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Things that Should Not be Done when Helping Teen Depression Victims


Experts opine that when humans try to help each other, elegance may be missing or there may be a sense of awkwardness. This may all the more be ‘visible’ when you try to help an adolescent suffering from teen depression. If you know what should not be done while helping a young person with this problem, you can certainly do better.

Talking About You Instead Of Listening To Them

When you deal with a teen with depression problem, you should stop talking about your experiences or the similar problems you have faced, though they may not be depression-related. Of course, the rule of refraining from talking about yourself without allowing others to speak applies even when you talk to normal people. But it is all the more important when you converse with a person with teen depression. You should instead allow the person to talk and listen attentively.

Giving Meaningless Or Useless Advice Just For The Sake Of Uttering Something

It is not necessary that you should say something when the person affected by teen depression speaks. You can nod or give short replies. But there are people who may come out with useless or worthless advice because they think that they have to speak something. This may irritate the affected person more than what they feel if you remain silent.

Forcing Them To Accept Your Help Though It Is A Wrong One

The main point is that you may not know much about teen depression and therefore, the help you may decide to offer to the affected person may be wrong also. You should not force the person to accept the help despite the fact that you are not certain of its efficacy. But if you are certain that the help you offer may be of some value to them, you can extend it in a different form so that the person does not feel that you are doing it as a charity.

Pronouncing That Their Problem Is Solved Is Wrong

Again, you may not know fully about their problem and therefore, you cannot suddenly wear the garb of an expert and pronounce that their problem is solved. You must realize that teen depression problem does not vanish just like that. The problem may remain with the adolescent for a prolonged time and therefore, you should be ready to offer your moral support for a protracted period, if at all you wish to be of help. Declaring suddenly that the problem of the person is solved and walking away is not the right thing to do.

Not Being Aware When To Withdraw From The Scene

If you come to know that your help may be meaningless or may no more be effective, you should not hesitate to back off. If you continue to involve yourself with the teen depression problem of the person, you may be harming your cause and that of your family members. So, you should know when to sever the help-lines. If you think that this is unethical and continue to involve yourself with the person’s problem, that is worth being called as an insane decision.

If you keep these points in mind, you can refrain from doing those things that should not be done while helping teen depression victims.

Things to Focus on While Struggling with Teen Depression


Depression is capable of spoiling the life of the affected person. Especially, teen depression may affect the mental and physical health of the adolescents. Teens who have been affected by this problem can adopt a few ways to tide over this problem.

The Importance Of Supportive Relationships

If you have been affected by teen depression, you will be able to combat your problem if your relatives and friends help you in your efforts. Of course, your parents and siblings will certainly understand your problem and help you. But can you expect the same thing from your friends, co-students and others you come across in your school and other places? You should therefore be ready to put forth extra efforts for developing and nurturing relationships with everyone including your co-students, peers and others. When you face bouts of the problem, these people will guide you, speak encouraging words to you and put you on the right track.

Remember Negative Thinking May Cause More Troubles

Negative thoughts can worsen your teen depression problem. Therefore, you should learn to keep such thoughts at bay. The best way suggested by experts is that you should divert your mind to more pleasant things that have happened in your life or towards the passion you wish to pursue. If you imagine how you will feel happy if you get opportunities to pursue your passion, the negative thoughts will vanish from your mind.

Focus More On Your Well-Being

Only if you are healthy, you can tackle the problem with your mental health. If you are careless about your well-being, it may have a compounding effect on your woes. You should first make it a point to eat only healthy and nutritious foods.

Importance Of Good Diets

You should shun junk foods and instead, should choose fiber foods. Apart from that, your intake of B vitamins should also be increased. You should get good amounts of Vitamin D also for which you should go for a stroll in sunlight. You need other nutrients like Potassium, Calcium, etc. also. In short, you should get adequate doses of all the vitamins and minerals in order to keep yourself healthy.

How Good Sleep Can Benefit You

You should not commit the mistake of depriving yourself of sleep because lack of sleep can worsen teen depression problem. At the same time, you should not over-sleep also. Excessive inactivity may also cause problems.

Exercises Regimen

You should design a good exercises regimen because physical activities can be a good antidote to the teen depression problem. In fact, experts advise that when you are facing a bout of depression, you can get good relief if you take a stroll in the nearby garden or park. When you get fresh air, you will feel that your feelings are getting soothed and this may help you get over your problem.

Read Inspirational Books and Stories

If anxiety is the root cause for your teen depression problem, you should make it a point to read a lot of inspirational stories and books. These stories can be very effective and so, they may help you come out of the problem.

There can be many other things you can focus on when you are struggling with teen depression. You can consult experts and choose the ways that are suitable for you.

Ten Things that Cause Teen Depression


Teen depression is certainly an infirmity and it may negatively impact how the affected adolescent feels, thinks or acts to situations. The number of teens getting affected by this problem has been increasing day by day.

