Information About Depression

Teenage depression is another form of illness, like childhood depression, that can be very hard to diagnose.

The main problem in diagnosing teenage depression is that a lot of the symptoms are synonymous with growing up and the teenage years in general. Irritability, anger and mood swings are things most parents have seen in their teenage children, irrespective of whether or not they are feeling depressed.

Of course this is a problem where a teenager really is suffering depression - they may be in need of help without anyone actually realising it.

The transition from childhood to adulthood can be one of the most stressful times in a person’s life, especially when viewed from a teenage perspective. The addition of depression to everything else they are experiencing only makes matters worse so it is obviously beneficial if you can recognise the following symptoms in a teenager so that they can be effectively diagnosed and treated.

Teenage depression - the symptoms

It is quite natural, and perfectly normal, for a teenager to experience different moods, almost on a daily basis. They can go from feeling happy one day to sad the very next. Only if they experience one of these moods for a long period of time should you be concerned. If they appear sad for several days or weeks, or have a negative outlook for such a period of time, then that may be a sign that they are beginning to suffer from depression.

Other signs that may indicate teenage depression include quick increases or decreases in their weight. Also, a lack of concentration and forgetfulness can be a sign that something is not quite right.

The causes

A teenager can become depressed for a variety of reasons - the pressure of performing at school, social peer pressure, challenges of relationships and a whole host of other possibilities.

Changes in area or school can often be a big factor - a teenager taken from their friends and having to fit in with another group at a new school can often lead to depression.

As stated above, teenage depression can be hard to diagnose but if you think your teenager may be exhibiting some of the signs of depression, then seeking medical advise as soon as possible is the answer. The quicker that depression is diagnosed, the quicker it can be treated.

An example of what can happen when a teenager with depression is tipped over the edge can be found in the sad case of Megan Meier.

There are a large number of people who suffer from differing symptoms that can be associated with depression. Therefore, it can be difficult, not only for the sufferer, but even for a medical practitioner, to differentiate between depression and other mental health issues.

One tool employed by physicians to aid in a diagnosis is the depression scale.

A depression scale is employed in order to have a patient rate different aspects of their life via a set of questions. Through using scales both the doctor, and sometimes the patient too, can evaluate where the problems reside which can then obviously lead to a position from which solutions can be found.

The Goldberg Depression Scale

The Goldberg scale can be used by both the patient and the doctor. For the patient, it is a means of tracking their level of depression as well as their general moods, typically on a week by week basis. This should enable the patient to then see if there are any patterns or obvious contributory factors which are feeding their depression.

The physician can also make use of the goldberg scale, which measures eighteen statements on a scale of zero to five, in order to see how the patient is affected by their moods and depression.

The Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale

The Zung Self-Rating Depression scale is a single page questionnaire, designed to be filled in by a patient on their own before being given to their physician for analysis.

The page comprises of twenty different statements which encompass questions about a variety of issues and feelings in life. To each point the patient will rate how they agree, whether it be strongly, not at all or somewhere in-between.

The health professional is then able to use this data in order to assign a score which in turn will dictate the patient’s level of depression.

The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression

The Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression is used solely by a physician in order to collate data about their patient’s depression level. They will question the patient and assign numerical values to their responses.

Questions to the patient will probe them about their appetite, feelings, moods, ability to sleep and various other matters that could indicate feelings of depression.

The higher the total score, the more likely it is that the patient is suffering from depression. The doctor can then use this to aid in forming a judgement as to what course of action is then required.

If you know that you are depressed, or feel that you might be, then gaining support as well as medical advice are probably the two most important steps you can take towards recovery.

Your medical practitioner is most likely to be of assistance, offering help and a diagnosis of depression if applicable. One of the things that may additionally advise or offer is the use of support groups. If meeting others face to face is not something that you can, or would like, to do then the internet can be a good way of finding the same sort of service whilst being able to talk to others anonymously.

The following 3 sites all offer support and advice -

General health issues

Detailed depression information

Depression facts

If you know of any others, please let me know..

Statistics tell us that marriages are ever more likely to end in divorce, with around 60% of couples not staying together until death do them part. When one half of a married couple is depressed, the likelihood of them divorcing is 9 times higher!

Whilst all good marriages should involve give and take, with one partner perhaps doing more one week and the other the next, overall there should be a balance where both are pulling together in equal measure.

When one partner begins to suffer with chronic depression, however, this balance quickly ceases to exist. When one member of a marriage suddenly finds themself doing everything, picking up all those tasks that the other would normally undertake, then negative feelings will start to seep in, slowly at first but always gaining momentum.

The longer this type of situation continues, the more the feelings of resentment will fester and grow. For the partner who is not depressed, their life can suddenly seem like that of a single parent, looking after any children single handedly in addition to caring for the other person who is suffering with depression.

Suddenly, those blue clouds begin to seem a little bit more grey, and the healthy partner may well find themselves slipping into depression too. We often learn through observation and interaction with others and so someone living with a depressed person can often find themselves beginning to think and act negatively too.

Diagnosing the problem

The first step to dealing with depression within a relationship is understanding that depression is in fact the root of the problem. Often, such an illness can be missed or misinterpreted. Where one partner is depressed, the other may see laziness, lack of understanding an an uncaring attitude. Even though the depression may give the appearance of marital problems without being such, it can certainly lead to them developing in a short period of time.

Overcoming depression together

If you work together to identify the depressed person’s state, and stick together whilst it is being treated then there is likely to be a much higher chance of your relationship surviving. Leaving your partner to battle on alone will only serve to make them feel even more isolated than they already are.

You could try planning together how you are going to overcome this setback together, remembering that long term depression will probably mean that not only does the sufferer need time to heal, but so will the union itself.

Both of you should consider external support. The partner who is depressed will need a medical practitioner’s assistance whilst the other partner may well need friends and family to support them or even just lend an ear when they need to vent their own feelings.

Depression often thrives on isolation. The more alone someone feels, the worse their condition becomes. By working together, you can beat depression within your relationship.

Manic depression is a serious form of depressive illness. It is also one of the hardest variants of depression to diagnose quickly.

There are a large number of symptoms associated with manic depression but they generally involve excessive mood swings. This is often only noticeable if you spend a considerable amount of time with someone on a daily basis. With someone new to you, you do not have their normal mood and behaviour pattern to compare to how they are currently acting.

Symptoms of manic depression

The two main aspects of manic depression symptoms are what are known as a manic episode and a depressive episode.

Manic episodes are usually where the sufferer appears like they are always in a hurry and trying to do far to much. They can be very irratable people and have great difficulties with concentration. Such incidents, in isolation, can be hard to spot, but a manic depressive will continue in such a manner for long periods of time, meaning that those close to them should be able to pick up on it after a while.

A depressive episode, to the contrary, is quite the opposite of a manic episode.

Someone suffering a depressive episode will seem to be continually unhappy and both their speach and body language will show signs of negativity. They will appear to be totally unmotivated and may even come accross as being completely helpless.

During a depressive episode those most serious of sufferers may contemplate or even commit suicide. This generally applies to those who have suffered for a long period of time without attaining any kind of help.

If you believe that someone you know or care about may be suffering from manic depression then you should attempt to get medical assistance for them as quickly as possible. It is quite common for sufferers to feel like they don’t have a problem at all but getting them to talk to someone is the first step towards obtaining a cure.