Depression is a fairly common psychological disorder in adolescents , as 1 in 5 adolescents suffers from depression during the course of this life stage.

Depression is not an exclusive psychological disorder of the adult stage, children and adolescents also suffer from it and present symptoms different from adults. Depression is a mood disorder with many physical, emotional, and behavioral symptoms.

This article will describe some of the most common symptoms that will allow us to detect depression in adolescents and some of the risk factors that will influence the development of depressive disorders in adolescents.

Common warning signs of depression in adolescents

Symptoms related to depression in adolescents include the following.

1. Anhedonia

Means that you no longer enjoy activities that you previously enjoyed . This symptom is very characteristic in adolescents, they lose all interest and motivation to carry out most activities, even to socialize with their friends. This symptom may also be accompanied by apathy and dissatisfaction with doing many of the activities they used to do.

2. Somatic complaints

These are all complaints about physical discomfort or pain that have their origin in a psychological problem. For example, headaches, increased tension in the neck or back, abdominal discomfort or pain are common in adolescents… People close to you may believe that you are always in pain or that they are “excuses” for not doing some activities or obligations.

The child and adolescent psychologist from the Malaga-based psychologists’ office PsicoAbreu, Florencia Stolo, states that somatization in children and adolescents is very frequent, since they do not yet possess good strategies for emotional expression, and their negative emotions are expressed through physical or bodily symptoms, which translate into pain or complaints.

The psychologist maintains that we should not think that adolescents invent these symptoms, but that they really feel these pains or discomforts but the cause of them is not a physical illness, but rather it is born from the emotional discomfort they are feeling.

3. Irritability and frequent outbursts of anger

Florencia Stolo, the child and youth psychologist, states that it is believed that “typical” depression is the one where you see the teenager in bed crying all day, but this is not usually the case . The psychologist states that irritability and outbursts of anger are frequent in depression-related disorders in adolescents, since, unlike adults, one system that is also altered in these disorders is the noradrenergic (noradrenaline-related) system, in addition to the serotonergic (serotonin-related) system.

4. Susceptibility

Susceptibility and greater sensitivity to the criticism of others and their environment, not being able to cope with these situations.

5. Social isolation

Social isolation and withdrawal from people close to them (parents, siblings, friends…). They tend to want to isolate themselves and wish to be alone.

6. Asthenia

That is, a feeling of physical exhaustion for much of the day.

7. Feeling of sadness or discouragement

This can lead to frequent crying during the day and night.

8. Presence of sleeping disorders or difficulties or sleeping more than usual

Sleeping difficulties or sleep disorders include predormitional insomnia (problems falling asleep), nighttime awakening (waking up during the night, which makes the sleep not of quality and does not favour a correct rest), non-refreshing sleep (feeling of not having rested correctly, or waking up tired), nightmares…

Another possibility is that the adolescent with a depressive disorder may not have difficulty sleeping, but may sleep more hours than he or she used to. Florencia maintains that it is a defense mechanism they develop, since it is their way of “anesthetizing” themselves from their negative emotions and since they do not know how to manage them, they try to avoid them by sleeping all day, because it is the only way they have of not thinking.

9. Changes in eating habits

Like eating more or less and having more or less of an appetite.

10. Difficulty concentrating and frequent forgetfulness

They can be observed in everyday things such as: forgetting important appointments or relevant dates, losing track of conversations, being absent when you are with other people, having difficulty making decisions… At school this can lead to a worsening in academic performance, getting lost during classes and in explanations of homework, forgetting about homework…

11. Starting to use alcohol or drugs or increasing their use

The child and youth psychologist of the Malaga cabinet states that this is a very frequent way of anesthetizing themselves in the face of their own problems, since they are experimenting with alcohol and other drugs (especially tobacco and marijuana), and they find in them an “anesthesia” that numbs them and allows them not to “feel” the negative emotions that they experience in their daily lives.

12. Passive ideas of death

Thoughts such as: “I wish I would disappear”, “I would like to stop living”, or self-portrait ideation (thoughts or desires to harm yourself physically).

13. High-risk behavior

Sometimes adolescents with mood disorders engage in high-risk behaviour such as having unsafe sex, shoplifting , or driving recklessly.

Risk factors for depression in adolescents

The main risk factors that predispose you to having a depressive disorder in adolescence are

  • History of mood disorders (depressive disorder, dysthymia and bipolar disorder) in the most direct family.

  • Experience of stressful factors or life events (divorce of parents, bullying, intimidation, sexual abuse, breakup with a partner, death of a relative, change of class, poor school performance…). In adolescents, stressful personal, family, social or economic life events can have a major influence on the onset and development of depression. Several studies state that the presence of symptoms of depressive disorders in adolescents is related to the degree of stress experienced by the stressful life events.

  • Not having a stable emotional or social support network or conformed (problems with their parents, family problems, not having friends…).

  • Having a chronic physical or psychological illness.

  • Having a learning disorder .

  • Have difficulties in socializing with their peers or with other people.

  • Having low self-esteem and low self-concept.

  • Being female . Various studies show that there is a higher prevalence of depression in adolescent girls than in adolescent boys.

Bibliographic references:

  • Kramer, Peter D. (2006). Against depression. Barcelona: Seix Barral.
  • Jackson, Stanley W. (1986). A history of melancholy and depression. Madrid: Turner.
  • Martell, C. et al.(2010). Behavioral activation for depression. The Guilford Press.
  • Schmidt PJ (2005). “Mood, depression, and reproductive hormones in the menopausal transition”. The American Journal of Medicine.
  • Vieweg WV, Julius DA, Fernandez A, Beatty-Brooks M, Hettema JM, Pandurangi AK (2006). “Posttraumatic stress disorder: clinical features, pathophysiology, and treatment”. The American Journal of Medicine.