Depression is indeed one of the major causes of behavioral problems among teens. Being a condition that has resulted from a wide range of behavioral, emotional, psychological, biological, and environmental factors, depression continues to lead many people’s lives astray — especially if not given enough attention and proper treatment as soon as possible.
Today, many studies show that one of the age brackets that are usually attacked by depression is during the teenage years. Due to the many drastic changes a teenager has to go through during this major phase in his or her life, depression usually sets in especially if the person does not have enough tolerance to accept major shifts and changes in his or her life. Due to extreme changes and adjustments teenagers have to go through, some of them find it hard to cope up with sudden shifts in their lives.
One of the major factors that trigger depression in teens is low tolerance to stress. Stress-a state in which a strong demand is made on the nervous system-greatly affects the general outlook of a person when it comes to different things. When stress becomes unmanageable to certain individuals — especially for a young one-it can result in deep-set depression and even nervous breakdown.
What can be done?
In the United States alone, statistics show that about 15 percent of American teenagers suffer from major depression that leads to behavioral problems afterward. These depression attacks — which are usually characterized by repeated, recurrent, and prolonged periods of mood changes — are known to lead to significant academic and social impairments and even to suicide-the the second leading cause of death in teenagers today.
In simple cases of behavioral problems in teens, the usual method of treating the condition is through a series of counseling where the patient is asked to attend consultations with a registered psychologist. The authorized physician will then administer tests and examinations-that can be oral or written-in order to determine the range of depression attack in the patient. After determining the extent of the depression, the psychologist will tend to develop a program that can help the patient cope up with the factors in his or her life that causes stress and depression. These sessions usually last for six to eight series depending on the state of depression the patient is going through.
But, when it comes to major cases of behavior problems in teenagers, a series of counseling is not enough to achieve progressive and positive results. Aside from sessions of counseling, a patient that suffers from great depression attacks is given medications to soothe their nerves, help them gain more sleep, and can alleviate their anxiety. These medications usually come in the form of anti-depressants like serotonin inhibitor (SSRI) antidepressants that can also be used to help relieve certain types of pain related to depression attacks.
But now, there are public advisories that physicians, caregivers of patients, and parents of teens with behavior problems should be more cautious in giving teens dealing with depression antidepressants. They are encouraged to closely monitor the administration of antidepressants-particularly at the beginning of treatment or when there is a need to change the doses of the medication in order to avoid the abuse of the antidepressant.
