What is Teenage Depression?
Teen depression is a serious mental health problem that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest in activities. It affects how your teenager thinks, feels and behaves, and it can cause emotional, functional and physical problems. Although depression can occur at any time in life, symptoms may be different between teens and adults.-MayoClnic
Teenage Depression in India is becoming worse day after day. The unwanted stress, anxiety, hormonal, physical, behavioral changes, family torture, career-related issues - all have made a big contribution in creating depression among teenagers.
As per the report from the National Care of Medical Health, 'More than 6.5 percent of the Indian folks currently are suffering from at least one of the serious mental disorders.'
According to the World Health Organisation, 'India stands at the number one position in being the most depressed country in the world which is further followed by other countries like China and USA.'
As revealed by India Today, 'More than 300 million people globally are suffering from depression.'
Let us learn more about what's happening in India with regards to depression in the below sections.
WHO - 'Teenage Depression, India'
According to the World Health Organisation, the following facts are true for the depression in Indian teenagers -
- Almost 1 out of every 4th teenager is undergoing the depression phase, revealed by the study in ‘Mental Health Status of Adolescents in South-East Asia: Evidence for Action’ report, WHO, 2012.
- According to the data provided by the WHO, 2017 - 'More than 57 million folks in India are depressed, although the reasons for depression might vary.'
India Today conclave: Depression
According to the India Today conclave, the discussion leads to the following conclusion -
- Almost 1 out of every 4th teenager is under the trap of Depression in India.
- More than 8,492 school students committed suicide in the time frame of 2018 to 2019.
- The suicide data due to depression among teenage students in the last 5 years is 40,000 in number.
- A major reason for depression among teenagers is the lack of purpose in life.
- The second most reason leading to depression among teenagers in India is the pressure of academics, society/social media acceptance, and is the PERFECT VERSION of themselves!
- According to the data, every hour in India at least 1 student commits suicide.
- Panel discussion emphasized the statement that the trigger causing depression among teenagers may vary for every individual.
Teenage Depression in India
Let's study the last year's research-based outcomes omitting the condition of Teenage Depression in India -
STUDY - 1 Times of India, 2020
One of the studies done by the Times of India stated that the teens that focus more on the sad faces of people around them are at risk of getting depressed themselves.
Study Highlights
- The lockdown because of the covid pandemic has led to the halt in the outdoor activities and social gatherings for the teenagers creating a sense of lack of interest and depression among them.
- According to the study, the biased response towards the emotional stimuli among teenagers has caused depression.
- Teenagers holding the tendency to respond to unfavorable stimuli negatively will respond in the same manner when they get into stressful situations.
STUDY - 2 Hindustan Times, 2019
According to the research done via multiple sources by the Hindustan time's group in 2019 said that the schools must have addressed the issue related to teenagers' depression in India. They revealed the following facts about teenagers' depression prevailing condition in India.
Study Highlights
- A survey among the 130 private schools was conducted among the faculties, psychologists, therapists, school counselors in Mumbai and Delhi NCR.
- According to the study, 67% of the students were not aware of the existence of such mental health issues.
- Almost 7.3% of teenagers between 13 to 17 years old had mental health disorders.
- Almost 96% of the students wanted to inculcate the subjects creating awareness on Mental Health Problems like depression.
- Depression among the surveyed students was 2.6% followed by anxiety which is 2.3% among those teenagers.
- 91% of health professionals revealed that mental health issues aren't given much preference and attention in the schools and colleges.
- Almost 9.8 million teenagers need active support in treating mental health all across India.
STUDY - 3 Depression among Teenagers, a study by
Savita Malhotra and Swapnajeet Sahoo
According to one of the studies done by the above-mentioned people who belong to the Department of Psychiatry and Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education & Research in the Chandigarh city of India stated that the growing depression amongst teenagers can be a major risk in their overall development.
Study Highlights
- Almost 10 to 35% of teenagers and children face the overlap of misconduct and depression problems.
- Depressed teenager patients recorded the highest incidence related to their personality disorders.
- Around 30 to 70% of teens and children face an amalgamation of depression and anxiety problems.
- Family genetic disorders increase the lifetime risk of depression in teenagers by 15 to 45%.
- A higher number of depressed adolescents were involved in substance abuse.
- Eating disorders were some of the most common concerns found among teenagers along with depression, especially in girls.
- Girls to have the perfect body shaping were found to disturb their eating schedules.
STUDY - 4 ICICI Lombard, 2017
According to one of the articles published by Hindustan Times, the study was done by the ICICI Lombard to detect depression among teenagers and old aged people. For this, they pursued the online survey. In this survey, almost 1100 females and males showed up by participating. The majority of the age group that responded was between 22 to 25 years of age.
Study Highlights
- Almost 64% of the folks were suffering from the lack of sleep due to their hectic schedule and life stress which is the major factor leading to depression.
- As per the study, teenagers are more likely to get under the trap of depression in comparison to old people.
- Almost 55% of the teenagers were under stress due to the low maintenance of their professional lives having a lower level of financial stability.
- Female teenagers have more mental wellness I.e. almost 66% in comparison to the men which is 55%.
- According to the study, the youth generation or the teenagers who are falling under the age group of 22 to 25 will show the symptoms of depression at the early stages of their life.
- Teenagers staying in the tier-1 cities hold the least mental healthiness levels due to the fast-paced life.
With increased psychologists, and counselors, the prevailing condition of depression among teenagers can improve to a great extent. Instead of depicting this topic as shameful or a topic of embarrassment or something not of much importance, lets us make it normal in India for teens and even other aged groups to speak confidently about their depression stories and take the early help via counselors or psychologists.
Also, what we are lacking strongly is family support and the right awareness on subjects like stress, anxiety, and depression. As per researchers' reports, the change in the toxic family behaviors towards their teens can lead to the healing among teens and decrease this disease from getting worse. Let's break this family line and generations' curses now and be a modern parent/individual who understands and supports their children and others as well.
Always remember, - With the right LOVE, LISTENING & the SENSE OF BELONGINGNESS, you can win over any battle…!
All that teenagers need is support - Are you ready to support your teens?
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