Depression and Teens: A Guide for Parents

Depression and Teens:

A Guide for Parents

Causes and Symptoms	Coping with Depression
Treatment Options	How to Get Help for Your Teen

Having bad days occasionally is normal for teens, but what if your teen seems down in the dumps for a few weeks, or even a few months? If their feelings of sadness or irritability won't go away, the cause might be depression. Depression is very common and can affect any person at any age, including teens. This guide is designed to help you recognize the signs of depression and help you find resources for your teen.

What is depression?

Depression affects feelings, behaviors, thoughts, and physical well-being. There may be feelings of sadness or irritability, a lack of energy, trouble sleeping, feelings of hopelessness or worthlessness, or unhappy thoughts about life. Depression may also affect a person physically, causing changes in sleeping, eating, or concentration, or aches and pains such as headaches or stomachaches.

Who gets depressed?

Although we don't know the exact number of people who have depression, we do know that it affects children, teens, and adults of all ages and all ethnic and racial backgrounds.

What are the symptoms of depression?

Teens with depression may:

Appear sad or listless a lot of the time (You may not notice this all the time, but it persists for at least two weeks.)
Pull away from doing things they used to enjoy, such as playing sports, hanging out with friends, or studying
Act easily irritated or get angry or lose their temper quickly
Feel tired or have less energy, or feel restless and edgy
Experience changes in eating habits, eating more or less than they did before they started feeling depressed
Experience changes in sleep, either sleeping a lot more or a lot less than before, and/or having trouble falling asleep or waking up
Appear to have difficulty concentrating and/or making decisions
Isolate themselves from family and friends
Have increasingly worse self-esteem
Express feeling guilty about things that they do or don't do
State that they feel “empty”, or unable to put their feelings into words
Report feeling that things will never get better
Have thoughts about not wanting to live or about hurting themselves
May have tried to hurt themselves

How do I know whether my teen is depressed or just sad?

It is normal for everyone to feel depressed or sad sometimes. It can be particularly noticeable in teens who are experiencing typical, age-related mood variation. However, if your teen has some or all of the above symptoms much of the time for two weeks or more, she could have depression. There are no laboratory tests that can be done to prove that someone is depressed like there are for illnesses such as strep throat or diabetes. But if you think your teen may be depressed, it is important to talk with her health care provider. It may also be a good idea to consult a mental health provider about ways to help your teen.

What are the effects of depression?

Depression has many different and powerful effects on people who have it and it also affects the people around them.

Depression can:

Impact school and work performance
Influence a teen’s ability to make and keep friends
Make relationships with family members stressful
Affect physical health
Result in teens being more tempted to turn to alcohol, drugs, or sex as a way to escape from difficult feelings
Make your teen feel extremely irritable, causing yelling and arguing
Cause problems with staying focused, which can lead to car accidents and other serious mistakes
Lead to serious injury and even suicide if left untreated

What causes depression?

No one knows for sure what causes depression. The most important thing to keep in mind is that it is not your teenager's fault if she becomes depressed. Most likely, depression is caused by a combination of things, some of which have to do with the chemicals in the brain and some that have to do with life events. Sometimes depression can be the result of certain medical conditions such as anemia or a thyroid disorder. Other times, depression may be the consequence of dealing with a chronic health issue such as endometriosis or another medical problem that causes chronic pain or other debilitating symptoms.

Some factors that may increase the risk for depression:

Genetics: If other people in the family have had a depressive illness, your teenager may have similar genes and be more likely to become depressed.
Family problems: A major loss in your family or conflict among members of your family may cause your teen to feel depressed.
Low self-esteem: If your teenager is constantly being criticized, abused, or neglected, or if she is having difficulty at school or other activities, she may be more likely to feel depressed. Similarly, teens who have recently broken up with a boyfriend or girlfriend are vulnerable.
Feeling alone: Some teens feel that they are different from their peer group and that their friends and family do not understand. This is sometimes true for teens who are gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender. Teens who have a parent with a physical illness, mental illness, or a substance abuse problem are at particular risk if they feel that their family stability is threatened.
Medical conditions: Medical conditions such as thyroid disorders, anemia, diabetes, or chronic disease or pain can result in depression. If there is a history of any significant medical condition in your family or daughter, be sure to tell her health care provider.

Your teen may not have any of these problems but still feel depressed.

Next: Treatment Options

Written by the CYWH Staff at Children's Hospital Boston

Updated: 2/23/2010

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