Teen Spirit: How To Fight Depression and Anxiety

As a teenager, you're expected to make friends outside your family and become more aware of the world around you. However, social media, peer pressure, and academic and extracurricular expectations can lead to mental health concerns like anxiety and depression in adolescents.

Around 3.2 million people aged 12-17 in the United States experienced a major depressive episode in 2017, according to the National Institute of Mental Health. This equates to 13.3% of all American adolescents. In addition, many people, mostly teens, who have depression are often plagued by anxiety.

There is no medical difference between adolescent anxiety and adult depression in terms of treatment. However, the symptoms of these conditions may appear differently in adolescents than in adults.

Possible Reasons

Anxiety and depression in teens might be due to various reasons, such as the following:

• Teens with a family history of mood or anxiety problems.
• Teens who have experienced trauma, such as sexual assault, violence, or an accident.
• Teens experiencing new relationships
• Social, school, and family circumstances affect their mental health. For example, abuse, neglect, divorce, bullying, poverty, learning difficulties, and fitting in.
• Varying amounts of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine significantly impact mood and behavior.
• Substance abuse can alter teens' moods and cause despair. As a result, they may self-medicate using drugs without knowing the long-term consequences.
• Puberty's hormonal changes and changing physique making them feel different from their classmates.
• Teenagers struggling with their gender identity or sexual orientation.

How to Overcome Them

Teenagers experiencing depression or anxiety may benefit from the following:

• Exercising or going for a walk or jog every day, even if it's just for a few minutes.
• Spending time with loved ones or friends
• Making complex activities (such as homework, assignments, and projects) more achievable by breaking them down into smaller, easier steps.
• Following a regular bedtime routine.
• Adhering to a balanced diet.
• Seeing a doctor to assess if you should get prescription for antidepressants

There is nothing to be embarrassed by if you are a teen struggling with depression and anxiety. It can happen to anyone. You may open up to your parents or a close friend about your problems without fear of being judged, and they will get you the help you require. If you cannot visit a doctor in person because of hesitation or any other problem, you can seek anxiety and depression treatment online.

You can reach out to our online doctor to treat anxiety or depression at TelMDCare or both if you're too busy with schoolwork or other duties. You can even get in touch with our online doctor for complaints like vaginal infections or get an online erectile dysfunction diagnosis. Contact us for any queries or book an appointment here.