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As parents, we have often dismissed the problems our kids are facing on a routine basis. We tend to compare our problems, whether it be financial or otherwise with theirs. Teenage breakups, exam stresses, and so on, somehow do not warrant the same attention and focus as adult problems do.
However, nothing can be further from the truth. Leading psychologists point out that parents should never consider or compare their problems to their children’s’. This is because not only is the context different, but also the experience.
In this article, we speak to a depression therapist from In Focus, a leading firm specializing in teenage depression. We ask them some reasons for the same and how we can help someone who is going through it.
Depression in Young Adults: Does it need attention?
Yes, it does! In the past decade or so, the lives of teens have gotten that much complicated. Whether it is the advent of social media or the stresses in educational curriculums, everything seems to be much amplified than it was a few decades back.
However, what has changed is that the severity of the issue is now forcing young adults to look for remedies themselves. These remedies are not positive in any sense of the way. From engaging in actions like social media stalking to falling on intoxicants and other drugs, young adults, who are suffering from mental health issues need attention.
The entire digital and information ecosystem is such that issues of mental health are often judged upon. Sometimes, the judgment can start from the supposed safe confines of the home itself. Statements like ‘man-up’, ‘it will pass’, and ‘stop acting like a girl’, do a lot more harm than they do good. Depression in teenagers exists!
Why Young Adults are more Hesitant to open up about Mental Health Issues?
If you compare your maturity now to the same when you were fifteen, you will see how far you have come. For the benefit of everyone, let us list down some reasons why young adults are hesitant when it comes to discussing mental health issues-
- Equating Depression with Weakness-
Nobody wants to come across as weak. This is as true of adults as it is for teenagers. The entire discourse on mental health has been created in such a manner that feeling hopeless, not getting sleep, and being anxious is read as being weak. This leads a majority of young adults to hide their feelings in a cooped-up fashion over a long period of time.
- Fear of being Judged by Outsiders-
What happens when someone comes to know you are suffering from mental health issues? In teenage circles, you are ridiculed and isolated. No one wants to hang around you as they feel you are not cool enough. This is another reason why teenagers, who are strongly driven by peer pressure do not open up to mental health conversations.
- Lack of Resources for Addressing Depression concerns-
Therapy and counseling sessions do not come cheap. In other words, pocket money cannot pay off for the same. Even if teenagers realize that they have a problem, it is very difficult for them to address it on their own. They need money, access to the right therapists, doing research, changing habits, and so on. Without maturity or money, the task becomes literally impossible.
The Final Word
As a parent, we need to remember how we would get depressed and anxious about incidents in our teenage years. Teenage and young adults face mental health issues in the same way as adults do. Their reasons for the same might be different, but everything else remains the same.
What might appear trivial for a parent, might be the one thing, a teenager’s life revolves around. While it is good that we let our kids learn from experiences and mature, sometimes, they too need a helping hand.
Mental health issues like depression or anxiety are not something, which should be taken lightly. It is important that parents initiate conversations and healthy non-judgmental discussions on such issues. This will make the children open up about the same, leading both parents and teenagers to successfully address them.
