Abstract
My topic is on teen depression and teen suicide. Most of the time they relate to one another because most teens that committed suicide had been dealing with depression. Depression is very common in teens because that’s the time when we feel that were going trough a lot like having to deal with body changes, peer pressure, school, parents etc. Although most teens do experience depression at least once not all try to commit suicide because they seek help unlike those who attempt suicide. There are different factors to why a teen may go through depression and/or commit suicide therefore more people have become more aware of teen depression and take it more serious.
Teenage depression and suicide
Introduction
As if being an adolescent isn’t hard enough with all the physical changes we deal with we go through emotional changes too. Everyone goes through good and bad situations but sometimes when we go have our bad situations we sometimes stay in that downer. Teen depression occurs because of chemical changes in the brain mainly as a result of stress or hormones (Teen Suicide Articles, 2005).
In Kids Health, About Teen Suicide, it states that suicide is one of the top causes of death for 15 to 24 year olds. It also mentions how the risk of a teen committing suicide increases if they know where to find a gun and if they have access to over the counter drugs.
Can you tell if you’re going through depression?
It can be difficult to tell the difference between normal teenage emotions and depression (Smith, M. Barston, S. Segal, J. 2012). Signs and symptoms of depression may include sadness, hopelessness, withdrawal, lack of enthusiasm, feeling unworthy and trouble concentrating. Although not all teens with depression are sad some experience aggression, irritability and rage (Smith, M. Barston, S. Segal, J. 2012). Smith, Barston and Segal state that depression can have a negative effect on school such as low grades and bad attendance, cause drug and alcohol abuse, low self-esteem, reckless behavior like unprotected sex and violence.
Do they want to commit suicide?
Teens who are going through depression attempt suicide or talk about it usually because they are seeking attention but should not be taken lightly because most of the ones who attempt suicide actually succeed. (Smith, M. Barston, S. Segal, J. 2012). Those who abusively drink and do drugs have a higher risk of suicide. Some suicide warning signs include joking about committing suicide, positive talking about death, giving away meaningful things and looking for ways to attempt suicide. (Smith, M. Barston, S. Segal, J. 2012).
Feeling depressed? Seek help.
If you ever start feeling sad and start having suicidal thoughts don’t let it get to far, go seek help. You can first start off by talking to your parents or someone close that you trust but the best would be to talk to a professional. Melinda Smith, Robert Segal and Jeanne Segal state that it can be difficult to make an effort to get out of depression but that it’s even harder to look for help. They also state that being alone and isolating yourself can worsen your depression therefore they suggest to keep close relationship or build relationships and participate in social activities. Some ways you can build a relationship are volunteering to help others, call an old friend, go out to the movies with someone and join a club (Melinda Smith, Robert Segal and Jeanne Segal 2012) .
Is depression inherited?
In “Genetic causes of depression” the article says that it is not one hundred percent known whether people inherit the illnesses or if it has to do with the persons surrounding, lifestyle and the environment. This article states, “What appears to be inherited is a vulnerability to depression” meaning that if you have a relative that has depression you have a higher chance of getting it too but it doesn’t mean you will necessarily get it. According to the article you have a 1.5 to 3 times more chance of acquiring depression if one of your parents or siblings has or has had depression (Genetic causes of depression 2012).
Difference between males and females
This graph from “Major depressive disorder in children” shows the different percentage of depression between young females and young males. It also shows the different percentage of depression between twelve year olds, sixteen year olds and seventeen year olds. As you can see depression is more common in females than in males. There is a huge difference in the percent’s between the genders. In the United States 12.4% of the young female population go through depression and 4.3% of the young males get it, which is 8.1% of a difference. Twelve year olds have the lowest percent of depression in the United States compared to the other ages. Based on the chart sixteen year olds go through depression more than seventeen year olds and there is a 1% difference between them.
My topic is on teen depression and teen suicide. Most of the time they relate to one another because most teens that committed suicide had been dealing with depression. Depression is very common in teens because that’s the time when we feel that were going trough a lot like having to deal with body changes, peer pressure, school, parents etc. Although most teens do experience depression at least once not all try to commit suicide because they seek help unlike those who attempt suicide. There are different factors to why a teen may go through depression and/or commit suicide therefore more people have become more aware of teen depression and take it more serious.
