Have you grounds to suspect your teen may be using alcohol or drugs?
It is not uncommon for teens suffering from depression to turn to alcohol or other drugs that might be available. They may see the use of these substances as an easy way to escape from their cares and woes! Naturally the actual effects of alcohol abuse and drug abuse will only drive them deeper into depression. Hangovers, health dangers, missed school, feelings of guilt - all these issues are likely to be compounded if they are resorting to what are all illegal substances for them. Handling any confrontation will take calmness, tact and tolerance in the face of abuse or lying.

Has your troubled teenager been talking of running away? Or even tried to run away?
Such behaviour is clearly indicative of deep rooted unhappiness, and is often described as being like a 'cry for help'. Sometimes, this more extreme action on the part of the teenager can be the first time that a less 'aware' parent might be truly alerted that there is a major problem. Difficult though the situation might be to handle, there is at least a chance to start to deal with the manifestation teen depression that such behaviour indicates.

Has your depressed teen actually harmed themselves? Or even attempted suicide?
A clear sign of teen depression is when your teenager actually talks about being 'better off dead', 'wishing they were dead', or makes clear remarks about 'killing themselves' or committing suicide. Teens are generally considered to be at greater risk for suicide than older people expressing these 'thoughts' or 'negative wishes'.

If your child actually makes comments about wanting to kill themselves it is time to take things very seriously - and not to dismiss it out of hand, or tell them 'not to be silly'! You should try and arrange an early evaluation with a qualified counsellor or psychologist with a specialism in children/adolescents. This can be a difficult thing to face up to and arrange - but simply letting the depressed teen talk about their feelings and can help a lot. They really need to now at this time that they are being listened to and NOT that their threats are being dismissed or ignored.

The issue of self-harm -
A further unpleasant, and upsetting symptom of teen depression is the possibility that they may try and harm themselves in some way. Depressed adolescents may take to cutting themselves repeatedly with knives - not so much to 'bleed to death' - but to experience the emotions and feelings they come to associate with the destructive habit. For some the pain, the discomfort and the blood serve as distractions from their problems. There are complexities to the psychology of the situation that need exploring by a trained counsellor or psychologist. Such self-harm, emanating from a teenagers depression may relate to issues of low-self esteem, lack of self worth, feeling dissociated and removed from the world.


If you missed the initial article about Teenage Depression be sure to take a look.