8 Symptoms of Depression in Teenagers You Must Know

Mamta is a 16-year-old chattering girl. She was brilliant in her studies and proficient in sports and other things. Everyone at home and school loved her. But Mamta used to be silent these days, sitting alone, staring into nothingness. She was also a little irritated. She used to avoid food, so she became a little weak.

Slowly, Mamta started living within and got shallow marks on the exam. Everyone ignored it, assuming it would be stressful for 10th-class studies. Then the mother realized something was wrong with her, so she brought Mamta to me for counselling.

Talking to her, I noticed she is a victim of teenage depression. It took me a while to get Mamta to speak. After 5-6 sittings, I noticed many positive changes in Mamta. If Mamta’s mother had not realized it, something terrible might have happened.

According to a 2015 WHO report, the number of depression patients in India is over 50 million, and Indians account for more suicides because of depression worldwide.

In addition, according to a report published by the Depression and Other Common Mental Disorders Global Health Estimate, most people who die by suicide worldwide are from middle-class countries.

This severe disease affects boys and girls most in the adolescent group.

Mumbai-based health and wellness clinic Dr. Bhavi Modi says that the number of children dying of teenage depression has increased in the country. It is also possible that these young boys and girls may have had depression for the past several months and finally fell into such a deep depression that they took drastic measures like suicide.

Parents must monitor their children in such critical situations, keep talking to them, and consult a specialist doctor immediately if symptoms of depression appear.

Today I am going to tell you eight symptoms of teenage depression. This article will tell you what these symptoms are.

This severe disease affects boys and girls in the adolescent group most.

1. Loss of Interest in Everything:

Loss of interest is the foremost symptom of depression. If your child doesn’t even want to do his favourite activity/thing and gets lonely, then understand that something is wrong. In such a situation, talk to your child.

2. Lack of Good Sleep:

When teenagers fall victim to depression, their sleep also suffers. If your child could not sleep well for the past few days and has been staying up late at night, it could be a sign of depression. Apart from this, if he sleeps more than the limit, this is also a sign of depression. So, if you notice a change in your child’s sleeping pattern, don’t ignore it.

3. Lack of Social Interaction:

Some children are introverted from an early age, but if your child is already very extroverted and has many friends but suddenly stops seeing everyone and becomes lonely, then understand that something is wrong. In such cases, talk to him and consult a counsellor.

4. Speaking of suicide:

Usually, young boys and girls do not talk about suicide. Suppose your child has been talking about suicide for the past few days or has been gathering information on Google; it’s an alarming situation. Take him to a psychiatrist as soon as possible.

5. Changes in diet:

If your child suddenly starts eating more than he should or eats too little, understand that this is also a sign of depression. Such changes in diet can be because of many other reasons but consult a doctor once to find the right reason.

6. Deterioration of educational status

When teenagers have depression, it affects their studies badly; they cannot concentrate on their studies, so they cannot score well in the exam. So if they fail an exam, try to find out the exact reason instead of yelling at them.

 7. Hypersensitive:

When teenagers tell their parents, “You don’t love me or you don’t have time for me,” understand that they are not happy inside and need you a lot. If you notice something like this, don’t make the mistake of ignoring it. Spend more time with the children and try to understand their problems.

8. Mood Swings:

Mood swings are common among teenagers, but if they persist for an extended period, it is a cause for concern. So, if you feel loneliness or sadness in your child’s behaviour, instead of ignoring it, talk to the children and find out the exact reason.

In this article, we have seen that not enjoying anything, not sleeping well, not socializing, changes in eating and drinking, poor school performance, being hypersensitive and mood swings are all symptoms of teenage depression. If we pay attention to this in time, we can save our children from depression.

Adolescence is the age to become a bird and fly; We are free to wander. We think this world is so beautiful. And then suddenly, we face this rejection and our entire life changes. Some children take rejection positively, while they devastated others. In today’s article, I will tell you some tips by which you can face rejection/depression with a smile.

1. Ask yourself:

With good marks in studies, degrees, good jobs, and relationships, the answer will come from within you, “to prove yourself, show society, parents”. If you get rejected, ask yourself why you wanted this. When you get a response, ask yourself, would I kill myself if all this didn’t happen? And that would be absurd. So stop stressing and prepare more for success.

2. Don’t trouble yourself:

There are constant difficulties in life. If you get rejected at any stage, don’t let it affect your life. Don’t bother yourself with destructive thoughts. That can make you depressed. It wasn’t for me; I have to move on. There will be something better next.

Look at the situation from a different perspective.

We feel we are unfortunate to get rejected, but try to see that something good will happen from the rejection. Don’t be sad if you didn’t get admission to the side you wanted to go to, or the college you wanted to attend; you will get something different and wonderful.

4. Stay in control:

Sometimes we don’t get what we want, and try to follow the wrong way to get it. Then we try to get what we wish by fighting or plan for new ideas. We keep thinking that I have to do anything to get it, which doesn’t seem right. We can squander our whole life for some momentary pleasure.

5. Accept the truth:

When selecting or rejecting, you hear no instead of yes, don’t take it personally. That can cause problems. What is the reason for this rejection? Embrace the idea that rejection can bring new opportunities, so I must be happy in every situation that comes my way.

6. Your questions will be your answers.

When you ask yourself questions, you will understand the good and the bad in yourself. It would help if you looked inside yourself, introspect, and eliminate the bad things in you. You can turn a stone into a diamond just by trying. Find out some questions on your own. Only you can answer these questions.

7. Learn to love yourself:

To achieve anything in life, love yourself first. Understand yourself. If someone says something terrible, don’t immediately think negatively about yourself.

Most importantly, learn to forgive yourself. If you honestly start loving and believing in yourself, you will surely reach your goal. Then no force in the world can defeat you.

If you have questions, you can ask me. Also, you can contact me if you want to do counselling for teenagers.

Doctor Kalpesh Baiker

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