Though there are a number of factors that may contribute to teen depression, the following ten factors top the list. Ironically, the teen who has been affected by the problem may know the root cause for the issue. But unfortunately, they may not be in a position to assertively talk about it because more than one factor may contribute to the problem. The fact is that even experts in the field sometimes find it difficult to diagnose or find out the right cause for the problem. But the good news is that whatever may be the cause for this mental health issue, it can be treated.

Academic Demands

Teens of today face a host of academic demands that may overwhelm them. Teachers commit the mistake of pressurizing children with heavy work-loads and this may cause stress in the minds of the teens. Some of the teachers may commit the mistake of comparing the performances of teens. This may also cause depression in children.

Transitions

A number of transitions may happen in the lives of teens. For example, if the parents shift to a new place, they may be admitted to a new school. This may cause anxiety in their minds because they may think that getting acclimatized to the new environment may be difficult.

Balancing Studies And Social Life

In general, teens may find it easy to manage and balance their studies and social life. But a few teens may find it difficult to do this balancing act. This may cause teen depression.

Financial Problems In The Family

If there are financial problems in the family, teens may not be able to cope up with the situation. This may cause anxiety and depression in them.

Family Concerns

There may be many other types of family concerns that may mentally disturb teens. This may affect all their behaviors and activities. The main impact is that it may cause depression in them.

Social Isolation

If teens find it difficult to maintain good relationships with their co-students or friends, they may be distressed because they may feel that they are being socially isolated.

New Environment

Transfers of parents to a new place or city may force teens to face new environments. Though young children and adolescents get adjusted to new environments easily, some teens may face difficulties in doing so. These teens may be affected by depression.

Problems Due To New Ideas

New innovations and ideas keep taking place. Some of the teens may not be able to understand them. When they find that their co-students are able to understand the ideas better, they may be distressed more.

Decisions About Careers

Teens have to start preparing for their career even when they are in school. Teens very well know that there is a high level of competition in the job market. Some teens may worry about this and this may result in depression.

Major loss

If someone close to them dies or if there is separation in the family, this may cause anxiety and depression in teens.

In addition to the above factors, chronic illness, genetic reasons, etc. may also cause teen depression.

As pointed out earlier, teen depression can be treated. But parents should seek the help of competent experts for treating their affected teens.

Stories of Teen Depression and Coping with It


If you had been affected by teen depression and if you have now come out of it, you can help others by telling about your own experiences such as how you were affected, what steps you took to get rid of the problem and so on.

How The Problem Of Teen Depression Can Affect Whole Nations

The fact that the number of teens who are getting affected by this problem is rapidly increasing certainly concerns everyone of us. Especially, if more number of young people are affected, the world will be deprived of the energetic and enthusiastic services of these people. Not only that, the problems of these teens may cause a great worry in the minds of their parents, siblings, teachers and friends and due to the stress they face, their efficiency may also come down. This means that the teen depression problem of of these young people may have a cascading effect on the performance of whole nations. That is why you, as a person who had been exposed to the problem, are required to share your stories with others so that they can learn to cope with the problem.

How The Problem Started In A Teen

You might have felt gloomy and nothing might have made you happy. In short, you might have been feeling that life was not worth living. But unfortunately, you might not have understood or realized why you had such feelings.

Perhaps, what had happened in your young age might have triggered this problem in you. For example, your body odor might have initially caused anxiety in you and this might have culminated into teen depression problem. This means that when you lost your self-confidence due to your body odor, you might have doubts about yourself and your capabilities and this might have led to depression in due course of time. The stress, the ridicule you faced in your school and the peer pressure you felt might have added to the problem.

How The Problem Was Cured

Your parents, siblings, teachers and friends might have helped you, got you the appropriate treatment and you might have come out of your problem.

Another Teen Depression Story

Like yours, there is another story of another person. It was the story of Miller who almost killed himself due to his teen depression problem. He was impulsive. He tried self-medication. He consumed more alcohol than a normal person would do. He passed out and fortunately for him, he was found in a pool and was hospitalized on time.

His parents, who did not know about his teen depression problem till then, were shattered. But they recovered from the shock soon and took all the required steps to see that their son got back to normalcy.

These Are Not Just Stories But They Are Life’s Lessons

Your story and the story of Miller are not mere stories. They contain life’s lessons. Especially, in today’s context, when parenting has become a more difficult task than earlier times, these stores may help not only the affected people but their relatives and friends as well. Those who are affected by teen depression may know how to cope with the problem. Parents and others may learn how to render a helping hand and also to take the right steps for bringing the lives of the affected teens to normalcy.

Single Parenting Tips


There are a number of factors that may impact the mental health of children of single parents. Among them, the attention these children get is one of the main factors. Of course, the income levels of the single parent may also affect the mental health and self-esteem levels of children. It is not necessary that children of single parents should face problems. If you, as a single parent, teach self-respect and self-learning and infuse self-confidence in your children, these young ones can certainly grow into responsible and wise adults.

As a single parent, you should understand the following:

Accept That You Cannot Control Everything

You should understand that certain things in life cannot be controlled. This is what makes life unpredictable. You must know the things in which there are choices and those things in which you do not have any options. For example, your children may be facing problems in school or other places because there will be inputs from other children and parents.

