5 Major Causes Of Depression In Kids

Sandra came home feeling exhausted and sad. She had a good day at school. She scored the highest on the math test, but for some reason she was sad. She went to her room and crashed on the bed. Soon, tears started flowing, without her permission. She tried to stop but couldn’t. “Why do I feel this way?” she thought angrily.

She’d been asking herself that question a lot lately. Like many teenagers, Sandra was depressed but didn’t know it. Teen depression is an illness like any other and is treatable when addressed in time. Here, MomJunction gives you information on depression in teens, how to identify it, and ways to treat it. Often confused with mood swings and ‘normal teen behavior’, depression is more than just a momentary feeling of sadness. There is a difference between ‘feeling depressed’ and suffering from ‘clinical depression’.

* The neurotransmitters are brain chemicals that carry messages to and from the brain. When their biological chemistry is impaired, the nerve cell receptors and circuits are adversely affected. Research states that any changes in the nerve cell growth and the nerve circuits functioning can contribute to depression.

* Hormonal imbalance, which is a disturbance in the hormonal systems in the body, can affect how the neurotransmitters function, and trigger depression.

* Physical, mental, and sexual abuse, loss of a parent, or other traumatic events that the teen experienced as a child can affect the brain’s chemistry and functioning, making the child vulnerable to depression.

* Genetics, in some cases, can contribute to depression, especially if a teen has a blood relative who had the problem.

* Learned patterns of negative thinking may also lead to depression. If the child has learned to think negatively and feel hopeless rather than feel capable and find solutions, he is vulnerable to the condition.