Feeling
What is depression in teens?
Depression in teens (ages 13-17) is a serious medical illness. It's more than just a feeling of being sad or "blue" for a few days. It is an intense feeling of sadness, hopelessness, and anger or frustration that lasts much longer. These feelings make it hard for you to function normally and do your usual activities. You may also have trouble focusing and have no motivation or energy. Depression can make you feel like it is hard to enjoy life or even get through the day.
What causes depression in teens?Many factors may play a role in depression, including:
- Genetics. Depression can run in families.
- Brain biology and chemistry.
- Hormones. Hormone changes can contribute to depression.
- Stressful childhood events such as trauma, the death of a loved one, bullying, and abuse.
Depression can happen at any age, but often begins in the teens or early adulthood. Certain teens are at higher risk of depression, such as those who:
- Have other mental health conditions, such as anxiety, eating disorders, and substance use
- Have other diseases, such as diabetes, cancer, and heart disease
- Have family members with mental illness
- Have a dysfunctional family/family conflict
- Have problems with friends or other kids at school
- Have learning disabilities or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
- Have had trauma in childhood
- Have low self-esteem, a pessimistic outlook, or poor coping skills
- Are members of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially when their families are not supportive
If you have depression, you have one or more of these symptoms most of the time:
- Sadness
- Feeling of emptiness
- Hopelessness
- Being angry, irritable, or frustrated, even at minor things
You also may also have other symptoms, such as:
- No longer caring about things you used to enjoy
- Changes in weight, such as losing weight when you are not dieting or gaining weight from eating too much
- Changes in sleep, such as having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, or sleeping much more than usual
- Feeling restless or having trouble sitting still
- Feeling very tired or not having energy
- Feeling worthless or very guilty
- Having trouble concentrating, remembering information, or making decisions
- Thinking about dying or suicide
If you think you might be depressed, tell someone that you trust, such as your:
- Parents or guardian
- Teacher or counselor
- Doctor
The next step is to see your doctor for a checkup. Your doctor can first make sure that you do not have another health problem that is causing your depression. To do this, you may have a physical exam and lab tests.
If you don't have another health problem, you will get a psychological evaluation. Your doctor may do it, or you may be referred to a mental health professional to get one. You may be asked about things such as:
- Your thoughts and feelings
- How you are doing at school
- Any changes in your eating, sleeping, or energy level
- Whether you are suicidal
- Whether you use alcohol or drugs
Effective treatments for depression in teens include talk therapy, or a combination of talk therapy and medicines:
Talk therapy
Talk therapy, also called psychotherapy or counseling, can help you understand and manage your moods and feelings. It involves going to see a therapist, such as a psychiatrist, a psychologist, a social worker, or counselor. You can talk out your emotions to someone who understands and supports you. You can also learn how to stop thinking negatively and start to look at the positives in life. This will help you build confidence and feel better about yourself.
There are many different types of talk therapy. Certain types have been shown to help teens deal with depression, including:
- Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which helps you to identify and change negative and unhelpful thoughts. It also helps you build coping skills and change behavioral patterns.
- Interpersonal therapy (IPT), which focuses on improving your relationships. It helps you understand and work through troubled relationships that may contribute to your depression. IPT may help you change behaviors that are causing problems. You also explore major issues that may add to your depression, such as grief or life changes.
Medicines
In some cases, your doctor will suggest medicines along with talk therapy. There are a few antidepressants that have been widely studied and proven to help teens. If you are taking medicine for depression, it is important to see your doctor regularly.
It is also important to know that it will take some time for you to get relief from antidepressants:
- It can take 3 to 4 weeks until an antidepressant takes effect
- You may have to try more than one antidepressant to find one that works for you
- It can also take some time to find the right dose of an antidepressant
In some cases, teenagers may have an increase in suicidal thoughts or behavior when taking antidepressants. This risk is higher in the first few weeks after starting the medicine and when the dose is changed. Make sure to tell your parents or guardian if you start feeling worse or have thoughts of hurting yourself.
You should not stop taking the antidepressants on your own. You need to work with your doctor to slowly and safely decrease the dose before you stop.
Programs for severe depression
Some teens who have severe depression or are at risk of hurting themselves may need more intensive treatment. They may go into a psychiatric hospital or do a day program. Both offer counseling, group discussions, and activities with mental health professionals and other patients. Day programs may be full-day or half-day, and they often last for several weeks.
Home Remedies for Feeling
Echinacea (Echinacea angustifolia) has local anesthetic properties to reduce the feeling of soreness of the throat. It may also stimulate the immune system. Buy and grind Echinacea angustifolia root in a coffee grinder. Mix 1/2 teaspoon of ground Echinacea into 2 ounces of warm water and gargle.
