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How to recognize depression in teenagers - Howdini

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How to recognize depression in teenagers - Howdini
How to recognize depression in teenagers - Howdini
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How can you recognize depression in your teenager when every teen is moody sometimes? GMA Parenting contributor and author Ann Pleshette Murphy explains the difference between typical teen mood swings and actual depression.

KATRINA: I'm Katrina Szish for howdini.com. Joining me now is Ann Pleshette Murphey, parenting expert and author of The Seven Steps of Motherhood. Hi Ann nice to see you.

ANN: Nice to be here.

KATRINA: How can you tell if your teenager is just moody like many of them tend to be or actually depressed?

ANN: Well it's tough because they do in fact go through really dramatic mood swings at that age and a lot of it has to do with hormones and with all the things they're struggling with. But if you know your kid you will be able to pick up on, first of all physical signs. Are they eating the same way, are they suddenly gaining weight or losing a lot of weight? It's very important to pay attention to. Sleep patterns are very important to pay attention to, if they are sleeping really long hours or odd hours or they just seem unbelievable lethargic and unmotivated. Again some of the things they used to find interesting are suddenly you find they have no interest for them. These are really important symptoms of depression. But it's critical that you get a mental health professional to give you advice because teenagers do differ. It's also important to send the message to your teenager that if there's a physical problem, if you hurt yourself, we would send you to the doctor. You know depression is a perfectly normal part of life and therefore your mental healthcare really matters to us and when you are depressed it really helps to talk to someone.

KATRINA: So those warning signs that you mentioned are they the same as they would be in adults or are they a little bit different because obviously we're talking about a teenager?

ANN: I think they are closer to adults than they are to children. Children also get depressed but with kids you often see a lot more of acting out or what we call regressing back to a stage that was much earlier. And again those are hard things to pick up sometimes in kids. But with teenagers you do see the kind of mood swings. With boys you can see a lot of rage, you know sometimes depression is masked by a lot of anger. And again there are things that they may feel normally, but if you can get them to talk about whether they feel really empty. You know if they feel that they're not interested in things that they used to be interested in. What are some of the things that seem to be coming up. And of course if they are talking about feeling worthless, feeling they have no point to live or if they are saying things that worry you, do not hesitate to get an opinion from a professional.

KATRINA: But how do you if you're noticing these warning signs, how do you approach them without making them back away further from you?

ANN: Well you should start by trying to talk to them. You can even talk about your own experiences when you were an adolescent or with depression. And you can say I'm worried about you and you may not want to talk to me but I want you to talk to someone. The other really good source is first of all their friends. And if they have a close friend that you can communicate with, you know I think sometimes a friend can be told, look I'm worried, I know you spend a lot of time together. Have you picked up on any changes cause we are concerned.

KATRINA: Okay Ann Pleshette Murphey, thank you so much for all of your great advice.

ANN: Thanks.

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