Teens With Depression Essay, Research Paper

The ability to express oneself can be invaluable. For victims of depression it can mean the difference between life and death. Telling their story and making their needs known to others is often the only way for depression victims to get the help they need and to begin the healing process. Depression is a silent killer and families are often taken by surprise when a loved one takes his or her own life. For this reason, it is immeasurably important for a depressed person to relate his or her feelings so that friends and family members can take the necessary steps towards helping. Depression in teens is especially difficult to detect and deal with. Teenagers are at a confusing stage in life that makes them very susceptible to depression. The transition into adulthood is almost never an easy one and teenagers in general usually experience great inner turmoil during these years of change. Teenage victims of depression, however, confront an even greater conflict and face an immense challenge in getting the help that they need. Of over 5,000 suicides by persons under the age twenty-five in the United States every year, approximately 2,000 are by teenagers (Slaby, 3). There are many factors that may serve as obstacles to a depressed teenager who needs to express him- or herself, some arise from within, and some are caused by other people.Some teenagers aren’t even aware that they are depressed until they have already entered an advanced stage of depression, since they have become depressed very gradually. Depression is easily unnoticed and can go unnoticed for years before this serious mental illness is diagnosed. In fact, most teens don’t realize immediately that they are depressed because the symptoms are so subtle and can often be confused with a minor bout of sadness, which is a common thing. There is, however, a vast difference between a temporary instance of feeling melancholy and actual depression. According to a respected professional in the field of depression, the disease of depression can best be described as “profound, all-encompassing sadness” (Slaby, 4). It is a serious mental disorder that cripples the victim’s ability to be happy. The depressed person’s perception of events is altered and everything serves to increase the feelings of sadness. It is difficult to say what causes depression. Often, factors such as failure, alienation by peers, any kind of abuse, physical illness, and extreme pressure to succeed are enough to push a teenager into depression, however, many teens experience these things without ever becoming depressed. Some people are simply more susceptible to the disease than others (Jefferson, 8). Interestingly, a recent study implies a relationship between dangerous behavior and suicide attempts. Teenagers who have a history of drinking, drug abuse, sexual promiscuity, and similar conduct are most likely to be depressed and contemplating suicide (Woods, 12). This study seems inconclusive, however, since depression may not be the result of such conduct, but rather the cause of it.Many depressed teens don’t tell their stories because they don’t want to be a burden on their family and friends. They don’t think it matters to anyone what they are going through. Not only does it seem that others don’t care, but in the mind of the depressed person, there is no reason why they should care. It seems pointless to try to communicate what they’re going through. Often, victims of depression feel that their depression is just something that they need to deal with and that they don’t need help. This typical behavior, however, can be very dangerous. Depression is an all-encompassing, overwhelming sickness that is almost always too much for one person to deal with on their own. Only a rare few are able to silently conquer this disease. Unfortunately, suicide is often the outcome for those who do not receive support and unsuccessfully attempt to simply “deal with it”. For this reason, it is crucial that a depressed person shares his or her “story”. Although the barrier between depressed people and help for their disease is often within themselves, others play a large role in disabling depressed people’s ability to share their story. Frequently, someone suffering from depression will attempt to communicate with a friend or family member but that person will be unresponsive. Victims of depression unconsciously give clues about what they are going through; they exhibit certain symptoms that are characteristic of depression. Many people do not take in these clues, however, for different reasons. Sometimes people are unwilling to believe that their friend or a member of their family is really depressed. Parents, especially, often do not wish to accept this fact. They feel that if their child is depressed, that means they did not do a good job as parents, and thus they fail to validate their child’s emotions. Frequently, the parents don’t realize the extent of their child’s problems until the depressed teen begins hurting him- or herself.

Some people simply don’t believe that depression exists. They believe that people have the ability to make themselves happy at will and sadness is completely caused by that person’s desire to be sad. It is ridiculous to believe, however, that anyone would want to be in such a state. Some would also argue that teens don’t seek to end their depression because they enjoy the sympathy and attention that it may bring upon them. This reasoning is flawed as well. Since for depressed people it is extremely difficult to feel happiness at all, it is similarly unlikely that they would derive pleasure from such deception.There is, however, scientific evidence that verifies the existence of depression as an actual biological disorder. Although unable to conjecture at the external source of depression, a respected researcher from the Emory University School of Medicine affirms that “the final common pathways to depression involve biochemical changes in the brain” (Nemeroff, 1). Studies also link susceptibility to depression with DNA. Depression and manic-depression often run in families. Thus, close blood relatives of victims of severe depressive disorders are much more likely to suffer from those or related condition than are members of the general population (Nemeroff, 2). Depression, then is certainly an undeniable physical condition and ignorance to this fact can be dangerous to teens in need, who have to communicate their troubles to others in order to defeat them. It is significantly dangerous to the health of a teen when a loved one refuses to believe the problems he or she is trying to convey.Often it is not the fault of the friends and family members. Many people have difficulty interpreting the clues that a depressed teen gives as to his or her emotional state. These clues are frequently unnoticed or mistaken for something more mild than a severe depressive disorder. This is because they are not clues given overtly with the purpose of getting help for oneself, but merely symptoms exhibited that must be noticed by another. In order to hear the story of a depressed teenager, one must listen actively. It is necessary to seek the story yourself if you are willing to hear it and to help. Sometimes, especially among depressed teens, a depressed person will become very morbid. He or she will constantly talk of death. Many depression victims contemplate their own death. It is common for a depressed teen to ask questions pertaining to his or her death, such as, “if I died, would you come to my funeral?” Often, the signals that a depressed person gives are not so obvious. A great deal of teens suffering from depression simply don’t go out a lot, they sleep whenever they can and don’t eat often. In order to hear the story of these people, one must notice such a lack of motivation and interpret it as the problem it is. There are many different ways in which a depressed teenager can notify others of his or her problems. Unfortunately, however, there are just as many barriers to the telling of these stories. For this reason, it is important that people actively seek out the story of a friend or family member who appears to be depressed. If a depression victim is ignored and left to deal with his or her problem alone, the outcome, unfortunately, is often suicide. People must learn to recognize and heed the stories depressed teens tell in order help them through their hardship and restore the life that everyone deserves. Recognition of a depressed teens problems and action towards giving aid help immensely in restoring a depressed teenager’s sense of hope. Sadness is much more bearable when the prospect of happiness seems an attainable goal.

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