Teenage Years Are Depressing Essay Research Paper

Teenage Years Are Depressing Essay, Research Paper

Teenage years are depressing because they are going through some of the biggest changes in their life. Teens start high school and have to deal with being little in a school again. They go through major hormonal changes. Their bodies develop and grow. They have to decide whether or not they are going to college or not. If they choose college, then what college will meet their needs the best? Will they even be accepted to the college they want to go to? These are major decisions and changes they have never experienced before. Then there is the daily life.

They wake up in the morning dreading school, they know they have to go. They just don’t want to go. Then they get ready and go to school. They are depressed about school. They go to all their classes. The end of the day is nearing and they may be depressed about having to go home. Their family life might be bad. They go home and what do you do? Sit down, watch television, play a video game, lock themselves in their room, or just going around being mad at everyone and their life. This really is the pits. They need to change their life whether it be changing their after school activity or changing their attitude.

Depression is defined as a psychoneurotic or psychotic disorder marked especially by sadness, inactivity, difficulty in thinking and concentration, a significant increase or decrease in appetite and time spent sleeping, feelings of dejection and hopelessness, and sometimes suicidal tendencies. No two people feel or experience depression the same way. The symptoms and causes of depression are very different for everyone.

Lawrence Clayton, Ph.D. and Sharon Carter write, "The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [reported that] for 4 to 10 percent of the American public at any given time the ["downer"] mood doesn’t lift." They also reported that one quarter of the population would experience a major depressive period during their lifetime (8). One out of four people will have a problem with depression in the United States. NIMH also reported that "approximately 4 out of a 100 teenagers get seriously depressed each year. Clinical Depression is a serious illness that can affect anybody, INCLUDING TEENAGERS" ("Let’s Talk" 1).

Gerald D. Oster, Ph.D., Sarah S. Montgomery, MSW, write, "Clinical depression refers to a condition marked by the changes in one’s mood and by associated behaviors that range from a mild degree of sadness to intensely experienced feelings of hopelessness and suicidal thought’s" (43).

Did you know suicide is the second leading cause for death in teenagers? "Suicidal thoughts, remarks, or attempts are ALWAYS SERIOUS?if any of there happen to you or a friend, you must tell a responsible adult IMMEDIATELY ?it’s better to be safe than sorry" ("Let’s Talk" 3). According to a website called Depression.com "Each year 250,000 teens attempt suicide, and 2,000 complete it. Since 1960, teen suicides have doubled. Girls are more likely to attempt suicide, but boys kill themselves four times more often, usually with guns ("Depression" 1)." Suicide is not the answer.

According to Lawrence Clayton, Ph.D. and Sharon Carter there are a lot of symptoms to depression:

The symptoms to look for in yourself, or anyone you suspect may be depressed, are as follows: social withdrawal, lack of interest in usual activities, frequent tearfulness, unkempt appearance, belief that no one cares, feelings of hopelessness, beginning or increasing use of alcohol or other drugs, inappropriate feelings of guilt, pessimistic outlook, excessive anxiety, low self-esteem, inability to concentrate, excessive irritability, difficulty in making decisions, prolonged sadness, recurrent thoughts of death, desire for revenge, thoughts of suicide, sudden drop in grades or work performance, very high or low energy level, sleeping too much or not enough, loss of appetite or overeating, and confusion.

They do not need to be experiencing all of these symptoms to have a problem. Experiencing any four is enough to warrant concern (9-10). They should definitely get help if their problem persists over two weeks.

Why are they having these problems? Is it their grades, their relationship with their friends and family, alcohol, drugs, sex, or is it something else? The causes for depression vary. Someone might get depressed because they spilt milk in front of everyone in the cafeteria and everyone turns and looks. If the same thing happened to someone else, it would not even bother him or her. Some people the weather effects them and they become depressed; on the other hand, a person can become depressed when a good event in their life is about to occur.

Clayton and Carter describe six stages of depression: change, pain, anger, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation. The stages go in that order but they can stop at any stage or can regress. Change is described as being hard for teenagers because they have experienced time as slower then adults. Adults have been around longer so time passes quicker for adults. Change is hard for teenagers because most fear risks like asking a peer out on a date.

The second stage is pain. Good and bad change occurs in ones life. With teenagers, good change can be a devastating as bad. Graduat