Is My 13 Year Old Depressed

How Is Childhood Depression Different From The Blues

Childhood depression is different from the everyday “blues” that most kids get as they develop. The fact that a child feels sad, lonely, or irritable does not mean they have childhood depression.

Childhood depression is persistent sadness. When it occurs, the child feels alone, hopeless, helpless, and worthless. When this type of sadness is unending, it disrupts every part of the child’s life. It interferes with the child’s daily activities, schoolwork, and peer relationships. It can also affect the life of each family member.

Childhood depression can be assessed, diagnosed, and effectively treated with medications and/or psychotherapy. Left untreated, childhood depression is a serious depressive disorder that can lead to suicide.

How Can I Help My Child With Depression

Medication can have an important role in the treatment of depression in children and teenagers, and it is especially indicated for cases of severe depression. “If a child is too depressed to engage in therapy, medication can kick-start engagement and get them to better engage with therapy and benefit from it,” says Dr. Holland. However, parents may find it reassuring to know that medication is not always necessary when treating depression in children.

Studies have shown that in the majority of cases, therapy is as effective or more effective than medication alone when it comes to treating depression in children and adolescents. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, is one common type of therapy that research has shown to be effective for childhood depression treatment. For very young children or those with limited language skills, research indicates that play therapy is the preferred approach.

If you’re concerned that your child may be experiencing symptoms of depression, consider the following steps to help:

Can Childhood Depression Be Prevented

Children with a family history of depression are at greater risk of experiencing childhood depression themselves. Children who have parents that suffer from depression tend to develop their first episode of depression earlier than children whose parents do not have depression. Children from chaotic or conflicted families are also at greater risk of childhood depression. So are kids who abuse alcohol and drugs.

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How Is Depression In Children Treated

Because depression treatment is always individualized, strategies are very different for a 4-year-old than they are for a 14-year-old. Typically, the best approach is psychotherapy, most often in the form of cognitive behavioral therapy , which teaches the use of new, more effective strategies to regulate their emotions, thoughts, and behaviors. Often, parents participate in the psychotherapy.

For children whose depression doesnt respond to psychotherapy, medication can be an option. According to Laine Taylor, DO, associate medical director of the Yale New Haven Hospital Child Psychiatry Service and an expert in medication management for children, the goal with children is to use the fewest medications at the lowest effective dose. A form of antidepressant medication called selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors is FDA-approved for use by adolescents and teens and often brings improvement.

Teen Depression Ages 13

What is Teen Depression?

Symptoms

• loss of interest in activities, apathy
• reduced pleasure in daily activities
• inability to enjoy activities which used to be sources of pleasure
• change in appetite, usually a loss of appetite but sometimes an increase
• change in weight
• persistent difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep
• excessive daytime sleepiness
• feelings of worthlessness, sadness, or self-hatred
• excessive or inappropriate feelings of guilt
• acting-out behavior
• thoughts about suicide or obsessive fears or worries about death
• plans to commit suicide or actual suicide attempt
• excessively irresponsible behavior pattern

If these symptoms persist for at least two weeks and cause significant distress or difficulty functioning, treatment should be sought.

Treatment

Complications

Teenage suicide is associated with depression as well as many other factors. Depression frequently interferes with school performance and interpersonal relationships. Teens with depression often have other psychiatric problems, such as anxiety disorders. Depression is also commonly associated with violence and reckless behavior. Drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse frequently coexist with depression. Adolescents with additional psychiatric problems usually require longer and more intensive treatment.

• withdrawal, with urge to be alone, isolation
• giving most cherished possessions to others

NEVER IGNORE A SUICIDE THREAT OR ATTEMPT!

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How Can I Help My Teen Live With Major Depression

As a parent, you play a key role in your teens treatment. Here are things you can do to help:

• Keep all appointments with your teens healthcare provider.

• Talk with your teens healthcare provider about other providers who will be involved in your teens care. Your teen may get care from a team that may include counselors, therapists, social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrists. Your teens care team will depend on his or her needs and how serious the depression is.

• Tell others about your teens depression. Work with your teens healthcare provider and schools to develop a treatment plan.

• Reach out for support from local community services. Being in touch with other parents who have a teen with depression may be helpful.

• Take all symptoms of depression and suicide very seriously. Seek treatment right away. Suicide is a health emergency. Talk with your teens healthcare provider for more information on suicide including whom to call and what to do . Have a written emergency plan.

For several reasons, many parents never seek the right treatment for their teen with depression. This is true even though many people with major depression who seek treatment get better. They often improve within weeks. Continued treatment may help keep symptoms from coming back.

