Severe Depression in Teenagers and Young Adults: Signs, Causes and More

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Apr 6, 2022

But what is severe depression ❓What are some of the common signs? 🚧What causes Major Depression? 🌱🧑🏼‍🎓 Teen Depression 🔞 Depression in Young Adults What are some of the ways young people can treat depression? 🩺🗣️ Talk Therapy 😇 Mini Therapy 🫀 Diet, Hydration, Sleep, and Exercise Final Word ✌🏼Please Note 🚩

Note: For simplicity in the article, ‘young people’ refers to both teenagers (between ages 13 and 19) and young adults (between the ages of 18 and 30).

POV ✨: Being young can be wonderful, but it can also be an extremely confusing time. I mean, we're just understanding ourselves, how we fit in, and can contribute to the world. Our brains and bodies are transforming into their stable adult versions, but it can be a flurry of changes and instability as we reach there.

Did you know depression in young people is the highest? Close to 70% of all people experiencing depression in the U.S. fall within this age group. One in every five teens experiences symptoms of depression, and among young adults, the age group of 19-25 is at the highest risk.

I know the stats can be off-putting, but the thing to remember is that we are also one of the most resilient groups of people. The key here is to understand our mental health and do what we can to take care of it.

Depression is not one mental disorder and can refer to multiple forms like mild and severe depression. We will explore the link between being young and experiencing severe depression in this blog article.

But what is severe depression ❓

Severe Depression (aka Major Depression, Unipolar Depression, or Major Depressive Disorder), as the name suggests, tends to have severe symptoms, as this depression may also become physically debilitating. Not to say that mild depression can be dismissed and is not as urgent to look at - but major depression needs our particular attention and care because it deals with a higher level of intensity which can disrupt our quality of life.

A depressive episode of this type of depression can last anywhere between two weeks and six months. Major Depression in young people can have several causes, which we'll explore in more detail in a later section.

What are some of the common signs? 🚧

Low self-esteem

Major changes in appetite

Abuse of alcohol or drugs to cope

Loss of interest in activities

Having peer problems: like bullying or social withdrawal

Having trouble concentrating

Feeling hopeless, anxious, irritable, or restless

What causes Major Depression? 🌱

The causes of severe depression in teens and young adults can differ slightly.

🧑🏼‍🎓 Teen Depression

Teenage years stretch from the age of 13 to 19, which is when we enter the daunting high school. There's so much going on - classes you have to pick for college, being liked by our peers, puberty, and ah, so much. Our mental health is constantly at the mercy of our home and school environment, not to mention the world we are preparing to step into.

Here's a list of some of these causes that play a role in a teen's depression :

🆔 Puberty and Identity: Puberty is one of the most confusing ages one goes through. We are figuring out our identities and how our bodies mesh with them. It is a whirlwind on the outside but no less on the inside with a flurry of hormones taking home in our bodies and lives. When one is right on the fence between being a child and a young adult, it's also that age when feeling understood and accepted seems like a daunting challenge.

🎓 School Environment and Peer Interactions: Many teens may see school as a battlefield, with bullying and peer pressure being sad realities on most school grounds. Social withdrawal may become common at this age due to negative peer interactions and stressful confrontations with authority figures.

📚 Pressures of Academic Life: As we step into high school, the pressure of academics and performing well to secure a placement at a dream college becomes very apparent. It feels like a cut-throat rat race where the winner gets declared at the end of school. Disappointment and worry about the future with the added pressure of family expectations make this aspect of a teen's life a challenge.

👨‍👨‍👦‍👦 Family History and Home Environment: If there is a history of mental disorders in family members (it does not necessarily have to be depression & can be bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, or any other mental health issue), there are higher chances that a teen may experience depression. Also, the kind of home environment the teenager is surrounded by - whether it supports the teen to best cope with the stressors mentioned above or is an added stressor - can have a triggering role in teen depression.

🔞 Depression in Young Adults

Now, this is the age when we've just entered college and have the next four years to learn the throes of adulting. I mean, it's not all that bad, but for many, it can be scary to move out of home, take care of finances and secure a good academic track record. Simply put, it's a lot of newnesses.

These are some of the common causes in greater detail:

🫀 Proper Diet, Hydration, Sleep, and Exercise: Young adults in college commonly struggle with maintaining routine and healthy lifestyle practices due to the pressure of academics and building a solid resume. These four commonly overlooked causes can lead to depression symptoms or a major depressive episode. These healthy practices regulate our brain chemistry and hormones.

Vitamin D deficiency can lead to lower melatonin levels (our sleep hormone), affecting serotonin levels (our happy hormone). Running on less sleep affects our serotonin levels, brain activity, immunity levels, aaand energy levels. A sedentary lifestyle can cause hormonal imbalance in our body with depleting endorphins, dopamine, and serotonin levels.

👨🏼‍🦰 Pressures of Adulting: Being in college is that prep time of being an adult - taking care of yourself, your health, finances, and juggling different priorities with lesser guidance than before. It is easy to lose your way with this newfound freedom - when children of helicopter parenting first step out of home, they are keen and curious to explore and experiment. This exploration with the wrong crowd can be challenging to navigate, leading to painful feelings.

🏧 Financial (In)dependence: College students and young working professionals are almost financially independent. They take up loans, work to cover their costs, and might find it stressful to continue their previous quality of life with their initial earnings. It can also become common to experience stress and anxiety by comparing one's financial situation with peers and seniors.

😓 Approaching Quarter Life Crisis: The real-real world is at our doorstep after college, reminding us of our missteps and others' fortune. We may still struggle to find purpose in life and question if our career choice is best suited for us and our goals. Is our job meeting our needs? Do we want to do our master's? If yes, what? If not, what's the growth plan? If we have a partner, how is it going? If we don't, when will we meet them? The questions and ruminations can be never-ending.

What are some of the ways young people can treat depression? 🩺

Here's a list of some tips that may be helpful to support ourselves:

🗣️ Talk Therapy

This is the most common treatment plan for depression in teens and young adults. Talk therapy involves face-to-face interactions with a mental health professional who guides the conversation to uncover psychological triggers to explore healthy coping mechanisms.

😇 Mini Therapy

This newer approach to therapy involves finding relief and building healthy coping mechanisms by working through specific and relevant discomforts - I want to pay attention to my negative self-talk. These bite-sized therapy sessions are designed and curated by mental health professionals to increase access to support and guidance when we most need it.

🫀 Diet, Hydration, Sleep, and Exercise

Last but not even close to being the least are these 4. As discussed in the above section, these healthy practices can do wonders for our minds and bodies. Imagine that when these four are done right, we create a cushion for ourselves to fall back on. We become better at handling any situation that may arise as our body chemicals and hormones sync with our goals and desires.

Final Word ✌🏼

It is a lot to take in, and all of us go through this in our ways. We may have our unique struggles and lessons to learn. Some of us may have more stressors than others and become more likely to experience teen depression or major depression as young adults. And the fact that major depression is very common in young people means that we are all in this together. The world can be a scary place to grow up and find ourselves, but it can also be a place of a warm community that supports us.

Please Note 🚩

Depression (aka clinical depression) is a mental illness that can be of two different types - mild depression (aka persistent depressive disorder) and major depression (aka severe depression or major depressive disorder). Common depression symptoms include prolonged depressed mood, low self-esteem, mood swings, loss of interest, and having trouble focusing. If you have symptoms of clinical depression or thoughts of self-harm, please use the national suicide prevention lifeline or contact mental health professionals to seek treatment options.

Antidepressant medications may be prescribed in the case of severe symptoms, in combination with a form of therapy such as interpersonal therapy.