Youth Depression, Relevance on Person’s Life: Start to Finish

Abstract

As a person ages, there are specific stages of life that define their identity. Adolescence is one of the most important phases in a person’s life since different factors shape a person while he or she transitions to an adult. Depression is one of the most common mental illnesses among teenagers which makes it impressively relevant on an emergent human being. Depression is so common that on today’s world is referred to as a “common cold”. Because it’s so common, it’s even more difficult to understand. To achieve my goal many professionals experienced in dealing with troubled teenagers will contribute.

Most of my research is going to be based upon different articles, books, journals, online blogs, and i expect to interview different youth among my living area to get a more blank and transparent view of this topic. Along with this i will hopefully inform people about what depression really is and the relevance it has in a person’s life. Secondarily, i would love to pass the understanding between feeling down and having a mental illness, treatments that are provided for depression, updated statistics, and how aware of this situation our educational system is.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, depression is a common and serious medical illness that negatively affects how you feel, the way you think, and how you act. There are many types of depression that most likely fall into the next two categories: depression regarded as reactive to the environment and those types that have their origins within the patient. Depression is different from sadness or grief. For example, failing a big test, losing your loved one, or missing out on a big opportunity are situations you experience that are for the most part temporary, even though they can lead to certain responses associated with depression symptoms. Many factors can play a role in depression that go along depending an age group.

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Teenagers are a worldwide focus in this century when it comes to mental illnesses, specially depression. In fact depression is said to be so common among adolescents that it is now referred to as a common cold or “the blues”. Depression has taken a peek ever since it started to be talked about. One of the most shocking statistics is that 7.4% of youth, ages 12 to 17, have severe depression (M.H.A 2). Though not all of our young population has depression, they can also experience depression episodes which take place in 11% of our youth population. Many psychological, emotional, physical, and social changes accompany this stage of life. In such an opened environment, teenagers have a more clear view of what life has to offer. As we grow, there are specific stages of life that define our identity.

We also go through different situations that induce a deep disappointment and isolate us more profoundly. Our families become our enemies, our friends are the most intimate relationship we have, and we are even leaning towards trying new things that can position us in places we instantly regret. Adolescence is the period where we grow into adults and handle things differently. Because of this deep understanding of vulnerability about growing, depression has a big relevance on adolescents and early diagnosis is almost crucial.

Diagnosing depression can be a really hard thing to do. It is difficult to diagnose in teens since adults often expect teens to act moody, Another factor that withdraws the diagnosis of a teen with clinical depression is that teens themselves do not understand their feelings and may neglect themselves from seeking the help needed. Some symptoms of depression are: poor performance in school, conflicts in intrapersonal relationships, hopelessness, lack of enthusiasm anger, overreaction to criticism, changes in eating or sleeping patterns, problems with authority, and suicidal thoughts or actions. Depression can take several forms, it basically varietes from bipolar disorder to forms of chronic or manic episodes.

Endogenous depression is one of the most common illnesses around society right now. Since it characterizes itself with chronic episodes of inefficiency and threatens life through suicide and self harm, this type of depression is clinical and it is outstandingly important since those who suffer from it might get their diagnosis delayed until there is extreme situations (those where a person lies in a life or death circumstance). The most common feature of this type of depression is sleep disturbance. This deals with a period of time where you can go through insomnia-like symptoms.

For example, you could awake at early hours in the morning, you never feel well rested, and in the worst cases there is no sleep at all. Some other feature we should draw our attention to while dealing with Endogenous depression is the evidence of psychological disturbance. For example, Loss of weight and appetite, failure of sexual interest, and even constipation among a person’s bowel.We need to take note that this type of depression and many others as well reflect on a person’s whole being self. They would attack your mood, your thinking, your physical activity, and your mental activity.The patient’s attitude to his illness is also considerable. Recognizing your disorder and mental illness is extremely important. In most cases feelings of inaquadency or self reproach are evident.

The patient can say things like he is “ letting everybody down” or “not pulling his weight”. Because of this, reassurance among a close interpersonal circle is extremely important. Lastly as an obvious trait, this type of depression patients are presented with denial. You need to be aware that a patient with depression will look ill and for an effective diagnosis measures need to be taken. Just because you have some of this symptoms does not mean you are experiencing depression and you need to go to a therapist to see what their diagnosis is but if there are severe symptoms especially those of self harm or suicide within you or those among you you need to report it no matter if it’s the first time. Every life counts

Treatment of depression can differentiate depending on the situation, stage, and type of depression a teenager is experiencing. The most common types of depression are psychotherapy, support groups, medications, brain stimulation therapy, and alternative medicine like exercising. There can also be times where patients are put in mental institutes or stay briefly in a general hospital.

Psychotherapy is one of the most effective treatments for depression. Some examples of psychotherapy are: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, help asses and change negative thinking in 8 to 16 sessions, Interpersonal Therapy, main focus is to help resolve interpersonal problems and other changes that contribute to depression disorder, and Psychodynamic Therapy, a therapeutic approach rooted in recognizing and understanding negative patterns of behavior and feelings that are rooted in past experiences and working to resolve them (N.A.M.I. 2017). When it comes to drugs, “it’s better to know and use a few than to follow every hortation of the morning’s blotters” (Miller. 261). Basically, even the most powerful hipnotics can be effective unless there is antidepressive treatment. Even though this is true for some people, antidepressants may help reduce or control symptoms.

