The Teenage Depression Epidemic

Abby Mentzel 

English 1302 HY 

Hammett 

Teenage Depression 

Teenage depression rates have been increasing exponentially into a global epidemic. This affects people of all ages, but the rate in adolescence is immensely vast, especially in a world-wide perspective. The understanding and acknowledgement of this problem is crucial to the development of a solution. Teenage depression is a mental disorder that torments society causing restlessness, feelings of worthlessness, fatigue, lack of energy, weight loss or gain, and even suicidal thoughts and tendencies; this affliction is caused by under-acknowledgement, ignorance, and excessive stress. 

Previously known as melancholia, depression links all the way back to the medieval periods. Although depression had not been researched quite yet, clear symptoms such as immense feelings of sadness, dejection, and worthlessness without any reasonable cause were evident in these classical times. The term depression was introduced in 1665 by Richard Baker to describe the condition from a Latin root of deprimere, meaning to press down; however, it was not until the 1860s that the term was included in medical dictionaries (Jennifer Radden 1). By the mid-twentieth century, many psychodynamic theories had been proposed and argued, but the more modern understanding of chemical imbalances was not introduced until after tests done in the 1950s on the effects on chemicals on neurotransmitters in depressive brains (1). According to the World Health Organization, at least five percent of the global population currently suffers from some form of a depressive disorder; however, the rate in teens is far worse (Mental Health Evidence and Research 1). Teenage depression rates are at twenty percent and is on the rise.  

Teenage depression has an immense effect on inner social circles in how they communicate, interact with others, and express themselves towards others. When depression takes hold of someone, the feeling of self-worthlessness can be overwhelming and can cause someone to feel they are not worthy of having friends or that their friends do not like them; this effect is magnified in teenagers as school relationships are already stressful to a non-diagnosed individual. These stressors, or something that causes a state of emotional strain or tension, and devastating feelings lead to withdrawal of socialization, self-expression, and increases the feelings of loneliness. Not only does this withdrawal worsen the condition, it also affects the friends the individual withdrew from; when people are exposed to this distancing, they sometimes view it as personal dislike or withdrawal, causing the friends to doubt themselves and engage in similar actions of distancing.  

In a more worldwide view, society is affected by this epidemic in how the rates are increasing across the globe and how the reality and recognition of it persistently goes ignored. How can teenage depression be ignored when it is the catalyst for one of the leading causes of death? Suicide rates are double the rates of homicide and has increased more than 30% in the US since 1999, according to the CDC (Rachel Lewis 1). These rates may appear small, but when you see that 90% of teen suicides are a result of mental illnesses like depression and that these numbers are even higher in other countries, it is evident that there is a massive global problem and not simply national. 

As previously stated, the CDC has verified that the second ranking cause of death for teenagers is suicide, but this is only including the United States (Rachel Lewis 1). The World Heath Organization, or WHO, ranks all of the suicide rates in each country and the United States is number twenty-seven; this means that there are twenty-six countries whose suicide statistics, and depression rates, are even higher than the already grotesquely high rates (Mental Health Evidence and Research 1). 

Personally, I suffer from depression as a teenage girl in today’s society. I have been able to live with my depression as well as witness others my age suffer alongside me. You never realize how many people are going through the same thing until you get close to them. I have seen several of my friends go undiagnosed because of fear or a lack of knowledge, but why are the teenage depression rates going up and what is the cause? The answer is simple; lack of knowledge, ignorance, and stress. 

Teri Roberts, from healthcentral.com, is a patient advocate and writer. Roberts conducted an interview with a teenage girl named Sarah about her experiences with teenage depression and how she was treated. A daily life of a depressed teen can range from relatively normal to extreme suicidal thoughts or actions, but as Sarah describes, the hardest thing to overcome is self-doubt and self-criticism (Teen Depression-An Interview 1). This doubt can actually lead to more cases of undiagnosed or untreated teenage depression as the depressed individual may start to think they are unworthy of treatment, that it may be useless, or even that they are simply overreacting. In this case, Sarah advises to “…not give up…you HAVE to continue to try…”, which is extremely crucial for acknowledgment and recognition of depression as an epidemic (1). 

Ignorance of parental figures is another damaging cause of depression rates rising. When a teen opens up to their parents about having depression and they are met with denial, the depression does not go away or disappear; the depression can actually worsen as they start to doubt themselves even more. One example is from a friend of mine named Lexi. As Lexi was a sophomore in high school, she started feeling worthless and alone. As a result, she asked her mother what she could do to help and proposed the idea that she might be suffering from depression. Immediately, her mother shot her down and told her that she was not depressed, it was probably just a temporary thing. After Lexi’s mother had denied her help, Lexi became more secluded and stopped inviting friends to do things with her because she didn’t think they wanted to. Eventually, Lexi found consolation in the school therapist and was able to discuss her feelings without being shut out, causing her to find ways to cope with her depression. 

The most important cause of depression is stress. As the school workload increases, so does the number of teenage depression cases. Chris Iliades, a contributing writer to everydayhealth.com, writes about how stress triggers depression in teens by disrupting the chemical balance of dopamine, the chemical that helps moderate depression. The article gives examples of teenage stressors such as school, work, bullying, overly-high expectations and self-doubt and claims that these stressors can trigger depression because “(t)he adolescent brain is at a unique stage of development. It is a time when the brain is very sensitive and in the process of forming its wiring network.”; this is why teenagers are more susceptible to depression (Chris Illiades 1).  

