Adolescent Depression

Introduction

When thinking of teenagers we get the feeling of carefree days, days with no or minimal responsibility and days filled with fun, laughter and joy. This reality is a fairytale for some teenagers. Adolescent depression is a real and growing problem in our society. Numbers of depression diagnosed in adolescents are on the rise. Is this because of more depressed teenagers, or is there an explanation for this. Are there underlying problems or causes for the high depression numbers? Is there something that we can do to help these teenagers. What are the symptoms and diagnoses. Factors contributing to this problem are all things that will be discussed in this paper.

Definition

Major depression disorder

Definition: A mood disorder characterized by a depressed mood, a lack of interest in activities normally enjoyed, changes in weight and sleep, fatigue, feelings of worthlessness and guilt, difficulty concentrating and thoughts of death and suicide. If a person has experienced the majority of these symptoms for longer than a two-week period they may be diagnosed as having had a major depressive episode. If a person has had one or more major depressive episodes, has no history of mania, mixed episodes or hypomania and the symptoms are not due to another disorder, they may be diagnosed as having major depressive disorder.( Schimelpfenin,2013)

Major depression episode

Definition: A major depressive episode is when a person experiences 5 or more symptoms during most parts of the day for a two week period. The main symptoms are depressed mood (must be present), loss of interest in activities (must be present), significant weight change, change in sleeping habits (insomnia or hypersomnia), a noticeable slowing down, restlessness, or change in observable behavior, fatigue or loss of energy, strong feelings of guilt or worthlessness, difficulty concentrating, or thoughts of death .(Meek,2008)

Symptoms of depression

There are many different...