Mechanism - Echinacea angustifoliaJlaiii | August 9th, 2020
Felter's Materia Medica on Feeling
The dried flower-heads of Arnica montana, Linné (Nat. Ord. Compositae). A perennial of Siberia and the cooler parts of Europe; also found in... / ...eness when the limbs are moved; tensive backache, as if bruised or strained; cystitis, with bruised feeling in bladder, as from a fall or blow; headache, with tensive, bruised feeling and pain on move...2
The fungus Polyporus officinalis, Fries (Boletus laricis, jacquin). (Nat. Ord. Fungi.) Asia, Eastern Europe, and Central America. Common Names:... / ...r taste, capricious appetite, slight fever, and has for some time been experiencing a dull, languid feeling. It may also be used in cases of impaired nutrition with feeble cerebral circulation. To som... / ...is one of the most effectual of antihydrotics. In 113 grain doses it controls the thirst, cough, and the excessive sweating of consumptives.2
...ting pain, or tearing pain from serous inflammation; tenderness on pressure; tearing pain with sore feeling in any part of the body and always aggravated by motion; moderately full or hard wiry vibrat...... racking cough or provoked by changes of air; lethargy short of dullness; tired, weary or apathetic feeling, too tired to think; perspiring on slight movement. Action.The fresh root of bryonia is a ...2
A stearopten (having the nature of a ketone) derived from Cinnamomum Camphora. (Linné), Nees et Ebermeier (Nat. Ord. Lauraceae). China and... / ... of all the functions it affects. The action of small doses upon the nervous system is to produce a feeling of slight exhilaration or contentment. Large doses excite the higher cerebral and medullary ... / ...due to gaseous distention of the stomach, or to nervous irritability. In occipital headache, from mental strain, or overstudy, small doses of 2
The dried flowering tops of the female plant of Cannabis sativa, Linné, or the variety indica, Lamarck (Nat. Ord. Cannabinaceae). Asia, East... / ...irritation. It lessens pain-especially spasmodic pain-allays spasm, improves the appetite, causes a feeling of contentment and rest, and produces sleep. If pushed too rapidly or in too large doses, ex... / ...of the urino-genital tract and relieves pain. For the first condition it is invaluable in more or less painful conditions in which opium see2
The rhizome of Chamaelirium luteum, Gray (Helonias dioica, Pursh)-(Nat. Ord. Liliaceae). Abundant in woodlands, meadows, and wet places in some... / ...y and despondency are often associated with such disorders, and when menstruation occurs there is a feeling of undue fullness, as if the womb and rectum were distended with blood, and about to be push... / ...It is also said to relieve the nausea and vomiting of pregnancy, to prevent miscarriages, and to correct gastric complications of albuminuria.2
The bark and fruit of Aesculus Hippocastanum, Linné (Nat. Ord. Sapindaceae). Asia and Europe; planted in United States. Dose (bark), 1 to 60... / ...s an indication for it. It may be used for non-bleeding piles when full, purple and painful, with a feeling as if a foreign body is in the rectum; there may also be itching and heat, or simply a sense...2
The rhizome of Jeffersonia diphylla, Barton (Nat. Ord. Berberidaceae). A handsome, vernal, flowering plant throughout the eastern half of the... / ...excitability and irritability. Watkins declared it efficient in pain in the head with dizziness and feeling of tension. Locke mentions it as useful where rheumatism is located chiefly in the muscles o...2
...ng, and persistently pungent sensation in the throat and fauces, accompanied by slight nausea and a feeling of warmth and distention along the esophageal tract and in the stomach. The sensation is not......om pleural and muscular pains and alleviates the sense of suffocation and fullness accompanied by a feeling of soreness within the chest. Libradol is a more cleanly application and owing to the presen...2
...; aching of whole body from colds, the onset of fevers, or from muscular exertion; lumbago; bruised feeling of muscles of the forehead, with stiffness of the ocular muscles; soreness and stiffness of......s in stomach and bowels, with tendency to metastasis, and aggravated by food and drink, the stomach feeling as if painfully contracting upon a hard body or lump; the soreness and aching intestinal pai......have been produced by it. Full doses cause a severe frontal headache, with a dull, full or bursting feeling. This headache is the most characteristic effect observed when giving even therapeutic doses...2
The dried flower-heads of Matricaria Chamomilla, Linné (Nat. Ord. Compositae). Wastes of Europe, Asia, and Australia. Dose, 1 to 60... / ...lar twitching, and other unpleasant nervous phenomena. In amenorrhea and dysmenorrhea, with weighty feeling in the uterus and tympanites, it often relieves, as it does in cases presenting sudden explo... / ...to the actual pain suffered. This remedy should be resorted to when one is tempted to employ opiates and other more powerful pain relievers.2
Menthol. A secondary alcohol obtained from the oil of Mentha piperita, Linné, or from other oils of mints. It should be kept in well-stoppered... / ...ppermint, very soluble in alcohol, ether, and chloroform, and slightly soluble in water. It gives a feeling of warmth when tasted, followed by a sensation of cold when air is inhaled or water is drunk... / ...is sometimes of value in hiccough. It should not be used in large doses internally because of the profound nervous disturbances it may occasion.2
The dried, ripe fruit and root of Petroselinum sativum, Hoffman (Nat. Ord. Umbelliferae). Native of Europe; cultivated in all moderate... / ...ifteen grains are capable of producing effects similar to those of coffeecerebral excitement with feeling of vigor and composure, and warmth in the stomach. Large doses (thirty to sixty grains) occa... / ...fail to produce any emmenagogue effects. A liquid apiol (Oleoresina Petroselini) is to be preferred, given in doses of eight to twelve minims.2
The fresh leaves of Toxicodendron radicans (L.) Kuntze (Rhus radicans, Linné, Rhus Toxicodendron, Linné) (Nat. Ord. Anacardiaceae) A common... / ...nses, pupillary dilatation, chilliness, sickness at the stomach with thirst and burning pain, and a feeling of constriction in the temporal regions. The pulse becomes slow, irregular and small, the ac... / ...dried wood is said to retain it. It has been named toxicodendrol, and is asserted to be in reality the only tangible substance found thus 2
The rhizome and roots of Sanguinaria canadensis, Linné (Nat. Ord. Papaveraceae), gathered in autumn after the leaves and scape have died to the... / ...n swallowed, leaves an acridity and sense of constriction in the fauces and pharynx, and induces a feeling of warmth in the stomach. In small doses, it stimulates the digestive organs, and increases ... / ...in debilitated subjects. When due to vicarious menstruation, hemorrhage from the lungs is said to have been controlled by it. It may be used als2
References
2) Felter, Harvey Wickes, 1922, The Eclectic Materia Medica, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Cincinnati, Ohio.