We always feel that teenagers who are busy studying have no worries except studying. Even if they do have worries, they seem to be nothing compared to the worries and pressure of adults.
But in reality, depression can start at any age, and teenagers are the key group of depression. "People's Daily" once reported: "The detection rate of depression among adolescents in my country in 2020 was 24.6%." In other words, almost 1 in 4 children is prone to depression.
Source People’s Daily
Depression is not a fragile mind, nor is it pretentious. Depression is often caused by genetic, psychological and environmental factors.
Teenagers are in adolescence, which is a critical stage of growth and development. Their central nervous system is immature, their hormone levels are unstable, and they are prone to mood swings.
At this time, if they face difficulties such as parents' expectations, academic pressure, and interpersonal communication, they will conflict with their immature minds, making them more likely to become entangled in depression.
The symptoms of teenagers suffering from depression are often very subtle.
Compared with adults, the symptoms of depression in teenagers are often not typical. Although there are "three lows" symptoms similar to those of adults, namely low mood, reduced behavioral activities, and decreased interest, there are some special points.
Teenagers are immature physically and mentally and have poor emotional control. Their symptoms are more severe and tend to be withdrawn, angry, bored, and contradictory.
For this reason, parents may mistakenly believe that their children have entered adolescence and are just a little rebellious, while ignoring the depression hidden under the rebellious appearance.
Parents should pay attention if their children show the following symptoms:
1. The mood is not only continuous sadness and depression , but also irritability , easy to lose temper for no reason, and full of hostility.
2. My grades in learning dropped , and I even started to get tired of studying and skipped . Depression makes children think slowly, find it difficult to concentrate, feel tired of studying, and have a significant decline in academic performance.
3. The happiness I got from the things I liked before has become less . The happy memories of the past are no longer happy, and I am unwilling to participate in games.
4. The body is prone to fatigue and activity decreases.
5. Children's self-evaluation is often biased towards negative , feeling that "no one likes them", "they are worthless", or "it's all their own fault", etc.
6. Become withdrawn and isolate yourself from others.
7. I cry more often than before, sometimes cries for no reason.
8. Appetite has changed , decreased significantly or suddenly overeating.
9.Sleep rhythm is disordered, even staying up all night.
10. Inexplicable muscle aches, headaches, abdominal pain, diarrhea and other physical discomforts . I went to check my body, but I couldn't find the cause.
11. Likes to talk about the death of and , and even has suicidal thoughts and behaviors.
These hidden and diverse manifestations of depression are often ignored or misunderstood by parents, leading to delays in treatment.
Therefore, if you find that your child has the above symptoms, you need to pay attention to it, communicate with the child effectively, and take the child to seek professional help if necessary.
