Overview of the Problem Today
Today, adolescents and teenagers worldwide are suffering from depression, and rates of depression are rising throughout recent years to startling degrees. In fact, your child is more likely to suffer from an episode of depression than they are not. If you do not already know exactly what depression is, it is a mental condition which severely lowers the mood of someone which can cause them to lose interest in many everyday activities, which can lead to an impairment in daily life.
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Figure 1. Depression by Ryan Melaugh
The goal of this website is to help parents identify if their child may be suffering from depression, to explain why they are well equipped for this task, and to aid them in taking the necessary steps to combat their depression. Firstly, depression can stem from almost anything. It isn't uncommon for adolescents to find that they have depression out of the blue, and many of these times the depression can simply be genetic and linked to family history. Also, a significant amount of depression in teenagers stems from problems in the family and home.
Some Statistics
Here are some powerful statistics from rawhide.org that can help to further paint the picture of depression in America. According to rawhide.org, 5,400 teens end up committing suicide each year, and that is estimated to be due to depression in many cases, as depression has been found to be the number one cause of suicide. Not only is suicide the third leading cause of death for young people, rates of teen suicide have tripled since 1960. This epidemic of depression is especially prevalent in adolescents, as it affects them at a different rate and for different reasons that it does to fully grown adults.
Warning Signs
You may ask, “How do I know for sure if my adolescent is depressed?” Well, there are many causes out there that may be warning signs for you, as a parent, to keep your eye out for. Numerous more causes of depression that are cited by rawhide.org include academic stresses, traumatic events, financial issues, peer pressure, and especially divorcing parents. However, it is important that they understand that anyone can get through depression, no matter the cause.