Teenage depression and suicide
Introduction
As if being an adolescent isn’t hard enough with all the physical changes we deal with we go through emotional changes too. Everyone goes through good and bad situations but sometimes when we go have our bad situations we sometimes stay in that downer. Teen depression occurs because of chemical changes in the brain mainly as a result of stress or hormones (Teen Suicide Articles, 2005).
In Kids Health, About Teen Suicide, it states that suicide is one of the top causes of death for 15 to 24 year olds. It also mentions how the risk of a teen committing suicide increases if they know where to find a gun and if they have access to over the counter drugs.
Can you tell if you’re going through depression?
It can be difficult to tell the difference between normal teenage emotions and depression (Smith, M. Barston, S. Segal, J. 2012). Signs and symptoms of depression may include sadness, hopelessness, withdrawal, lack of enthusiasm, feeling unworthy and trouble concentrating. Although not all teens with depression are sad some experience aggression, irritability and rage (Smith, M. Barston, S. Segal, J. 2012). Smith, Barston and Segal state that depression can have a negative effect on school such as low grades and bad attendance, cause drug and alcohol abuse, low self-esteem, reckless behavior like unprotected sex and violence.
Do they want to commit suicide?
Teens who are going through depression attempt suicide or talk about it usually because they are seeking attention but should not be taken lightly because most of the ones who attempt suicide actually succeed. (Smith, M. Barston, S. Segal, J. 2012). Those who abusively drink and do drugs have a higher risk of suicide. Some suicide warning signs include joking about committing suicide, positive talking about death, giving away meaningful things and looking for ways to attempt suicide. (Smith, M. Barston, S. Segal, J. 2012).
Feeling depressed? Seek help.
If you ever start feeling sad and start having suicidal thoughts don’t let it get to far, go seek help. You can first start off by talking to your parents or someone close that you trust but the best would be to talk to a professional. Melinda Smith, Robert Segal and Jeanne Segal state that it can be difficult to make an effort to get out of depression but that it’s even harder to look for help. They also state that being alone and isolating yourself can worsen your depression therefore they suggest to keep close relationship or build relationships and participate in social activities. Some ways you can build a relationship are volunteering to help others, call an old friend, go out to the movies with someone and join a club (Melinda Smith, Robert Segal and Jeanne Segal 2012) .
Is depression inherited?
In “Genetic causes of depression” the article says that it is not one hundred percent known whether people inherit the illnesses or if it has to do with the persons surrounding, lifestyle and the environment. This article states, “What appears to be inherited is a vulnerability to depression” meaning that if you have a relative that has depression you have a higher chance of getting it too but it doesn’t mean you will necessarily get it. According to the article you have a 1.5 to 3 times more chance of acquiring depression if one of your parents or siblings has or has had depression (Genetic causes of depression 2012).
Difference between males and females
This graph from “Major depressive disorder in children” shows the different percentage of depression between young females and young males. It also shows the different percentage of depression between twelve year olds, sixteen year olds and seventeen year olds. As you can see depression is more common in females than in males. There is a huge difference in the percent’s between the genders. In the United States 12.4% of the young female population go through depression and 4.3% of the young males get it, which is 8.1% of a difference. Twelve year olds have the lowest percent of depression in the United States compared to the other ages. Based on the chart sixteen year olds go through depression more than seventeen year olds and there is a 1% difference between them.
Teen suicide increases
According to Kim Bo-eun, the author of “Teenage suicides double over 10 years” suicide rates between fifteen to nineteen years old has doubled in the last decade. As the chart demonstrates in 200 the suicide rate was 13.5% and kept increasing over the years. By 2006 the suicide rate among these teenagers had already reached 20.8%. Therefore in 2009 suicide became the number one cause of deaths among teenagers (Kim Bo-eun). The article also states how on an online survey 4.44% of teenagers have tried to commit suicide and 18.97% have thought about it.
