One of the top questions parents ask me is, “How do I know if my child’s depressed?” And that’s a very difficult one to answer because many teens, including myself, don’t vocalize their feelings, especially us guys.
You can find a symptom list here, but let me go a bit deeper and elaborate about the small things that can tip you off.
- Your teen becomes obsessed with something that isolates him or her from the family, such as video games, being on the computer, chatting online, or even reading (like me)
- School grades uncharacteristically drop
- Inability to concentrate or do homework
- Sleeps too little or too much (staying up late and not being able to fall asleep)
- Eats considerably less or more
- Hangs out with a completely different group of friends
- Changes appearance drastically
- Spends more time alone
- Doesn’t spend time doing what they used to enjoy
But, overall, be aware and also bring that awareness to your child. Let him or her know exactly what depression is, and that it’s a real issue in our world today. Even if they’ll never experience depression, maybe one day they can help someone else who does.
A little awareness goes a long way. You can never predict how the ripples will spread.
