Suicide is alarmingly common. It is the eighth leading cause of death for all
people (accounting for about 1% of all deaths) and the third leading cause of
death for people aged 15 to 24 (following accidents and homicide). The vast
majority of suicides are related to emotional or psychiatric disorders,
including depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and others. Unsuccessful
suicide attempts also are common and outnumber actual suicides.
While boys are more likely than girls to commit suicide, teens of both
genders and all ages are at risk for suicide. It is especially tragic that the
three leading causes of death in teens and young adults -- accident, homicide, and
suicide -- all are preventable. Parents of teens should be aware of some of the
warning signs of depression and suicide. The American Academy of Pediatrics
describes the following signs that may signal that a depressed teen may be
considering suicide...
Do you ever wonder whether your irritable or unhappy adolescent might
actually be experiencing teen depression? Of course, most teens feel unhappy at
times. And when you add hormone havoc to the many other changes happening in a
teen's life, it's easy to see why their moods swing like a pendulum. Yet
findings show that one out of every eight adolescents has teen depression. But
depression can be treated and the serious problems associated with it. So if
your teen's unhappiness lasts for more than two weeks and he or she displays
other symptoms of depression, it may be time to seek help from a health
professional.
Why do adolescents get depression?
There are multiple reasons why a teenager might become depressed. For
example, teens can develop feelings of worthlessness and inadequacy over their
grades. School performance, social status with peers, sexual orientation, or
family life can each have a major effect on how a teen feels. Sometimes, teen
depression may result from environmental stress. But whatever the cause, when
friends or family -- or things that the teen usually enjoys -- don't help to
improve his or her sadness or sense of isolation, there's a good chance that he
or she has teen depression.
What are the symptoms of teen depression?
Often, kids with teen depression will have a noticeable change in their
thinking and behavior. They may have no motivation and even become withdrawn,
closing their bedroom door after school and staying in their room for
hours.
Kids with teen depression may sleep excessively, have a change in eating
habits, and may even exhibit criminal behaviors such as DUI or shoplifting.
Here are more signs of depression in adolescents even though they may or may
not show all signs:
Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension and fear characterized by physical symptoms. Anxiety disorders are serious medical illnesses that affect approximately 19 million American adults.
Depression is an illness that involves the body, mood, and thoughts and affects the way a person eats and sleeps, the way one feels about oneself, and the way one thinks about things. The principal types of depression are major depression, dysthymia, and bipolar disease (also called manic-depressive disease).
Suicide is the process of intentionally ending one's own life. Approximately 1 million people worldwide commit suicide each year, and 10 million to 20 million attempt suicide annually.
Alcohol is the most frequently used drug by American teenagers. Teens that drink are more likely to drive under the influence, have unprotected sex, and use other drugs, like marijuana, cocaine, and heroin. Symptoms of alcohol abuse in teens include lying, breaking curfew, becoming verbally or physically abusive toward others, making excuses, smelling like alcohol, having mood swings, and stealing.
Drugs commonly abused by teens include tobacco products, marijuana, cold medications, inhalants, depressants, stimulants, narcotics, hallucinogens, PCP, ketamine, Ecstasy, and anabolic steroids. Some of the symptoms and warning signs of teen drug abuse include reddened whites of eyes, paranoia, sleepiness, excessive happiness, seizures, memory loss, increased appetite, discolored fingertips, lips or teeth, and irritability. Treatment of drug addiction may involve a combination of medication, individual, and familial interventions.
Childhood depression can interfere with social activities, interests, schoolwork and family life. Symptoms and signs include anger, social withdrawal, vocal outbursts, fatigue, physical complaints, and thoughts of suicide. Treatment may involve psychotherapy and medication.
Good parenting helps foster empathy, honesty, self-reliance, self-control, kindness, cooperation, and cheerfulness, says Steinberg, a distinguished professor of psychology at Temple University in Philadelphia. It also promotes intellectual curiosity, motivation, and desire to achieve. It helps protect children from developing anxiety, depression, eating disorders, antisocial behavior, and alcohol and drug abuse.
Mental illness is any disease or condition affecting the brain that influence the way a person thinks, feels, behaves, and/or relates to others. Mental illness is caused by heredity, biology, psychological trauma and environmental stressors.
Teenagers recognize that they are developmentally between child and adult. Teen health prevention includes maintaining a healthy diet, exercising regularly, preventing injuries and screening annually for potential health conditions that could adversely affect teenage health.
Fast food consumption and lack of exercise are just a couple of causes of childhood obesity. Health effects of childhood obesity include type 2 diabetes, heart attack, stroke, high cholesterol, asthma, sleep apnea, gallstones, fatty liver disease, GERD, depression, and eating disorders.
Mental illness is any disease or condition affecting the brain that
influences the way a person thinks, feels, behaves and/or relates to others and
to his or her surroundings. Although the symptoms of mental illness can
range from mild to severe and are different depending on the type of
mental illness, a person with an untreated mental illness often is unable to
cope with life's daily routines and demands.
What Causes Mental Illness?
Although the exact cause of most mental illnesses is not known, it is
becoming clear through research that many of these conditions are caused by a
combination of genetic, biological, psychological and environmental factors.
One thing is for sure—mental illness is not the result of personal
weakness or a character defect, and recovery from a mental illness is not
simply a matter of will and self-discipline.
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