Depression
Depression Depression is one of the most common and serious mental conditions in the United States today. Many people overlook depression which can be dangerous. It is shocking to know how many adolescents actually do suffer from this disease and it‘s even more shocking at how often depression goes untreated. Some estimates conclude that as many as eight percent of adolescents suffer from depression at some time during any one year period, making it much more common than people may think it is (Gelman 16). ... To diagnose a person with depression, he or she must experience certain symptoms for at least two or more weeks. Some of the many symptoms associated with depression include a persistent low mood that doesn’t lift, over sensitivity, isolation from friends and family, difficulty with attention, difficulty sleeping, gain or loss in weight, and low self esteem (Gelman 5). ... It’s not just that one in 30 young people between the ages of 14 and 16 get depression. Somewhere between one in six and one in ten of those young people will have that depression for at least two years (Empfield 2). ... Adolescents that suffer from depression are more likely to give in to peer pressure and take up bad habits . ... Genetics and environmental factors seem to play a big role in causing depression. ... "Adolescents are five times as likely to suffer from depression when someone in their family has suffered from it in the past" (Ainsworth 54). Another major cause of depression are traumatic events. Depression usually follows the death of a loved one, a sickness, near death experiences, any types of physical and sexual abuse, or the ending of a close relationship with someone you love. ... Depression is evident if depressed symptoms persist more than two or three months after a traumatic episode. Those aren’t the only things that cause depression though. Another big problem and cause of depression in adolescents is stress. ... Teenagers after a first episode of depression are more likely to have behavior problems, excessive emotional reliance on others, and more physical health problems than others. ... Anything that lowers these or discourages adolescents can lead to depression even as a middle school child. "Evidence suggests that depression is becoming more common and developing at an earlier age than in the past" (Driedger 70). With depression an even greater problem can occur.