Depression / Question
Published: May 14, 2008
Dear TeenHealthFX,
i'm a 15 year old girl. For the last 7 months i have been really really depressed, i don't know why. i matched almost all of the symptoms for depression that i found on the internet, yet i was too scared to talk to any one. then about three weeks ago the feeling just disapeared, i feel almost normal compared to what the last 7 months have been like. now i wonder, could that have been depression? and could it come back as quickly as it seemed to stop? i used to vision things like suicide and cutting myself, though i never actually did anything. my mother and i don't have the best relationship at all, she has never physically abused me but she makes me feel horrible emotionally, i have very poor self confidence and about 6 months ago feel like i could possibly have been on the verge of anorexia. also, a once extremly sporty person, i have lost almost all interest in what i used to do, and have taken up complete opposite things like music and art. could these 7 months have just been the normal process a teenager goes through in discovering who they really are and want to be or could it have been something else?
Signed: Could This Have Been Depression Or Just The Normal Process of Being A Teen?
Dear Could This Have Been Depression Or Just The Normal Process of Being A Teen?,
Hormonal changes during adolescence can contribute to a certain degree of moodiness in teenagers. However, there is a definite difference between moods changes associated with the phase of adolescence and a mood disorder, such as depression. Thoughts of suicide and cutting, and being on the verge of a serious eating disorder such as anorexia, are not just parts of a normal phase of adolescence that will simply pass. They indicate that there is a more serious issue going on that does require intervention by a mental health professional. And the fact that these feelings have come and gone does not diminish how serious they are. Very often mental health disorders, such as anxiety or depressive disorders, will come and go and kind – this is very common.
FX thinks that it is important that you speak with your mother and/or a school counselor about setting up a consultation with a private therapist who can assess how you have been feeling, determine the main contributing factors, and develop a treatment plan with you that will effectively address the symptoms you have been experiencing. In addition to meeting with you on an individual basis, it sounds like it would also be very beneficial for you and your mother to meet together with a family therapist so that the emotional abuse you have experienced can be addressed. Conflictual family relationships can be a significant contributing factor to children and teens feeling depressed or angry.
If you live in northern
Signed: TeenHealthFX
The teen pregnancy rate in the United States is the highest of any industrialized democracy, nearly twice that of Great Britain and 10 times that of Japan. 
