Depressed teens often experience significant emotional and sometimes physical pain, but may not know what to do to make it better or find the help that they need.

 Parents are usually in the best position to take charge in getting initial help for a depressed teen. 

Overview

If you suspect that your teen is depressed, it is important to see a doctor about your concerns. Only a doctor or mental health professional can diagnose teen depression.

Unlike a stomach virus or the common cold that can be treated with a home remedy like chicken soup, teen depression needs to be diagnosed and treated by a doctor, psychiatrist, or other qualified mental health professional. Depression can have a number of different factors that can affect the type of treatment that a doctor recommends.

Symptoms of Teen Depression

Depression in teens deeply affects those who experience it, but the symptoms are often different than those seen in depressed adults.4 In order to get help, it is important to first recognize the signs of depression in teens:

• Anger and irritability
• Declining grades
• Difficulty concentrating
• Fatigue
• Negative self-talk
• Sleeping too much or not enough
• Somatic/physical complaints
• Talk of death or suicide
  
• Withdrawal from friends and family

The problem is that teen depression often disguises itself as normal “mood swings” due to puberty or teen angst. This means that it is often ignored until something more serious happens such as serious risk-taking behavior that leads to trouble or a suicide attempt.6

Causes

Depression in teens can be caused by different factors. Some of the factors that might play a part include:

Depression in teens can be caused by different factors. Some of the factors that might play a part include:

• Biochemical imbalances
• Bullying7
• Genetic predisposition to depression
• Social exclusion
• Stress
• Trauma

What Evaluation Might Look Like

Your child’s doctor can evaluate your child’s health, make a diagnosis, recommend treatments, and refer you to another professional if necessary.

• A medical doctor can order blood tests, review family history, evaluate current medications, sleep patterns, and diet in an effort to determine if there is a physical cause for the depression.
• A  psychological testing, completed by a psychologist over several sessions can provide extensive information about the severity and nature of the symptoms, contributing factors, and the possible presence of suicidal idea. This option is best suited for cases where the diagnosis is unclear. 
• An individual therapist specializing in treating teens can evaluate the symptoms based on talking to the teen and family members. This information helps point the way to make specific recommendations for next steps that are likely to be beneficial to your teen.