Teen depression is dangerous and fatal, if left unchecked. Children in the age group of 13 to 19 years go through drastic changes in life such as hormonal imbalance, puberty, and social, parental and peer pressures.
Constant sadness and a lack of interest in favourite activities are obvious signs of teen depression. Here are 6 guidelines to spot its symptoms early. And immediate steps you could take to help teenagers.
8 Signs of teen depression:
1. Degrading academic performance:
Depression causes degradation of your child’s performance at school. Was your child good in studies and has recently been faring poorly?
To help your children, involve them in their favourite activities such as sports, after-school clubs, dance or music classes. Initially, they would hesitate and might not show much interest, but do not give up. Keep motivating them to adapt themselves to their surroundings.They would feel better and regain interest.
2. Drugs and alcohol addiction:
Teenagers under bad influence usually get addicted to drugs and alcohol to forget sorrow, without knowing the harm they are causing to themselves.
You can cite consequences of drug abuse from news and alert your children. Besides, you should have a heart-to-heart conversation with children to get to the root of their sorrow and eradicate that situation causing addiction.
3. Academic stress:
Children often bear the brunt of their parents’ expectations, which forces them to addiction if they fail to live up to their standards. Instead of comparing your child’s performance with that of the others, teach them to fare better than their past performance. Once they do that, appreciate their efforts. Help them build confidence in themselves.
4. Eating and sleeping habits:
Depressed kids lose appetite and some become insomniacs. As a result of that, it is very important to keep track of your child’s health. You need to give them nutritious and balanced meals for a better mental and physical condition. Also, make sure that your child sleeps for 9 to 10 hours in a day.
5. Internet addiction:
Teens these days try to find solutions over the internet, which do more harm than good. Social media addiction reduces physical activities and disturbs family time. Therefore, you need to put limits on their use of the internet. Also, check what your child is browsing in order to prevent exposure to harmful elements.
6. Irresponsibility:
At one stage of depression, your child would be unruly and may be attracted to nuisances such as rash driving or bad habits such as alcoholism. Be like a friend they need in tough times and you’ll be able to bring your children back on track.
7. Infatuation:
Infatuation is very common among teenagers. They can’t differentiate between love and attraction and thus fall victim to immature relationships and fantasies that harm them.
All they need is your undivided attention to their problems and your guidance. Spend a lot of time discussing their issues with them and these problems will perish.
8. Violence:
Depression triggers violence among male teenagers and indifference to reality among female teenagers. You need to be very gentle and patient as teenagers express their feelings after a lot of difficulty. Take time to explain how violence blurs logic and is always harmful for everyone, including themselves. They’ll rectify themselves eventually.
Make sure you dedicate time every day for face-to-face discussions with your children Don’t try to multitask at that time as your dedication, love, guidance and support are sometimes all a teenager needs to return to a normal life.