Conclusion
Based on my research depression and teen suicide is a social issue that has had people become more aware of through the years but has steadily increased because of various factors. As a previous depression victim I know that social networks and technology are a great impact on depression. Social networks are filled with people who love to express their feeling towards their significant other and if your feeling sad and lonely because you’re single seeing others being happy with each other adds to your sadness, especially if you had recently experienced a heartbreak. From experience I know depression may cause you to get other illnesses such as eating disorders. There was a time during my depression where I started feeling insecure about my body and thought about starving myself or vomiting but thankfully I didn’t get to that point because once I started having those thoughts I talked to my mom. At first I was scared to tell her but I was even more scared of knowing that I actually though about potentially hurting myself. After talking with my mom and explaining to her what had been going on with me I felt such a relief. Therefore I know what I researched was true. Talking to someone you trust can help you get through your depression. In conclusion teen depression and teen suicide is something that should not be taken lightly because remember most teens will experience is at least once in their lifetime.
REFERENCES
1. All about depression.com (Nov. 18, 2012). Genetic causes of depression. Retrieved from http://www.allaboutdepression.com/cau_03.html
2. Kids Health (2012). About teen suicide pgs. 1-4. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/suicide.html
3. Kim Bo-eun (2012). Teenage suicides double over 10 years. Retrieved from http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/09/117_119800.html
4. Melinda Smith, M.A., Robert Segal, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D (October 2012). Dealing with depression. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_tips.htm
5. National Institute of Mental Health (2008). Major Depressive disorder in children. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/statistics/1MDD_CHILD.shtml
6. Smith, M. Barston, S. Segal, J. (2012). Teen Depression: A guide for parents and teachers. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_teen.htm
7. Teen Suicide Articles (2005). Teen Depression. Retrieved from http://www.teensuicide.us/articles6.html
According to Kim Bo-eun, the author of “Teenage suicides double over 10 years” suicide rates between fifteen to nineteen years old has doubled in the last decade. As the chart demonstrates in 200 the suicide rate was 13.5% and kept increasing over the years. By 2006 the suicide rate among these teenagers had already reached 20.8%. Therefore in 2009 suicide became the number one cause of deaths among teenagers (Kim Bo-eun). The article also states how on an online survey 4.44% of teenagers have tried to commit suicide and 18.97% have thought about it.
Conclusion
Based on my research depression and teen suicide is a social issue that has had people become more aware of through the years but has steadily increased because of various factors. As a previous depression victim I know that social networks and technology are a great impact on depression. Social networks are filled with people who love to express their feeling towards their significant other and if your feeling sad and lonely because you’re single seeing others being happy with each other adds to your sadness, especially if you had recently experienced a heartbreak. From experience I know depression may cause you to get other illnesses such as eating disorders. There was a time during my depression where I started feeling insecure about my body and thought about starving myself or vomiting but thankfully I didn’t get to that point because once I started having those thoughts I talked to my mom. At first I was scared to tell her but I was even more scared of knowing that I actually though about potentially hurting myself. After talking with my mom and explaining to her what had been going on with me I felt such a relief. Therefore I know what I researched was true. Talking to someone you trust can help you get through your depression. In conclusion teen depression and teen suicide is something that should not be taken lightly because remember most teens will experience is at least once in their lifetime.
REFERENCES
1. All about depression.com (Nov. 18, 2012). Genetic causes of depression. Retrieved from http://www.allaboutdepression.com/cau_03.html
2. Kids Health (2012). About teen suicide pgs. 1-4. Retrieved from http://kidshealth.org/parent/emotions/behavior/suicide.html
3. Kim Bo-eun (2012). Teenage suicides double over 10 years. Retrieved from http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/nation/2012/09/117_119800.html
4. Melinda Smith, M.A., Robert Segal, M.A., and Jeanne Segal, Ph.D (October 2012). Dealing with depression. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_tips.htm
5. National Institute of Mental Health (2008). Major Depressive disorder in children. Retrieved from http://www.nimh.nih.gov/statistics/1MDD_CHILD.shtml
6. Smith, M. Barston, S. Segal, J. (2012). Teen Depression: A guide for parents and teachers. Retrieved from http://www.helpguide.org/mental/depression_teen.htm
7. Teen Suicide Articles (2005). Teen Depression. Retrieved from http://www.teensuicide.us/articles6.html