Do Something says about 8 percent of adolescents in the United States deal with depression at one point in their lives. Of course, your teen could just as easily be suffering from the blues or feeling down. However, it does pay to keep a close eye on your teen. Don’t chalk it all up to a bad case of growing pains. If you see signs that your teen is still feeling the blues for more than 2 weeks, you might have a depressed teen on your hands.
Causes
There are a lot of possible reasons why teens develop depression, says the Healthline. These include:
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Hereditary factors: In some cases, your genetic makeup can make you more susceptible to depression.
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Hormones: In females, post-partum depression is a common result of hormones going haywire after the pregnancy and birth. It’s the body’s way of getting back to normal.
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Personality: If your teen is already anxious by nature or suffers from borderline personality disorder, this makes your teen a likely candidate for depression.
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Abuse, physical or sexual: Physical or sexual abuse can massively undermine a person’s worth, resulting to feelings of helplessness and rage. Many victims often develop depression as a result of the abuse.
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Alcohol or drug abuse: Teens who suffer from substance abuse are also prone to depression. Recovery is tough and can cause patients to miss out or even put school on hold, which, in turn can make it difficult for teens to cope.
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Diseases such as cancer, multiple sclerosis or diabetes: People who suffer from these illnesses often have to contend with feelings of extreme helplessness and constant pain. In such cases, it’s easy to see why anyone would succumb to depression.
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Low self-esteem: Those with low self-esteem are often in danger of succumbing to the effects of depression. They have a weak emotional core and thus, are easily discouraged. This can eventually lead to depression.
Treatment
It’s important to pick a teen depression treatment in Los Angeles that works to address your teen’s specific needs. So when you look around, take special note of this. If the center is all about following a certain treatment plan for all of its patients, without any effort to tackle the patient’s specific issues, then keep looking. Cookie-cutter treatments might not be the best one for your teen.
Adolescent Growth is a teen treatment center in Los Angeles. For help and assistance, give us a call.