Most common medications prescribe for depressive patients are Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) that basically act on serotonin, a brain chemical. Some examples are: Fluoxetine, Sertraline, and Citalopram. Another common type of medication are Norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitors (NDRIs) which basically is an effective treatment for anxiety, which comes with depression, and increase dopamine and norepinephrine. Lately there are other experimental treatments that can help coping with depression and giving a patient a normal and functionable life. This experimental therapies are usually not suggested since they have not been studied for a long time and they mostly help on a short term basis.

There is also many serious outcomes or side effects that can affect on the long term that can be super dangerous and even lethal. Ketamine is an anesthetic with a street value (special K) that has not been studied for long-term use. It can make psychosis worse and is not an ideal choice for people with substance use disorders but it has been demonstrated in few cases to be effective with suicidal thoughts and moments of crisis. Another experimental treatment that is not really dangerous is deep brain stimulation.l this treatment is not targeted for patients with depression but patients with Parkinson’s disease. Lastly if failure is discovered after experimenting with all the treatments mentioned above our last resource is Electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). It basically uses an electric current to treat serious mental disorders.

With all this diagnosis, treatments, and just the thought of recognizing you have a mental illness, tyeenagers can be affected in their day to day lifes. Depression has a big relevance when it comes to having a normal lifestyle. This variates from interpersonal relationships, to physical activity, to future planning and even reputation.

Since depression is not something you can rid off easily, adolescents who suffer it have to deal with everyday. On the long term, depressions isolates you from your loved ones. As teenagers we are expected to go through certain stages society has labeled on us within this stages people might not even realize that you are not just another rebel but you are suffering from depression. When it comes to family different depression symptoms like anger, overreaction to criticism, and hopelessness can push people away this leads to feelings of loneliness and even severe anxiety. It could be described as a chain.

For example, once you are feeling lonely your mood is not gonna be as enthusiastic as it was before which might affect your self esteem and how you deal with those who are in your inner circle, this leads to your educational performance which can lead to disappointment and problems on a household which can lead to ineffectiveness feelings that include comments like “everyone is carrying my weight” or “ they would be so much better without me” which on the worst cases leads to self harm or even suicide. There are many cases and many different situations, in fact is almost impossible to name each and everyone of them but in conclusion your environment can severely affect you and your well being. After diagnosis patients with depression are expected to stick to a specific type of treatment.

Since your disease genuinely already affected factors like your sleep and eating patterns, different side effects from medications you are possibly given can affect your identity. Situations are a big spectrum that almost nobody understands but its not to be taken for granted. Finally, the most important note we need to understand is that teenagers might be dealing with all these problems by themselves and even though there are different resources where they can get information from, the main concern in this century is whether we really know how to differentiate between a bad stage and having a mental illness that can even come from your genes.

Teenagers spend a big part of their life in school. Because of this, our educational system plays a big part concerning the mental health of students and their day to day life. Parents can not be with their child 24/7 so it is expected for professionals, focused to help children succeed, to help with the diagnosis of a problem and provide as much help as possible. How aware is our educational system of the struggle students have with depression being relevant on their lifestyles? The answer is for the most part very aware. Schools provide different resources.

The main one being counselors who are there to listen to you and guide you through whatever you need. As educators they need to follow different protocols so when it comes to treating teenagers with depression the only thing they can do is provide you with information and tell you everything is gonna be ok. There is also different world wide campaigns that school counties promote. For example, the “it gets better” campaign. They basically provide brochures and decorate schools with different posters that usually have the suicide hotline.

Another respectable foundation for mental health is NAMI. NAMI advocates for the services and supports that schools need to provide school-based mental health services. These programs bring trained community mental health professionals into schools to provide mental health care or to link families to resources in the community. They provide access to services and supports and help reduce the confusion and isolation experienced by youth with mental health conditions and their families.

Depression is a serious mental health condition that cannot be take for granted. In today’s world one of five teenagers suffer from clinical depression. While we transition to an adult, depression can be a really relevant factor in an emergent human being when it comes to true identity, lifestyle, and quality of living. Diagnosing depression is difficult since there can be many things that stop the process but once it is diagnose different treatment are given to help a patient. Some treatments are more helpful than others and some treatments can cause severe side effects that affect a life on the long term.

Our educational system provides us with enough information to look after ourselves but will not be as responsible in treating adolescents with depression, they will simply help diagnose it and report symptoms and educational performance. When suffering through depression different interpersonal problems are encountered and you can get to the point where you are completely isolated. Terminally, being depressed and having a mental illness is way different from griefing and feeling down for a small period of time and we as a nation should learn to recognize the differences and realize that depression is extremely relevant on a teenagers klifestly and early diagnosis is crucial.

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