Top Ten Signs Of Teenage Depression

By Emmanuel Heart  

Is your teen suffering from teenage depression? Teenage depression is an occurrence that is more common than we can imagine. So if your teen is a victim, you are not alone. However, what are some common signs of teenage depression?

• Poor academic performance; your depressed teen might find it difficult coping with school work, assignments, teachers and peers and these results in unexpected and sudden drop in grades. Eventually, the teen might feel reluctant to go to school at all.
   
• Behavioral problems; your depressed teen might experience clear changes in mood and behavior. Confrontational and rebellious behaviors even to the extent of running away from home could also be a possibility.
   
• Self isolation; most of the time, your depressed teen might withdraw himself from family, friends and relatives. He prefers to be left alone and not disturbed.
   
• Changes in sleep pattern; your depressed teen might experience confused sleep patterns. He might either be sleeping all day and staying up all night or sleeping too little or too much.
   
• Feelings of worthlessness and guilt; Your teen might constantly feel like a failure and also becomes negatively critical of himself even though this may not be true.
   
• Loss of interest in extracurricular activities; Your teen might suddenly become uninterested in hobbies and activities that were once intriguing to him. He now suddenly becomes unexpectedly passive.
   
• Substance abuse; you may observe an excessive or overuse of drugs and alcohol. In extreme cases, there might even be some form of substance addiction.
   
• Changes in eating habit; your teen might develop several eating disorders such as bulimia, anorexia nervosa, and even compulsive overeating.
   
• Psychosomatic symptoms; your depressed teen might constantly complain of illnesses without any clear physical causes. Headaches, back pain, stomach aches are just few examples of the various illnesses that your teen might complain of.
   
• Death or suicide thoughts; in extreme cases of teenage depression, depression intensifies to the extent that your teen might become more preoccupied with feelings of death or suicide. He might constantly consider ‘ending it all’.

If you think your teen displays some or all of the symptoms described in this article, it might be a clear indication that your teen is suffering from teenage depression. It might therefore be wise for you to seriously consider seeking professional advice.