Treatment For Teen Depression

If you suspect your teen has depression, bring them in to a licensed mental health professional for an intake or assessment. If indeed they fit the criteria for depression, there are several treatment modalities you can choose from. Dialectical Behavior Therapy and Cognitive Behavior Therapy have been proven by research to reduce depression. To supplement therapy, a psychiatrist may also prescribe antidepressants. For serious depression, a teen mental health rehab center may be beneficial.

You can choose from a residential treatment center or an intensive outpatient program or partial hospitalization program for less acute cases. These mental health rehab programs often integrate complementary therapies like mindfulness, meditation, yoga, art therapy, music therapy and more to provide a well-rounded therapeutic experience. Additionally, teen residential treatment centers for depression emphasize sleep hygiene, proper nutrition, and physical exercise on a daily basis: all of which are shown to positively impact a teens mental health.

When searching for a teen mental health treatment center, ask whether the RTC, PHP or IOP incorporates Dialectical Behavior Therapy into their programming and counseling.

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Connecting Teen Depression And Anxiety

As an anxiety expert, I often talk to teens who are also depressed. Why?

Because an untreated anxiety disorder in a child is one of the top predictors of developing depression as a teen or young adult, a fact that most teens and parents are unaware of. And because anxiety is the chief mental health complaint of young people, itâs not surprising that rates of depression in teens is increasing.

Adolescence is often the time when longer term issues with anxiety and worry become more intense and isolating. The challenges of social life and increased academic pressures push kids toward brand new experiences and responsibilities, along with the shadow side of hesitation and insecurity.

Specific learning difficulties can surface as students take on more complicated tasks or have to speak up in class. Sports become more demanding, and hormones can wreak havoc with appearance. Whether social, intellectual or physical, anything can serve as a source of worry.

Teens are caught between wanting to achieve and being afraid of failing, of wanting to belong and fearing rejection.

When teens believe they wonât measure up or when they expect rejection, they withdraw.

No degree of reassurance or encouragement seems to be enough, because you canât give your teen what sheâs looking for: a guarantee that everything will turn out perfectly.

Tips For Helping A Depressed Teen

If you are concerned that your teen may be depressed, but they appear uninterested in getting help or perhaps outright refuse it, there are steps that you can take to help them. Proceed with gentle but firm methods to persuade your teen to get help. These varied approaches have all been effective in helping depressed teens move forward.

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Tip : Make Physical Health A Priority

Physical and mental health are inextricably connected. Depression is exacerbated by inactivity, inadequate sleep, and poor nutrition. Unfortunately, teens are known for their unhealthy habits: staying up late, eating junk food, and spending hours on their phones and devices. But as a parent, you can combat these behaviors by establishing a healthy, supportive home environment.

Get your teen moving!Exercise is absolutely essential to mental health, so get your teen activewhatever it takes. Ideally, teens should be getting at least an hour of physical activity a day, but it neednt be boring or miserable. Think outside the box: walking the dog, dancing, shooting hoops, going for a hike, riding bikes, skateboardingas long as theyre moving, its beneficial.

Set limits on screen time. Teens often go online to escape their problems, but when screen time goes up, physical activity and face time with friends goes down. Both are a recipe for worsening symptoms. Gently encourage your teen to take an occasional vacation from their devices or engage in family activities that dont involve screen time. You can also set an example by reducing your own time spent online.

Encourage plenty of sleep.Teens need more sleep than adults to function optimallyup to 9-10 hours per night. Make sure your teen isnt staying up until all hours at the expense of much-needed, mood-supporting rest.

Your Child’s Safety Is Your Number One Priority

If your child or teen is engaging in behaviors that cause you concern for their immediate safety such as discussing plans for suicide or other forms of self-harm immediately take them to the nearest emergency room or call 911. Your child’s safety is the top priority. “Better safe than sorry” should be your guiding philosophy in such situations.

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Explain Depression To Your Teen

Comparing depression to a physical malady such as diabetes can help your teen frame depression as an illness, understand their symptoms, grasp the importance of treatment, and help them not to feel alone or abnormal. Older children and adolescents are especially sensitive to feeling different or out of place. Talk with your child and encourage them to ask questions.

For example: “Depression is a mental illness. It’s like the flu and other illnesses in that it can make you feel tired or have a headache. It can also affect your moods and feelings. It can make you feel sad, lonely, frustrated, angry, or scared.”

