Facts About Teen Depression You Need To Know

The term 'emo' is a common slang used by younger generations nowadays to describe people who show frequent melancholic behavior. Fashion statements have been created about it. Even music and other form artistic release has been inspired by the emotion. But if you think being called 'emo' or emotional is just a fad, then might just think twice once you have learn about clinical depression.

People who suffer clinical depression are those who are diagnosed as Major Depressive Disorder (MDD). Major depressive disorder is a common mood disorder which is often underrated. As opposed to Bipolar disorder, it is unipolar (only one side of the mood spectrum). When you are a depressive, your moods are characterized only by the repetitive patterns of emotions such as despair, intense sadness, numbness, feelings of worthlessness and pessimism among others.

Clinical depression should not be confused with the common feeling of sadness which can be experienced daily. A person suspected with major depressive disorder should be diagnosed medically, in order to undergo proper psychotherapy and medication.

Although considered by many to be a personal weakness, depressive disorders affects around 18.8M American adults and about 9.5% of the United States' population age 18 and above. Surprisingly, statistics show that at least 4% of preschoolers in the US are clinically depressed. This means that over a million preschoolers are the main consumer of antidepressant medication. It is estimated that the growing rate of 23% of children per year become depressives.

For teens, a depressed mood is common because it coincides with the crucial growing up stages-including the normal body maturation process, raging hormones and other stress related factors. Because of supposedly normal adolescent behavior, genuine depression is harder to detect amongst teenagers and this poses a problem for those who are truly afflicted with the disorder.

Similar to the number of adults suffering from MDD, there are around 15-20% American teens who are experiencing serious episodes of depression. It is said that adolescent girls are twice as likely to have depression compared to teenage boys. Some factors which increase the risk of depression with teens are disturbing experiences, stressful life events, poor social skills, family background and of course, physical and emotional abuse.

Aside from psychotherapy and prescribed medications, teen boot camps are alternative methods which can aid the treatment and management of clinical depression. In most cases, teen boot camps help in the mood improvement of teens with MDD as they may inject a 'reality check' or self introspection.