What are the causes of depression in teens?

Teenage is a very crucial time for anyone in their life. It is a period where a human undergoes various changes on personal, emotional, hormonal, physical and mental backgrounds. While undergoing these changes then, a teenager does not know which way to go about in life and he or she may feel confused and end up taking wrong decisions in life.

Depression in anyone, especially teens is a serious mental health problem that causes a persistent feeling of sadness, loneliness and a loss of interest in your daily activities. It causes physical, mental and emotional issues which may become a baggage for life it not taken care of. The entire life and the whole thought process of a teenager changes completely.

Many a times people can’t even make out the behavioral changes occurring due to depression. Many even name it different things like pmsing or a bad day or bad experience etc etc , when they can’t really figure out the real problem or in some other cases wants to ignore it. it is important to understand that depression is not a weakness neither does it suggest that you are not good enough or you’re lacking in any form. It is a medical condition that needs proper treatment and care.

There can be a wide range of reasons or justifications for anyone to be suffering from depression which varies from peer pressure, academic pressure, parental or societal pressures or even personal problems. One can always overcome depression with strong willpower, determination, optimism and treatment like medical counselling or meditation.

To understand the reasons and the lives of teenagers a little better here we are going to list down a few important and possible reasons for depression amongst teens. So, go ahead.

7 Causes of depression in teens

Many a times, parents or family or at times even the teenagers themselves cannot make out if they are suffering from depression. The actual cause of depression is not medically certified or known yet but it varies from people to people. Hence, it is very important to know the reasons so that you can identify the problems in your life and take the earliest steps possible to curb it. So, dive in.

1. Hormonal changes

Teenage is one of the most difficult period in anyone’s life. It is the time when you hit puberty that you undergo various hormonal changes which has it’s own good and bad effects in you. During this hormonal change a lot of secretions of hormones happen in our body which can lead to various issues like mood swings or low self esteem or a certain dislike towards everything or annoyance or irritation or loneliness.

If any of these symptoms exaggerate then it might lead to serious problems like depression. Depression can also be due to different levels of neurotransmitters in our body that’s undergoing changes. Neurotransmitters are very important in controlling our moods and behavior because it is a chemical that establishes a communication between different brain cells. Poor communication amongst the brain cells can lead to misinterpreted information and changes in human behavior.

2. Childhood trauma

Another very sensitive reason as to why a teenage suffers from depression is family issues and not having a very happy childhood. What you see and go through as a child has a great impact on your thoughts personality and your whole life. Physical, emotional or sexual abuse , loss of a parent or divorced parents, or domestic violence or remarriage of parents or even change in lifestyle and place of living can have harmful effects on a child’s mind. One might even forget the instances but never the feeling. Children do not have well developed ‘coping up with traumas or anxiety’ mechanisms.

3. Hereditary

It is true that depression is a hereditary illness or a disease that can spread from one generation to another. The hereditary runs in family’s blood and so teenagers who have parents or grandparents or anyone in their blood relation who has suffered depression increases their change of getting the illness you But it is not always a surety that teens having depression in their previous generations will suffer from the disease and those who do not have depression in their family lines will not suffer from the disease. It is an illness which has more than one factor affecting it, here, hereditary factor being the predominant one.

4. Lack of importance in life

Another important problem that a teenager persistently faces in his or her life is not been given adequate amount of importance that he or she might feel entitled to. Even though they might not accept it but teenagers are always in need of some emotional and physical attention.There are various teenagers who feel that their presence or ideas or thoughts are not being valued as much as those of the others are.

This can later on be a serious problem. If a teenager feels that he or she is being neglected in a family, society or group of friends, it may lead to them committing to wrong means only to satisfy their ego. There are also chances that these teenagers wood indulge into malpractices like drugs or cigarettes or alcohol and later on find themselves caught in the whole mess. The whole scenario of doubting themselves, looking for approval and regard in everything they do along with their regret of falling into this vicious cycle of never turning back, can lead to them suffering from depression.

5. Academic pressure

We live in a world where there is a tough competition for every thing. Specially academics is like a rat race where only good grades is all that matters . The ones who are getting good grades are considered superior to the ones who do not get the same. This leads to a constant pressure of working hard and somehow just trying to get good grades in school and college. There is huge discrimination on this basis. Even for parents it is a matter of a status and regard in the society. They want their children to score well so that they can proudly boast about it.

But what we fail to understand in this scenario is that not everyone has the same set of skills or mind set. Not everyone is good at academics and they have their own set of skills but that is not given any importance. Academic pressure is stretched to a limit where people are unable to see the damage it is causing to the teenage minds. Nobody cares about your mental health, what they want is good grades only. That often stands as a major reason for depression in teens.

6. Peer pressure

Another paramount issue that almost every teenager has to face in his or her life is the peer pressure. Teenage is the time when youngsters are trying to adjust to the societal norms and at the same time exploring different new things. It is also a time when they face the peer pressure of being popular or of standing out from a crowd and doing fancy things. In this attempt of proving themselves to be very cool and making people like them more and more they might indulge themselves into the wrong practices. Also, in addition to that, if they fail to impress their peer they might feel upset and cautious about it. It leads them to overthinking and undergo depression. They are free to damage their reputation in front of the others. This whole scene can lead the teenagers to suffer from depression.

7. Lack in self esteem

Teenage is a age in which it is very difficult to maintain a high self esteem level. There’s a whole session of self doubts and questioning yourself. It’s a time where everyone feels like they have to face all the problems in the world ranging from pimples to periods , from mood swings to anxiety attacks or even issues like self doubt. Everything seems to be going against us and when it all comes down to a level where you can’t take it anymore, that’s when depression hits you. The illness makes it worse for you to be optimistic , love and regard yourself or even have a good self esteem. You question everything going around you and take responsibility of it.

So, as we were able to go through a few very important reasons l hope that it might have opened your eyes and helped you all realize how trivial matters can trigger such a long lasting illness. Hence, let’s all take a pledge to try to be a bit more considerate towards the teens whenever we see them next and also treat them with care and compassion. We as , citizens of the society must understand the underlying potential if each teenager and not put them under any pressure