Depression in Teens and Adults

By: Danya Nahas

Edited  by: Farah Al-Takrouri, Hilma Bjork

 

 

Depression is a common illness worldwide. Depression, according to Google, is feelings of severe despondency and dejection, which can affect anyone of almost any age. According to World Health Organization (WHO), there is an estimated 350 million people affected with depression and 41,149 deaths by suicide in the United States (2013). It is the second leading cause of death for 15 - 24 year olds, the start of someones teenage life to the start of their adulthood. The burden of depression and other mental health conditions is on the rise globally, affecting teens and young adults the most, but why are these age groups affected the most?

 

The risk of developing depression increases as a child gets older. About eleven percent of teens have a depressive disorder by the age of eighteen. Which is the time students begin college and experience more. There are multiple reasons why a teen is depressed, it could be that teens develop a feeling of worthlessness over their grades, their social status, sexual orientation, genes, family life, etc. Comparing to adults who experience depression, major depressive disorder affects approximately 14.8 million American adults, or about 6.7 percent of the U.S. population age 18 and older, in a given year. There are multiple reasons why adults develop a depressive disorder. It could be stress from work, pressure, failed home/relationships, family life, genes, etc. They have somewhat different causes and age groups, but they feel they same way.

 

A survey was sent out to AIS-R eighth graders, thirteen and fourteen year olds. The question was asked, how often have you experienced being depressed or down? Out of all of eighth grade, 121 students approximately, thirteen students say the never experienced being depressed, and thirty one said they rarely experienced being depressed. The options were never, rarely, occasionally, sometimes, often, and almost all the time. Twenty one students picked occasionally, twenty four picked sometimes, twenty students picked often, and twelve students picked nearly all the time. For AIS-R, the eighth grade numbers are high and they are at a young age to. But the difference between high schoolers and eighth graders are concerning.

 

Another survey was sent to AIS-R students, grade ten, eleven, and twelve. The same question was asked, but very different results. Eight students say never, and seventeen picked rarely. Compared to the eighth graders, the numbers are almost halved. Moving on to the other options, fourteen students chose occasionally,  twenty seven chose sometimes, seventeen chose often, and eight students chose nearly all the time. In total 96 students were asked, the ages of sixteen, seventeen, and eighteen years old. The difference in age varies from three years to six years. But how big of a difference does this age gap do?  Mrs. Mathy has the answer to that.

 

When informed the results from both surveys, Mrs. Mathy the middle school counselor, commented, “The bigger the person the bigger the problem, as an adult the problems that lead to your depression are bigger than a teen. Thats a big number of middle schoolers who are depressed, it’s a concern.” It was a surprise to the middle school counselor that there was a higher number of middle schoolers depressed than high schoolers in AIS-R.

 

Sara Fathala, when asked her thoughts on the results and as to why the middle schoolers were affected the most answered, “It’s sort of a surprise, I know people hide their feelings and don’t usually tell anyone when they are feeling depressed. I think people our age are affected more because social media and the idea of the perfect person from a celebrity, it seems that we care a lot more about our looks and reputation than our feelings.”

 

Its a concern that young teens can suffer from this disease and the permanent effects on them are greater than a more mature adult. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for teens and young adults and yet the causing factors are similar. What can schools do to lower the factors? What can families do? If you know someone who suffers from any depressive order, help them, send them to get professional help, it can save a life. If you are suffering with depression, seek help from your family, friends, counselors, or therapists. Doing this could help lower the numbers of suicidal and depressed teens, every effort counts. It does get better.