There are many different solutions to this epidemic that can be successful and others that aren’t as helpful. A couple examples of methods intended to decrease the teen depression epidemic includes a widespread acknowledgment and education of what depression is and the signs and symptoms associated with it, open-mindedness or acceptance, and a decrease of stressors in teenage lifestyles. These are not all of the methods geared towards slowing the epidemic but are just a few prominent ideas based off of the leading causes of depression (Chris Illiades 1).  

By increasing knowledge of teenage depression and how to recognize it, many people may become exposed to the idea and look for certain signs in their teenage children, making the diagnosis easier or even possible. Most cases of teenage depression are not even recognized and only one out of five people with depression receive treatment (Amy Morin 1). Without the accurate recognition of this mental illness, these teens are subjected to doubt, criticism, and ignorance from disbelief. The education of the disorder goes both ways for the teen and the parents. If the teen is not educated in the disorder, they might struggle with communicating what is happening and if the parent is not informed, they may disregard the teens complaints as not genuine simply because their feelings are not similar to the societal norm. Another aspect of education of depression symptoms is that is easier to diagnose; if the teen goes to a therapist searching for answers and they have an idea of the possible symptoms they know what to look out for and what to inform the therapist so an accurate diagnosis can be made. 

The second method is open-mindedness. This extrinsic characteristic is priceless when it comes to making your teenager feel accepted or safe to discuss problems or feelings. Despite the aspiration of most parents for their children to feel safe talking about personal things, most homes do not have this luxury. Because openness is not common in homes in modern society, it is even harder for teens to open up about such a negatively viewed topic such as depression. HelpGuide states that parents can help their depressed children by “bring(ing) up your concerns in a loving, non-judgmental way” to show support as well as encourage openness (Parent’s Guide to Teen Depression 1). There is so much guilt, doubt, and fear associated with mental disorders that opening up to parents is exponentially harder; this makes open-mindedness of the parents so much more crucial for when the teenager does finally talk about their problems.  

The last, and most important, method is a decrease in stressors in teenage lifestyles. Typical lifestyles for teens involve school five days a week for seven hours a day, extensive homework, and some teenagers partake in after-school jobs. Added on top of all these activities there is excessive pressure to have perfect grades, do chores at home, have enough sleep, and some teens have to pay for their own food and clothes. For some teens, the only break available is on the weekends, but as stated earlier, some teens have jobs that demand weekend hours. A study conducted at the New York University College of Nursing shows that excessive school stress “cause(s) kids to burn out …(and) feel the psychological and physical effects of stress” (Alexandra Ossola 1). When the stress on teens is so detrimental and incessant it becomes a breeding ground for depression. The best way to slow this depression epidemic is to lighten the stress created in these schools by making sure that all students have a dependable economic situation, an available therapist to help students cope with stress, and a decrease of homework.  

Albert Camus’ beliefs of absurdity are, themselves, absurd. Camus believed that life is meaningless and that all problems an individual has is because of his/herself. This point of view is ruinous to anyone with depression because they might already exhibit thoughts of worthlessness and self-doubt. The only connection Camus’ beliefs might have with the depression epidemic is that it is itself, absurd. The fact that the rates are rising exponentially and that it is only met with ignorance and denial is absurd. Camus had the theory that death was the only thing to look forward to in life and the same perspective is ingrained in many depressed individuals. Jonathan Rottenberg, Ph.D psychologist, reviews the suicide of Robin Williams and recounts the recognition received and the questions asked as well as the lack of progression following all of the grief of his death (Jonathan Rottenberg 1). Rottenberg identifies how the world’s reaction to Robin William’s death—the sadness, the confusion, the shock and skepticism—provides insight to the lack of effort put into changing the statistics; this is the definition of absurdity (1).  

Teenage depression can affect anyone anywhere. Whether or not you are a teenager, or you have a teenage child, teenage depression is everywhere is and growing constantly. These statistics will not change if nothing is done to change them. Change can be made by ensuring people get informed on what depression is and how to recognize it, becoming more open-minded and prepared, and most importantly, by lessening stress in schools. If ignorance remains stagnant, this epidemic will continue to grow out of reach until it is too late. The more people deny the reality, the harder it becomes to reeducate those who wish to be supportive. If we can learn to treat teenage depression as something commonly known and accepted, then we can start to help those who suffer from depression without the fear and negative connotation associated with mental disorders.  

Works Cited 

“Anxiety and Depression in Children | CDC.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/childrensmentalhealth/depression.html. 

“Mental Health Evidence and Research (MER).” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 17 Dec. 2018, www.who.int/mental_health/evidence/en/. 

Ossola, Alexandra. “Today's High Schoolers Are Way Too Stressed.” The Atlantic, Atlantic Media Company, 9 Oct. 2015, www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2015/10/high-stress-high-school/409735/. 

“Parent's Guide to Teen Depression.” HelpGuide.org, 20 Mar. 2019, www.helpguide.org/articles/depression/parents-guide-to-teen-depression.htm/. 

Radden, Jennifer. “Is This Dame Melancholy?: Equating Today's Depression and Past Melancholia.” Philosophy, Psychiatry, & Psychology, Johns Hopkins University Press, 29 Aug. 2003, muse.jhu.edu/article/46176. 

Robert, Teri. “Teen Depression - An Interview.” HealthCentral, HealthCentral, 8 Sept. 2009, www.healthcentral.com/article/teen-depression-an-interview. 

“Stress May Trigger Mental Illness and Depression In Teens.” EverydayHealth.com, 29 Apr. 2013, www.everydayhealth.com/depression/stress-may-trigger-mental-illness-and-depression-in-teens.