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Some people may scoff at the idea of teen depression being an actual physical ailment, as of course all teens may at times seem moody and melodramatic.  In truth, more and more cases of actual clinical depression and other mental and emotional ailments are being diagnosed in teens every single year, and this information is from the experts and not from overly protective parents.  If you suspect that there is a case of teen depression in your household, what to do?

The first thing you want to remember is that it does no good to jump to any conclusions.  As said, teens are often moody, withdrawn, angry, sad, and overly emotional in many ways.  This is partly due to the influx of hormones they experience while going through puberty and not necessarily a signal of actual teen depression.  It would be a mistake to assume that your angry teenager or the one that gives into crying jags is actually clinically depressed.  While these ranges of emotions are normal for teenagers, actual clinical teen depression is much more serious than this.  If you suspect that your teenager’s emotions are to the extent that he or she actually has clinical teen depression, it’s important to get that diagnosis from a doctor rather than making an assumption on your own.

If you have gotten a diagnosis, then it’s time to learn how to deal with teen depression.  The first is to make sure that it doesn’t swallow up your entire life or your child’s life either.  Help your child to understand that staying home or keeping to themselves is not going to help the condition no matter how tempted they are to do just that.  In some cases teen depression can be a lot like having a weight problem - it’s tempting to just give in and eat yourself sick, but this just makes things worse.  As with any other disease or condition, it’s usually best to take a proactive approach and be determined to fight it as much as possible. 

Balance is needed in this regard as well.  Forcing your child to participate in activities or expecting too much from him or her is no way to battle teen depression.  Remember that this condition is not something you can just “will” away or force to be cured if you force your child to “act” happy.  You also won’t do any good to act as if your child is somehow defective, weak, or has let you down somehow.  Teen depression is a condition that they have little control over, acting disappointed in them is no more effective than getting angry at the child that doesn’t have much athletic ability or that struggles to understand certain subjects in school.

Be supportive of your child that is suffering from teen depression.  Keep your own positive attitude and reassume him or her that they simply have a condition and that they can learn coping skills.  Talk to your doctor as he or she will always have treatment options for teen depression.

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