By Maddie Galligan ’18

One of the most difficult subjects for people to talk about on the topic of emotional wellness is depression and suicide. Many times, depression in teens goes unnoticed or unrecognized because most people with depression don’t want to shout it from the rooftops. It is important, however, to recognize the difference between clinical depression and “moodiness” in teens.

Teenagers are stigmatized as being moody and hormonal, so when they start acting up at home or doing poorly in school, it’s easy to label them as such. Sometimes, the reasoning behind their actions is more serious than just a mood swing. If depression in teens goes undetected, it could lead to horrible consequences, and knowing if someone has depression can help him to get treatment and maybe even save his life.

“Up to 20 percent of all teens experience depression at some point—that’s one in five!” guidance counselor Ms. Van Syckle said. She and other professionals like her use tools to try to detect these problems in students every day.

“Professionals pay attention to certain symptoms and three key areas,” Ms. Van Syckle said. “The areas are severity, meaning that the more pronounced the symptom, the more likely the problem is depression, not moodiness; duration, meaning that any symptom that lasts two weeks or longer may indicate depression; and daily living, or any pronounced change in functioning at home, in school, or with friends, may indicate depression.”

Signs of teenage depression include mood changes, like persistent sadness or irritability, and changes in level of functioning, such as school failure, according to material from Virginia psychiatric hospital I Need a Lighthouse. They also include withdrawal from friends and family, a loss of interest in activities that had been important and changes in eating and sleeping patterns, as well as some pretty nonspecific signs like a lack of energy, trouble concentrating and unexplained aches and pains.

Needless to say, just because a teenager starts behaving differently doesn’t necessarily mean he or she is having severe emotional difficulties. Normal teenagers are often moody due to hormones and stress, so many times different behavior can be credited to this.

“I sometimes take out my anger on my family,” senior Margaret Ribardo said. “I feel really bad about it afterwards, but in the heat of the moment I just need an outlet for my stress.”

Teenagers may be short-tempered and get angry easily, especially when they begin to naturally separate from their families due to feeling like they do not have enough privacy. If they are using their phones or computers a lot in their rooms rather than socializing with family all day, this is normal as well. Teens should start gaining independence one way or another from parents in order to do well on their own later in life.

“My parents always yell at me for not being home or just sitting around in my room. They don’t get that I just need some space sometimes,” sophomore Aidan Pero said.

Depression has also been linked to the consumption of drugs and alcohol, as those who report depression are more likely to have used substances. The prevalence of depression cannot be explained fully by substance abuse, but the two definitely go hand-in-hand for most adolescents.

“One of the most potentially destructive attempts at coping is to engage in use of drugs and/or alcohol as a form of self-medication,” Student Assistance Counselor Mr. Emering said. “This almost always exacerbates the current symptoms and can lead to risky and destructive decision making.”

The answer of whether someone is experiencing depression or just moodiness lies in the person in question. If the sad or angry feelings are fleeting and temporary, it’s probably just typical moodiness and experiencing the inevitable lows that come with the highs of life. But if they have a constant, inescapable sadness and feeling of dejection, there is a likelihood that they have depression and should seek professional help from a counselor or therapist.

Identifying depression, of course, does not solve the problem, and it is not an issue that can just be a quick fix, even with caring and supportive friends and family members. Dealing with clinical depression can be a long and hard journey for teenagers and their families, but the message to those around them is that they have to maintain a positive attitude and keep asking the right questions.