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Teenage Depression - The Causative Factors

Teenage Depression – The Causative Factors


Introduction

Depression breathes its presence in all social classes, races and ethnic groups. It is so much wide spread that it is called the 'common cold of mental illnesses'. Depression is increasingly affecting teenagers and adolescents (Lane, 2000; UNICEF, 1993). Another important point is that antidepressants should not be administered to children since the brain’s frontal lobes assumes its complete development till the age of twenty years (Tyrrell, and Griffin, 2003; Robertson, 1999).


Important causes of depression in teenagers

The cause of depression in teenagers may vary from individual to individual. Depression is often a result of confluence of various factors. The ground of great significance in the causation of depression in teenagers includes the death and divorce factors. The death of a loved one or the divorce of parents can cause depression. The break in a relationship at the level of friendship, i.e. loss or departure or break of a relationship with a girlfriend or boyfriend can cause depression. Thus, death and departure can be considered as significant factors in the causation of depression. Departure from someone who has been kind and caring to the teenager certainly can result in depression. Other reasons for depression includes verbal abuse to the teenager in the form of scolding or bullying and other ways that lead to loss of self-esteem. It is important to note here that in the case of teenagers any major change with its essential inclination to negativism can result in the causation of depression.

The teenager may be suffering from depression as a result of earlier experiences of abuse. These earlier experiences must have had their essential presence in the form of a traumatic experience in the mind of the teenager. This can be because the adolescent did not have the free availability of language to process these painful experiences. These thoughts when erupt their presence in the form of sorrowful memory or undesirable present state, the adolescent fails himself at the hands of depression.

Stress is another important factor that can cause depression. Mental stress can also be on the grounds of education ability desired to a certain level. A lack of rapport in education and extra-curricular activities and a strict ground to compete on also becomes the tentative reason for stress induction. Stress can also be caused due to several other reasons at both education and social level. The teenager also needs to adjust to the changes in his body. All these cause stress to the teenagers. It is also seen that the stress level in people is increasing day-by- day, all this results in the causation of depression. The changes that take place in the body of teenagers at the level of hormones or physical change can result in new emotions instillation and this becomes the causative factor of moodiness and melancholy. This is many times considered to be equivalent to depression.

Depression can also be caused as a result of medical problems such as hypothyroidism. This can affect in the level of hormone balance and mood. In addition, chronic condition of an illness can become a cause of depression. In such cases it is essential for the physician to deal with the underlying physical ailment. A correction in the physical ailment can result in relief from depression in such cases. This is also true in the case of cancer patients, who because of extreme pain fall prey to depression. Their condition gets corrected when they are given proper treatment and pain-killers. However, in the case of cancer patients it is not always possible to treat the ailment, especially in the last stages of the disease. In such cases the management of the disease or disorder is being done.

Another important agent that can cause depression is substance abuse. It has been seen that substance abuse causes certain changes in the brain chemistry of the person and this results in depression.

Also, allergic condition to certain food items such as wheat, sugar, milk can become the cause or exacerbating agents of depression. In addition, a deficiency in the body can cause depression. The deficiency may be in the form of certain vitamins. Or it may be some amino acid imbalance that results in depression.

Depression can also be caused because of some genetic reasons. This is especially true if depression as a disorder runs in the family.

In teenagers, the causative factors of depression also includes failing in exams. It has been seen that students who fail in an exam have had exhibited chances of committing suicide. Failing in exams is a unique reason of teenagers committing suicide. In addition, social rejection also breathes as an essential reason for suicide cases in teenagers.

It is important to note here that these causative factors for depression may hold different level of importance for different individuals, thus these factors vary with the difference in perception.


Conclusion

Thus, we may conclude that depression as a disorder in teenagers can be caused by death, divorce, departure, verbal rebuke, traumatic experiences, stress, hormonal /physical changes, medical condition, substance abuse, allergies, nutritional deficiencies, genetic reasons, failing in exams, and social rejection.






References

Lane, R. E. The Loss of Happiness in Market Democracies. Yale University Press, 2000
Robertson, I. Mind Sculpture. Bantam Press. 1999.
Tyrrell I, and Griffin J. Human Givens. Human Givens Publishing. 2003.
UNICEF. The Progress of Nations. United Nations, 1993, 45.
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Posted by: Andrew Blanks

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