In this world of doing more, being more, finding more, and sleeping less, teen depression is on the rise, and it has become a serious problem. As with all types of depression, anxiety is often an associated challenge, and both issues must be worked through at the same time. Adolescent depression is unique in that it must be dealt with in a time of hormonal turmoil, emotional upheaval, and frequent self-imposed isolation. That is why early detection is difficult in those teens that suffer from a mood disorder.
Differences
As your teen’s body continues to change and grow, hormone fluctuations can vary from day to day. That is one of the reasons the symptoms of teen depression differ from adult depression.
Since teens are already irritable and moody, when they begin to exhibit a more intense mood swing, you may not see it as part of the decline in to depression because you expect the erratic behavior.
Another problem is that teens sleep random hours, fight your attempts at interaction, and spend periods by themselves. How is it possible for you to know what is a hormone-related mood disorder or a fall into depression?
Depression
There are some ways you can help your teen fight off the sadness, anger, irritability, and suicidal thoughts often associated with depression and teen depression. It may be difficult to differentiate the normal teen moodiness and behavior from a depressive episode, but these four steps can benefit every teen by helping them develop positive life-long habits. Other ideas can be found on sites such as Vigyaa.com.
Sleep
Although you may feel as if you are fighting an uphill battle with teen depression, try to make sure your teen gets enough sleep. Lack of sleep can lead to difficult and explosive behavior. As their bodies yearn for rest, their mental world and outside stimulation push them to limit their sleep. You will find that when your teen has at least 9 hours of sleep, he or she will become less moody and sad. Sleep can also enhance the young body’s cognitive development at a time of rapid growth.
Positivity
The sadness associated with the mental outlook of a depressed person causes them to look at the bleak and negative aspects of their world instead of seeing anything positive. If you can spend a few minutes each day having your teen talk about the good things that happened in the day, the beauty of the world around him or her, and a few strengths they have, you can teach your child to be more positive.
Creativity
Depression has been proven to block the creativity of most people, so get your teen to create. Baking, drawing, dancing, doodling, sewing, writing, and music are all great outlets that let your teen prove his or her abilities. If they come to love the activity, so much the better.
Exercise
Depression demands inactivity, so if you can get your teen moving, you can help them fight the sadness naturally. Exercise can produce hormones that lift your teen’s spirit and can cause them to smile, even when they don’t want to.
Teen depression is difficult to identify, but you can fight the sadness and anxiety that comes with the teen mood disorder by using the four tips above. Don’t let your teen spiral into sadness – get them to bed on time.