Depression Problem in Teenagers: The recent WHO and UNICEF joint report 'Mental Health of Children and Young People' has revealed that every seventh child aged 10 to 19 years in the world is suffering from some mental problem. One-third of the mental problems in teenagers start before the age of 14, while half of the problems start appearing by the age of 18.

How serious is the problem of depression among teenagers in India

According to the World Health Organization, 97 crore people around the world are suffering from some kind of mental problem and the most common of them is depression. Talking about the country's teenagers, a study by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research and School of Public Health says that 40 percent of school-going teenagers are suffering from some form of depression. Out of these, 7.6 percent of children are in deep depression. A recent report by WHO also says that 99 percent of teenagers in countries like India do not seek expert help to come out of these problems. In 2016, the National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro Science, in a survey conducted in 12 states of the country, said that about 2.7 percent of the people in the country are suffering from common mental disorders like depression.

Signs of depression in youth

The symptoms of depression can range from mild to severe but the given symptoms can indicate that someone is depressed.

1. A person suffering from depression looks sad most of the day. This sadness persists almost every day. Crying and being irritable during this time are also symptoms of depression.
2. Depression may be a mental problem, but its physical symptoms are also visible. Getting tired easily, lack of appetite or excessive appetite, and slowness in activities are some such symptoms.
3. People suffering from depression often have trouble concentrating on a task for long periods. They may also have trouble watching a movie or reading a book.
4. One of the most obvious symptoms of depression is that a person suffering from depression loses interest in even those activities that he used to do willingly earlier.
5. A lack of self-confidence is seen in people suffering from depression. Along with this, feelings of despair and helplessness are also seen in them.
6. Sleep problems are common in people suffering from depression. They either get less sleep, wake up frequently, or sometimes the opposite happens, they sleep more than necessary.

Treating Depression

Depression is the easiest to treat among other mental problems. Very good results have been seen in most cases if treatment is started after consulting a psychiatrist or psychologist.