Feeling down?

Depression affects the behaviour of thousands of teenagers each year, but there is help available.

Everyone feels down at some point but depression can be a tougher to handle than just feeling a little bit sad.
If you think you may be suffering from depression, you are not alone.

Nearly 8,000 children and young people have been diagnosed with serious depression. Of that number 62,000 are aged 11 to 16 and 8,700 are 5 to 10.

What is depression?

Feeling down is part of life but if these feelings go on for months and interfere with your life, then they become a problem.
Symptoms can include feelings of low self worth, anxiety, tearfulness, irritability, wanting to be alone, loss of interest in school work and other activities, loneliness, eating disorders, self neglect, lack of concentration, reckless behaviour and thoughts of suicide.

What causes depression?

Common causes of depression in young people are: worrying about appearances, moving or leaving home, worrying about sexuality, feeling worthless, feeling left out and not part of a group, exam stress, changes in your family, becoming part of a new family, having no one to talk to or having trouble with a boyfriend, girlfriend or close friend.
Depression can also be triggered by chemical imbalances in the brain.

How can it be treated?

It is difficult to make sense of feeling depressed on your own. Which is why it is important to speak to an adult or someone who can give you a wider understanding of what you are feeling. If a sufferer does not want to speak to someone face-to-face, they can call a helpline.

Talking about your worries is the best way to tackle depression. If you think your problems are more complicated, it may be worth speaking to a specialist, for example a counsellor or GP.

Medication is sometimes useful, but is only issued to those who are seriously depressed and only after other forms of help have been tried.

Related links

• Young Minds has lots of advice about depression for young people.
• If you want to speak to someone about depression, phone Childline on 0800 1111
• Samaritans offers a similar confidential service where people can discuss their problems. You can reach them by calling 08457 909 090.
• Youth2Youth is a helpline run by young people for young people. You can contact them by calling 020 8896 3675
• Coping with change
• Managing self-esteem
• Managing stress

Your shout!

Do you have any advice for dealing with depression? Share your thoughts by posting a comment using the link below.

I suffer from serious depression. I have had a couple of depression episodes when I was younger than 10 and then again in my early teens but my most serious depression episode started over a year ago. I felt completely lost and alone and thought nothing would change and this would be how I would feel forever. I kept it quiet for a long time until one day I was full of emotions and I couldn't no longer stand how I was feeling and I knew I had to do something about it. I found the strength to seek help and if your suffering from depression you too can find that strength.Remember your not alone,there is always someone you can turn to and don't ever feel it's wrong to feel a certain emotion over anything. Through the support of many people & medication I now manage my depression in a healthy way. Some of the ways I like to express how I feel or once felt is by dancing, writing lyrics/poems and also doing art like painting and photography.

Laura La Riviere 26-1-12