What Are The Symptoms Of Depression In Teens To Watch Out For

For a diagnosis of depression, a particular cluster of symptoms needs to have been there for at least for two weeks. These symptoms must include at least one of either a depressed mood, or a loss of interest or pleasure in things that were once enjoyable. Many times these will just be a normal part of adolescence and nothing at all to worry about, but if depression is happening, there will be other telltale signs. Here are some to watch out for:

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Causes Connections And What Parents Can Do To Help

Teen depression is on the rise, and a parents best strategy to help a child is to promote the development of key skills.

One of the most important aspects of healing and recovering, be it from an injury, depression or a broken heart, is the belief that change is possible. Researchers call this positive expectancy, and when we look at the success of therapy, it figures prominently.

In order to do the hard work of changing or healing, we have to believe that change is actually an option. Recently Ive been bumping into more and more information about depression and anxiety disorders that is saying the exact opposite of this.

In an effort to promote mental health awareness and prompt children, teens and adults to seek help for mental health issues, the messages that depression and anxiety disorders are diseases of the brain that just happen and more disturbinglyare how you are wired or are like diabetes and heart disease have been showing up again and again. Drug ads are major offenders, but not the only ones.

Persistent Boredom And Low Energy

Feelings of boredom are common in depression, especially when youve lost interest in things you used to enjoy. This symptom includes a lack of interest in finding ways to counteract boredom.

Fatigue, or extreme tiredness and low energy, can also add to this feeling.

It might feel like youve got nothing to do and, even if you did, you wouldnt have the energy to do it. You might also feel like youre thinking slower than you did before.

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Childhood Depression: Warning Signs Of Suicide

Parents should be particularly vigilant for signs that may indicate that a child with depression is at risk for suicide. Warning signs of suicidal behavior in children include:

• A focus on morbid and negative themes
• Frequent accidents
• Increased crying or reduced emotional expression
• Increased risk-taking behaviors
• Many depressive symptoms
• Social isolation

Getting Help For Teenagers With Depression

Depression is unlikely to go away on its own, but teenagers with depression usually get better with treatment. This means that seeking early help for your child is the best thing you can do.

Seeking help also shows your child that you care. Talking to your child and seeing a health professional together sends the message that your child isnt alone. And most young people wont seek help themselves, so your child probably needs your help to get professional support.

If youve tried to talk to your child, but your child has refused help or said there was nothing wrong, you might need to seek help by yourself to start with.

There are many professionals and services you can go to for help with teenage depression:

• your local community health centre
• local mental health services.

If youre unsure, your GP will be able to guide you to the most appropriate services for your family.

Depression is no-ones fault, even if it seems to run in your family. Many factors influencing depression will be outside your control. But theres a lot you can do every day to foster your childs mental health and reduce your childs risk.

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How Do Doctors Diagnose Childhood Depression

If your child has symptoms of depression that have lasted for at least two weeks, you should schedule a visit with their health care provider. You will want to make sure that there are no physical reasons for the symptoms. You’ll also want to make sure that your child receives proper treatment.

A consultation with a mental health professional that specializes in treating kids with childhood depression is also recommended.

A mental health evaluation for childhood depression should include interviews with you and your child. In addition, psychological testing may be helpful for clarifying the diagnosis and making treatment recommendations. Information from teachers, friends, and classmates can be useful for showing that the symptoms of childhood depression are present during your child’s various activities and are a marked change from previous behavior.

There are no specific tests — medical or psychological — that can clearly show childhood depression. But tools such as questionnaires and interviews by a mental health professional that include taking a careful history can help to make an accurate diagnosis.

Some Measure Of Teen Moodiness Is Normal

In addition to all the everyday stresses your teen is facing, keep in mind that he or she is also experiencing lots of internal angst thats natural to adolescence. The onset of puberty brings with it lots of biological changes in your teens brain and body. Your teens hormones are flaring at this time, and their brain is rapidly developing. However, since their prefrontal cortex is still under construction, your teen is experiencing lots of emotional mood swings as a result of these neuropsychological changes. Thats why a measure of increased moodiness or sadness is normal during these years.

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If You Suspect Your Teen Is Depressed

Depression is such a persuasive beast, and it can convince anyone its holding onto that nothing will make a difference. This hopelessness is a classic symptom of depression, and the very thing that gets in the way of healing from it. If you suspect your teen might have depression, the first step is getting a diagnosis so everyone knows what theyre dealing with. A doctor or mental health professional can help with this. Depression doesnt always need medication, but it might. Having the support of a loving adult will be important for any teen who is trying to find their way through depression. If that supportive and loving adult is you, here are some things you can do to help your teen strengthen and heal: