The beginning of the adolescent period is becoming a serious test for the whole family. Parents are puzzled as to where their affectionate and obedient child has gone, and yesterday's child, overwhelmed by hormonal storms, becomes rude, unmotivated, aggressive and irritable. Mood swings become his constant companions, greatly complicating communication with others.
But the difficulty in communication is not the greatest evil, much worse if a teenager is depressed. And it is necessary to distinguish depression from just a bad mood. It is able to flow into the clinical form and significantly affect the condition, health and even human life: adolescents in a depressed state are prone to the emergence of chronic diseases, as well as to addiction, alcoholism and affective behaviors right up to suicide .
Teenage depression is significantly different from the adult, so it can be difficult for others to identify it and, as a consequence, offer the teenager their help. The main sign of depression in adults, as a rule, is apathy and a sense of indifference to the world around them. Adolescents, on the contrary, are often agitated and irritable, which greatly complicates the diagnosis.
Signs of depression in adolescents
- sadness, depression;
- a sense of loneliness and misunderstanding;
- irritation in combination with anger - and such reactions are absolutely inadequate to the events that occur and tend to increase;
- social passivity, voluntary isolation, refusal to communicate with others;
- lack of interest - first to routine daily activities, then - to hobbies and life in general;
- constant fatigue;
- uncaused pains;
- disturbance of sleep and nutrition;
- distracted attention, inability to concentrate on anything.
How to cope with depression in adolescents?
Depression, of course, if you do not call it horrible, in particular, just fatigue and bad mood, this is a real clinical diagnosis and getting out of it yourself is not always possible, especially if it drags on and takes heavy forms. The first thing a teenager needs in depression is the help of the parents, no matter how they protested and did not deny this fact.
A few tips to help you find contact and provide timely help to your depressed teenager:
- Provide no-price support - let the child know that you are always ready to help and listen. But do not be imposed and do not ask many questions - adolescents categorically deny control and hyperope.
- Be concerned about the state delicately, but persistently. Express your concern about the state of the child and the willingness to help and support in a difficult situation. Avoid categorical judgments, assessments, as well as moralizing and ultimatums - the child will not go into contact and will become even more locked up in himself.
- Take all the emotions and the state of the child seriously - do not ridicule and call it the stupidity of his experience. Remember that what an adult seems to be a minor trifle, for a teenager can turn into a real tragedy.
- Convince the child of the need to consult a specialist. Prolonged depression needs psychotherapy, and sometimes in medical correction. Perhaps, group lessons with family members may be needed, you need to be ready for this.
- In the process of treatment, be delicate and patient, get to the core, try to get as much information about this phenomenon and its therapy.
- Try to help the child change the environment and diversify activities - encourage sports, active recreation, a variety of hobbies.