Teen Depression: How Parents Can Offer Support?
Teen Depression: How Parents Can Offer Support?
Depression has become a universal and problematic issue over the past years to present in many people’s lives. Adolescents are nowadays the most affected young people who suffer from severe depression. Although, it is a bit difficult to differentiate between regular teen functions and depression there are symptoms to recognize it. On another point, many parents are unaware of it and others struggle to recognize, act right, and stand beside their children for their mental health. Teenage troubles should be addressed whether or not it is related to depression and these troubles might turn into depression as well.
But, what are the plausible causes and solutions for teenagers going through depression?
Teen Depression How Parents Can Offer Support 3
Because where a problem occurs, the solution always exists.
Why do teenagers change?
Teenage: A tough time
Teenage years are typically tough and more or less complicated for adolescents which are because they grow mentally, physiologically, and socially in those particular time frames. The usual attitudes and tantrums that these teenagers throw should not be confused and mixed with off the edge behaviors’ from being depressive. For instance, keeping themselves isolated from friends and family, social-media addiction, becoming anti-social, irritable, angry and aggressive, quiet and despair, forming an eating disorder, sleeping at wrong times of the day or much less sleep or too much sleep than needed, no interest in activities and indolent, taking drugs or alcohols and many more. All these can be because of many reasons such as school problems, bully, academic and social pressure, family complications, physical or personal issues, abuse or harassment, and much more.
Teen depression is like poison. Read the below article with tips to handle a depressed daughter. It could be applied for your depressed son/boy or someone else-
Be supportive
Being a parent is being responsible. Make friendship with your kids. If you observe any change in your teens or odd behavior that indicates depression, you should be more around your children and talk to them for sharing their feelings or to share if something is happening in their life. In this condition, parents/you have to be more polite and gentle than usual with a teen. You have to show and make the teenagers realize that their parents are there for them no matter what s/he did, even if they have committed a mistake. They may not respond positively at first, but parents would have to make their children comfortable enough to talk about depression as it is hard for them to talk about it facing difficulties to express their thoughts and feelings. Listen and understand them while respecting their comfort level. Talk to their teachers and friends to know about what might be the reasons are causing the teen to be depressed.
Do the best for him/her
Encourage them to take proper meals and sleep, make them feel loved and valued. If the depression becomes severe, seek professional help; therapist, psychiatrist, or psychologist for instance. Keeping in concern that adolescents might not prefer a certain way of professional treatment which in that case, consult and discuss with them about what is good and bad and about other ways of treatment with which they are more agreeable. It can be very complex sometimes to deal with a depressed teen as parents experience negative emotions from them such as rejection, insolent or not as co-operative so they have to understand that the teen is not being difficult deliberately but the child is suffering on some circumstances so parents have to be patient and do best to help them.
Acknowledging the Way of their feelings
There are always other ways if one does not work out the way parents want it to. Adolescents sometimes may not want to express their words to parents, so parents can consider making the child contact with a teacher, close friend, sibling, close relative with who the teen will feel agreeable. Moreover, parents should never put any sort of pressure on them to speak or
Five young people lying on the grass carpet (Google Image)
talk them out of depression. One of the most important ways to act is to take their feelings or thoughts importantly and seriously even if those appear silly or unimportant to parents. Acknowledging their misery and despair to make them feel supported and understood. Teenagers in this condition of health should not be criticized, judged, treated harshly, or be lectured, that will worsen the condition. Although, what parents have to do is sit next to them and speak heart to heart with them about their lives or anything that supports the children by connecting to parents. Encourage them to socialize, to be in public places, to participate in activities. Also, keep them in check without letting them realize as most of them do not like to get patronized and try every possible way to keep them away from their negative thoughts and diverting their minds. Nowadays, young people most commit suicide due to extreme depression so it is crucial that everything is done to help them get back into the right direction of life. Make them realize if needed that ending life is never a solution.
Taking care of your kids
The first way to prevent them from being depressed in the first place is for the parents who should keep track of their adolescent’s actions, daily life and be aware of their behavior and if they are trying to act normal. It is better to be heedful from the beginning than having to deal with it before it goes deeper. Sometimes, teenagers in this condition may go out of theirs ways and become reckless and take part in actions that are inappropriate or even might self-harm. A disturbed child may also experience unexplained aches such as headaches or stomach aches.
Ending Notes
Depression occurs for most children because they feel left alone to fight with their own problems which is why parents should never be putting too many expectations or pressure on them for anything. Help them choose or decide for themselves rather than throwing it on them. Ask them, how are their days or if everything is alright? Communication is one of the most important keys. Guide them on the right path; teach them the right choices and conclusions. Make them realize you’re their parent and you know well about them and their lives. Also, a little discipline never fails. There is no plausible challenge for parents to become their child’s support system and priorities them before any other concerns.
Writer: Tazri Khan
Edited by: Al-Resalat
