Depression Awareness Month - Family Counseling Service

She’s just a moody teenager. He’s just got an attitude. Why don’t I ever feel like doing anything anymore? Maybe I’m just lazy.

Maybe. Or maybe it’s depression.

Depression Awareness Month: What You Need to Know

Did you know that depression in children and adolescents often looks completely different than it does in adults?

Most of us tend to think of depression showing up as:

Sadness
Hopelessness
A gloomy outlook
An inability to enjoy much of anything

While depression can very much show up in these ways, it doesn’t always outwardly appear as a gloomy demeanor or inability to find joy. Depression can show up as various symptoms within each individual it affects. Still, there are general ways that it shows up differently in children and adolescents than it does for adults.

Depression in Children

Children haven’t yet learned to recognize their feelings, let alone understand them or express them with words. Depression in children doesn’t always look like sadness or moping. It often manifests in a much more counter-intuitive way. Usually it looks like irritability, an increase in the frequency or intensity of tantrums, problems falling or staying asleep, decreased appetite, or lack of interest in doing things they used to enjoy.

Depression in Adolescents

Adolescents are at a time in their lives when they are figuring many things out. They often can’t or don’t want to acknowledge that they feel sad or helpless. Especially since they often believe (or are made to believe by peers) that those feelings indicate that they are weak, are not able to “handle” things, or that something is really, really “wrong” with them.

Depression in adolescents can often show up as irritability and anger outbursts (more than just typical teenage moodiness), oversleeping, experimenting with drugs or alcohol in a desperate attempt to feel better, a sudden drop in school performance, self-injury, or getting into fights.

Related blog post: How Parents Can Support Suicidal Teens

Depression in Adults

Adults can also have difficulty figuring out why they are struggling.

Sometimes what feels like a creative dry spell of ideas at work, less patience than usual with your family, not wanting to socialize, or constantly feeling “lazy” may be signs you are depressed. Of course, everyone struggles. Everyone has tough days and difficult seasons in their lives, but when you can’t seem to get back to your usual self no matter how hard you try (or you don’t even have it in you to try anymore), that’s probably worth exploring further.

Related blog post: How to Keep Going When You Want to Give Up

The Importance of Seeking Professional Help

Mental health and mental health issues have been getting a lot of attention lately. Hopefully, the increased awareness will contribute to an increase in understanding, compassion, and acceptance.

That said, please don’t let social media, friends’ anecdotes, or an internet symptom search determine whether you have a clinical issue that warrants treatment. The internet provides nearly limitless amounts of information to anyone with the ability to access it. It doesn’t offer the years of training, experience, and insight needed to sift through all that information, put it into context, and apply the appropriate guidelines to draw sound diagnostic conclusions.

Depression Awareness: Where to Find Help

An excellent place to start may be your primary care doctor. This is because some medical conditions such as iron deficiency anemia, under active thyroid, and diabetes can mimic symptoms of depression. Once your doctor has ruled out a medical condition as the cause of your symptoms, you may consider making a mental health provider your next stop. If you or a loved one are in distress or showing significant or sudden changes in behavior, please consider making an appointment with a Family Counseling Service mental health provider to be assessed. Give us a call. Help is why we’re here.