Depression in adolescents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Depression in adolescents - Essay ExampleSome researchers have suggested that even among psychiatrists . . . the extent of the damage 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 individuals life whitethorn enable it to be effectively eradicated for their later years. plot of land some early childhood depression does occur, the condition mainly appears in the teenage years. It will remain with the patient, become episodic or cause forceful symptoms such as suicide if it is left untreated.The causes of depression in general be 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 pe rson suffering from depression/who are apt 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 olive-sized 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 black market 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 legitimate 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 carriage 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 milling machine et al (2005) suggest, quality of life reflects the patients overall perceived satisfaction or quality. . . . Teenagers often have a much lower perception of their lives than other age-groups, overdue 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 superfluous 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 loo ked at. Thus a teenager who is suffering from depression may swallow 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