and they need to be helped by their families and through therapy.
To know whether your teen is suffering from depression or not, you must learn to look out for the signs. At first they may be subtle, and at other times, they may be a bit confusing because they look like behavior any normal teenager may exhibit. One classic sign of teen depression could be a change from their normal sleeping habits. While it's normal for teenagers to adjust to the demands of school and their developing social life by getting more sleep, depressed teenagers show a marked change in their sleeping patterns. They may stay up extremely late in the night and then wake up extremely late in the morning. They may spend an inordinate amount of time sleeping in their room even if they didn't have a long night.
Depressed teens may also withdraw from family and friends. If your teen never had a problem about relating with his/her siblings but then all of a sudden just stops communicating or interacting with them, something may be up. If your teen stopped asking friends over, or if he/she has stopped accepting phone calls and keeps more to him/herself, maybe it's time to talk to them and ask them what's wrong.
Depressed teens may also begin acting out in ways that they've never done before. They may be caught vandalizing properties or shoplifting even though he/she doesn't need to. You may catch them smoking or drinking, or you may find drugs when you look through their things. They may lie about it, but the fact that they have the substances in their possession may be a red flag that you shouldn't ignore.
Some teens show a preoccupation with death and dying. They may talk a lot about it with their friends and siblings, or experiment with self-mutilation. They may say their subtle goodbyes to the people that they love, for example, telling a younger sibling that they will always love them and that they should always take care of themselves. They may start giving their prized possessions away. All these are classic signs of suicidal tendencies and need to be addressed immediately.
Turning Winds help parents provide a safe environment where underlying issues to teen depression are explored and dealt with. In this kind of environment, teens are encouraged to open up to therapy and to people who want to help them.
welcome to Insurances.net (https://www.insurances.net)
