Teenage years may carry more risks with them rather than just identity crisis. Experts fear that the incidence of depression is growing among teenagers at an alarming rate.
Research carried out on depressive disorders in Germany, pointed to the fact that about 8 percent of youngsters might be suffering from depression. Professors at the Clinic for Child and Youth Psychiatry at Jena University in Germany said that 20 percent of all depressive illnesses seen in adulthood begin during childhood or teenage years. However, what makes teenage depression more difficult to treat is the fact that youngsters are less likely to accept their condition and seek professional help for it.
The experts also say that depression during the teenage years is more difficult to detect since the signs can be easily mistaken for the normal mood swings that teenagers go through.
The alarm signals that can be seen in possibly depressive youngsters are signs of withdrawal in a previously outgoing teenager, sudden lack of interest in various activities, frequent stomach aches and headaches with no physiological cause and changes in mood sometimes bordering on aggression.
The treatment for such children must be individualised keeping in mind the child's family background and his/her social relations. Treatment should be provided only by a qualified doctor or a psychologist. Anti-depressants should be provided only as a last resort and as a supportive measure to other therapies.
November 27, 2000