Overcome Depression Blog

There are certain telltale signs and symptoms that point in the direction of an adolescent having adolescent depression and these include changes in appetite, changes in sleep, loss of interest in favorite activities, irritableness as well as irrational response to frustration and finally, statements of despair.

When an adolescent acts up or withdraws, it’s easy to chalk it up to nothing more than the coming of age blues. Here you will learn to know what behaviour may indicate a more serious problem like depression.

Changes In Appetite

Changes in appetite are a sure sign of adolescent depression and are one of the key symptoms that an adolescent is becoming, or is already depressed. The change may be noticed in the form of eating too much, or eating too little, or even not eating at all for prolonged periods of time. It should not be mistaken for an eating disorder though sometimes such symptoms could develop into further pathological behaviors, especially if the patient starts to feel better following a change in diet.

Much like changes in diet, changes in sleep are also symptomatic of adolescent depression though the behavior varies from individual to individual. However, a drastic change in sleep behavior that does not have any rational reason behind such behavioral change is what one should be looking for.

There may also be a reduction in interest in activities that were previously favorites of the patient, and this is another common adolescent depression symptom that is noticeable in children. It is not the same as when a child outgrows his or her likes for a particular activity because he or she is not of an age for which such activity is appropriate. If a child loves a sport and during the middle of the season suddenly decides to abstain from taking part in that sport, then that is reason to be concerned and it could well be an adolescent depression condition.

Another big pointer to adolescent depression is when the teenager or child gets angry often, or happens to overreact to his or her own frustration. This may be more than adolescent defiance as there may be underlying depression, which manifests it in the form of anger of an irrational type. The depressed adolescent may take to banging the head against the wall, verbally hurling abuse and getting into fights at school.

If the adolescent also takes to making statements of despair, you can be sure that this is another symptom of adolescent depression, which can be especially disturbing to those close to the adolescent. You should try and communicate with such a depressed adolescent, and get him or her to discuss the writings, sayings as well as drawings, as it may help get the child or adolescent to get out of whatever is causing the depressed person to do and say such things.

Tags: Adolescent Depression