Teen-Depression: the Causes and Treatments of the Tragedy - Essay Example

Teen-Depression: the Causes and Treatments of the Tragedy Teen depression is a very common ailment among young people, affecting about in 8 among this age group according to current estimates. (www.nih.gov) This analysis will consider the causes of teenage depression, together with the manner in which it is expressed within an individual, through the lens of examining the difference between depression in teens and at a later age. This paper will argue that while the symptoms of teen depression often resemble those of adult depression, the causes and thus the treatment may need to be different. Why is it important to examine depression For many centuries (and still in much of the world) mental diseases were a sign of weakness/corruption and were hidden, never talked about. Some researchers have suggested that "even among psychiatrists . . . the extent of the disability caused by depression is vastly underestimated." (Empfield, 2001) Further, it is logical to argue that "major depression causes more long-term human misery than any other single disease." (Empfield, 2001) Diagnosing and treating such a disease as early as possible in an individual's life may enable it to be effectively eradicated for their later years. While some early childhood depression does occur, the condition mainly appears in the teenage years. It will remain with the patient, become episodic or cause drastic symptoms such as suicide if it is left untreated. The causes of depression in general are still somewhat controversial within the medical community: situational and biological theories often conflict, while those that argue for a situational and biological cause are perhaps gaining ground. The physical features of the brain of person suffering from depression/who are liable to depression. As Cynthia Haines puts it, "there is absolute proof that people suffering from depression have changes in their brains . . . the hippocampus, a part of the brain that is vital to the storage of memories, is small in those people." (Haines, 2005) A smaller hippocampus has less serotonin receptors, and it appears that serotonin is important for the brain to communicate with the body, as well as a regulator of mood. A lack of serotonin appears to cause depression. There are also genetic causes of depression, or at least the propensity to become depressed seems to run in families. As Haines (2005) puts it, "children, siblings and parents of people with severe depression are much more likely to suffer from depression than are members of the general population." However, despite current searching, scientists have yet to discover the gene that may cause depression. (Alpert, 2005) The fact that both psychosocial and biological factors cause and maintain depression seems accepted, but the exact manner in which they combine is not certain. One reason that teenagers appear to suffer from more depression than other groups may be the 'quality of life' estimates that individuals constantly make. As Miller et al (2005) suggest, "quality of life reflects the patient's overall perceived satisfaction or quality. . . ". Teenagers often have a much lower perception of their lives than other age-groups, due to the physical, emotional, psychological and economic changes that are occurring to them. Teenage depression may express itself in different ways than adult depression. Thus teenagers may exhibit "additional psychiatric disorders, such as behavior disorders or substance abuse problems." (www.focusus.com) Often these additional symptoms seem to swamp the signs of depression and so the teenager may be treated (and/or disciplined) for the symptoms of depression when in fact the cause is not looked at. Thus a teenager who is suffering from depression may drink alcohol excessively, indulge in highly risky behavior or take drugs. These acts will be more visible than the underlying depression, and so are easier to latch onto for parents, school authorities and the police. Another complication is the fact that parents need to be able to identify the difference between depression and the normal teenage blues and angst that is an essential part of the maturing process. If a teenager is treated for depression when she does not actually have it, then the results may be just as devastating as if she had depression and it went untreated. Parents need to go through a process in which they learn "what depression is, how to recognize it, and more importantly, how it differs from the occasional 'downs' that everyone experiences." (Mondimore, p.1) A teenager who is just experiencing those "downs" who is suddenly thrust into a mental health facility/doctor situation will be far more likely to suffer from depression because of the stress that is being put on him. Treatments for depression among teenagers run the gamut from drugs to behavioral treatment. In recent years, SSRI (Selective Seretonin Reuptake Inhibitors), the most common of which are Prozac and Zoloft, have performed apparent wonders among many depressed people. Chronically depressed patients for whom no other treatment had worked had their depression quickly and permanently lifted. However, among teenage patients who have received SSRIs in general, and Zoloft in particular, there has been an increasing number of cases of both violent and suicidal outbursts. The FDA recently asked SSRI drug-makers to put a black label on the box, indicating severe risks involved with prescribing them to young people. A 2004 study compared patients in their first nine days on antidepressants with those who had been on them for three months or longer. The results were startling, as the study "showed there was 4 times the risk of suicidal behavior and 38 times the risk of actual suicide in the group taking the anti-depressants over