Depression in Teenage Girls

Learn About Depression in Teenage Girls

Frequent questions about depression in teenage girls:

Why do teenage girls get depressed more frequently than boys?

Depression in teenage girls occurs more often than in teenage boys because teenage girls are more exposed to stress. Girl’s bodies go through a significant change during puberty.

This is the time when girls physically transform to women however mentally they are still children. This can cause confusion and distress and even in some cases depression. Another source of stress for teenage girls is the fact that they must be perfect.

Boys can be boys but girls are expected to be young ladies. These double standards in our society nourish frustration and depression in teenage girls.

(Perfect hair, spotless skin, dark tan, slim bodies, long eye lids, 60 90 60 measurements and many other “perfect” unrealistic things are all around teenage girls.

In every magazine, on billboards, in movies, on TV there are these fake Photoshop goddesses that are setting standards of what desirable women should look like). It is no wonder some teenage girls get depressed. Pressure is constantly building up and every year, more and more teenage girls are reported to suffer from some type of depressive disorder. Depression in teenage girls is increasing at alarming rate and something needs to be done.

What are the symptoms of depression in teenage girls?

· Hopelessness

· Worthlessness

· Social withdrawal

· Unexplained chronic pain

· Headaches

· Aggressive behavior

· Risk taking behavior

· Fatigue

· Guilt feelings

· Feeling "lost"

· Mood swings

· Alcohol or drug abuse

· Excessive crying

· Sudden decrease in academic achievements

· Loss of interest in activities

· Absence of menstruation

What can be done to prevent depression in teenage girls?

Encourage your children to do sports or some other activities such as volunteering. When they are doing well in school you should reward them in the best way you decide is appropriate. Protect your child as much as you can from the unrealistic media influences.

Talk to them about real values of life and try to explain that "perfect" looking women on TV are marketing tricks whose goal is to sell products and nothing else.

Always have on your mind that depression in teenage girls is fueled with their dissatisfaction about their looks which is in most cases caused with unrealistic media propaganda.

Having a pet is always recommended especially for children because they learn how to take care of another living being. Also they always have company in their pets and a friend. Researchers have shown that people who have pets are 30% less probable to get depressed than those individuals leaving alone.

Any type of trauma can cause depression in teenage girls this is why it must be addressed in appropriate way.

If your child has been traumatized in any way she needs to be helped to overcome her trauma. Post traumatic stress disorder can take place years after the traumatic event has happened if a child has not been treated for her traumatic experience.

How to deal with depression in teenage girls?

Depression in teenage girls as well as in anyone else can cause a lot of stress to the whole family. This is why family therapy is recommended. In family therapy other family members learn how to deal with their loved one’s depression and how to provide support that is essential for successful recovery.

Treatment for depression in teenage girls:

Psychotherapy: Interpersonal therapy focuses on the "here and now" factors that are contributing to depression. Its goal is to locate and fix the problems that are causing and nourishing depression. Interpersonal therapy is looking for those problems in the present and not in the past as psychoanalysis does.

In cognitive-behavioral therapy, the therapist is focused on the way person thinks and behaves and will try, together with the patient, to change unproductive and unwanted ways of thinking and behaving. One of the ways this is done is by homework assignments.

They are given so that patient’s vicious cycle of negative thinking and behaving is stopped. Psychopharmacology: Antidepressants can be used for treating depression in teenage girls however they should be used only if necessary. There are also natural supplements available as well as other alternative depression treatments.

Go from Depression in Teenage Girls to Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression Home

Causes of Teenage Depression / Depression in Teenage Boys / Early Signs of Teenage Depression / Recognizing Teenage Depression / Severe Teenage Depression Symptoms / Symptoms of Teenage Depression / Teenage Clinical Depression / Treatment for Teenage Depression