the shorter period of time." (ConsumerReports, 2004) Several well-publicized criminal cases have occurred in which teenagers who had previously only shown signs of depression with no violent tendencies have killed one or more members of their own family a few weeks after taking an SSRI. While these cases are anecdotal rather than scientific proof, it does seem as though the following advice for parents of children/teenagers who have been diagnosed with depression is well-founded: - Treat depression promptly and aggressively because the condition itself is a major risk of suicide. - Try intensive talk therapy first. Use antidepressant medication only as a last resort, if there's no improvement. - When medication is necessary, children starting a drug should be watched very closely for signs of thoughts of self-harm. Symptoms often include talking or writing about death, self-mutilation, abrupt withdrawal from family and friends, and giving away prized possessions. (ConsumerReports, 2004) What occurs in those cases where a depressed teen suddenly turns violent A classic example is the case of Christopher Pittman, 12, who in 2001 shot his grandparents to death while they were sleeping. He had never exhibited violent tendencies before, but just three weeks previously had been put on Zoloft. His does had been doubled two days before the murders. (NewsTarget, 2004) It seems as though intensive talk-therapy may in fact be the best initial treatment for depressed teens. The risk of taking anti-depressants is one reason, together with the fact the higher rates of depression found in this age-group seem to be related to emotional and psychological challenges which may then bring on the physical changes to the brain. If the psychological/behavioral aspects are tackled then the physical changes may never occur or at least be stopped before they spread too far and become permanent. The future for the treatment of teenage depression holds a number of exciting possibilities. If a gene is discovered that leads to depression, either through psychological tendencies or through a physical defect such as making the hippocampus smaller than in utero treatment of a developing baby may be possible. As the brain develops a great amount in the last months or pregnancy, a medical intervention at this point might be highly effective. Counseling techniques that utilize the latest technology may also help. As one website suggests, "friends, our forum helps people living with depression to share their feelings and emotions with others in a friendly, safe and supportive environment." (DepressionGuide, 2006) Such forums may provide an ideal opportunity for those depressed teenagers who feel too vulnerable and/or exposed within a normal group therapy situation to share their feelings and thoughts with people suffering from the same thing. The comfortable isolation and anonymity of an internet chat-room may create a safe place in which the depressed patient can open up in a manner that would be impossible otherwise. Treatment regimes that are tailored to the individual may also become increasingly prevalent (Alpert, 2005). Once brains can be "mapped' more accurately, to include synapse, chemical and overall physical activity, this may be collated with the psychological symptoms and an overall treatment plan can be produced. Drugs and intensive verbal therapy may be mixed in a unique manner for each patient's unique symptoms. This is starting to occur with some doctors, but the overall reaction to depression is often to throw one of the SSRIs at it and hope that they will work their miracle. Sometimes these drugs are apparently miraculous, as patients for whom there seemed little help recover and go onto to leading full and happy lives illustrate. But drugs cannot be a complete cure for a disease which is as much psychosocial in nature as physical. Changing the home environments in which teenagers currently grow up may also help to bring the figures for teen suicides down. Isolation and the feeling that a person has no-one to talk to, no-one to share problems with often leads to and/or exasperates the symptoms of depression. Giving time to teenagers may be the most valuable gift that a parent can give, both to those that are developing normally and to those with a high risk factor for, or actually exhibiting, the signs of clinical depression. A complete rejection of the idea that mental disease is somehow shameful should also occur. While great strides have been made in recent years along these lines, much more can be done. There is nothing more shameful about experiencing the disease of depression than there is in having cancer; this fact needs to be drummed into the population over and over again. This is particularly the case with adolescent depression, where the disease hits a group that is liable to be sensitive to the opinions and biases of others in the first place. _______________________________________________ Works Cited Alpert, JE. Handbook of Clinical Depression: Diagnosis and Therapeutic Management. Dekker, New York: 2005. Consumer Reports, "Antidepressants and Adolescent Suicide". October 2004. Empfield, M. Understanding Teenage Depression: A Guide to Diagnosis, Treatment and Management. Owl, New York: 2001. Haines, Cynthia. www.netmd.com. Miller, I; Battle, CL; Anthony, J; "Psychosocial Functioning in Chronic Depression". in Alpert, JE. Handbook of Clinical Depression: Diagnosis and Therapeutic Management, Dekker, New York: 2005. Mondimore, F. Adolescent Depression: A Guide For Parents. Johns Hopkins UP, New York: 2002. Verdick, Elizabeth. When Nothing Matters Anymore: A Survival Guide for Depressed Teens. Free Spirit Publishing, New York; 2006. www.depression-guide.com/ www.newstarget.com, "Teen Murder-Suicide caused by Antidepressant drug Zoloft". December 8, 2004. www.nih.gov Read More