Learn To Manage The Emotional Problems Associated With Single Parent Status

As a single parent, you may have a few emotional problems. You should therefore learn to manage them so that you are not affected by mental stress. Having frequent “fun times” with the children and using the power of humor may help you get rid of your emotional issues. At the same time, it should not be all “fun time.” Children should learn that you mean business also when it is needed.

Dignity

Experts say that single parents and especially, single mothers have what is known as “matriarchal dignity.” When you make it a point to preserve your dignity at all costs, it may rub on your children also. This may improve their self-esteem.

Take Good Care Of Yourself

Never forget that you are a single parent and the welfare of your children depends upon your welfare. You should therefore take good care of yourself by doing your regular exercises, by eating healthy foods and by managing stress. These activities will help you gain confidence and since your children consider you as their role model, your confidence will rub on them also.

Courage

Scary things may happen in everyone’s life and being a single mother, you may encounter a number of such things also. You should be courageous enough to face such situations squarely. If you surmount those problems successfully, your children will also learn how to face life’s events boldly.

Express Your Love Frequently

Your children should know that you love them and so, you should sincerely express your love as frequently as possible. You should spend sufficient quality time with them so that you can listen to their points of view. They should know that you are there to help them in every step including setting goals and achieving them. You should support them in their studies and other extra-curricular activities and hobbies. You can also help them in choosing friends and maintaining good relationships with them. If necessary, you can talk to their teacher so that they can have a good ambiance in their school.

But at the same time, you should guard against over-helping them. Children should learn to be independent for which you can help them learn how to solve problems.

If you take all these steps, you can succeed in raising confident children despite the fact that you are a single parent.

Self-esteem Tips for Teens to Get Out of the Sinkhole


Parenting experts and psychologists have come out with a new phrase known as “Tween sinkhole”. According to them, children who are between age 10 and age 15 are said to be in the “sinkhole” period. During this period, their insecurity may increase and so, their self-esteem levels may come down.

A number of factors contribute to this problem. But as a parent, you should help your teens to get rid of their self-esteem issues.

Physical Changes

When children become teens, there may be a number of physical changes in them. It may be hard for them to understand these changes. So, you should make them understand that these changes are common during this age. Not only that, they should be made to manage these changes wisely because they have to live with them.

Social Media

Though there are a number of benefits from social media sites, they can add to the confusion that starts affecting teens between age 10 and age 15. Nowadays, teens of these age are very active on the social media sites. This poses a lot of challenges to them.

For example, teens between age 10 and age 15 may form opinions of their own. They think that they are growing into adults and so, they are mature enough to form opinions. Not only that, they have exposure to various sources like the television, newspapers and the Internet from which they learn a number of things. They start thinking that they know many things though they depend upon their parents for making important decisions.

Limit Your Compliments

While parenting experts advise that you should compliment and encourage your teens, they also advise that parents should be prudent enough to limit their compliments. According to them, these teens should be made to understand the reasons for their successes and achievements. For example, when your teen does well in a particular examination, you should congratulate him but at the same time, impress upon him that only because he has put forth extra efforts, he could score such good marks. If you simply keep complimenting your teens, they may become complacent and not achieve further. In short, they should be complimented and encouraged in such a manner that they are motivated to achieve more. If you can do so, you can develop confidence in your teens.

Positive Reinforcement

In management parlance, this technique is known as ‘positive reinforcement’. You should adopt the same technique with your teens. Your young ones should be made to realize that their achievements are linked to not only their talents or strengths but to their activities as well. So, you will be motivating them to put in more efforts for achieving great things.

In fact, the approach is aimed at bettering their performances on a continuous basis which itself is a reward for them. In this process, you will be motivating your teens to set their new goals or rewards. This approach that is completely based on the self-esteem principles emphasized by experts and that makes children understand the link between their actions and the outcomes, will help your teens come out of their sinkhole period.

Teen Anxiety – A Grave Issue


Anxiety amongst teens is seeing an all time high thanks to the immense peer pressure. A lot of social networking, fast careers, parental expectations and other evils of modernization. Most of the teenagers suffer from low self esteem and behavioral issues, which is a direct consequence of teen anxiety. It is very necessary to deal with teen anxiety in a deft manner. Continue reading “Teen Anxiety – A Grave Issue” →

Signs of Rock Solid Relationships


Relationships are not always alike; there are bad ones, good ones and then there are very good ones, something that you got to hold on to for dear life. Normally our instincts warn us when we come across such a relationship, and though there are no tell tale signs atop, you simply can’t miss the positive vibes. However it is also true that sometimes we are so blind in faith that we ignore the bitter truth till it’s inevitable. So how to understand whether you have a great rock solid relationship?

Happy to be with you

Does your partner’s eye light up when you see each other after a long time? Can you spend hours talking about nothing that is essential to be discussed upon? Are you happy to just hang around in the apartment warring old pajamas and watching your favorite movies over and again? Can you toss aside your work for that dance in first showers of the season? If the answer is yes, even after years of togetherness, then you are definitely on the right track. The hand you are holding will see you through thick and thin. If your relationship blesses you with contentment and happiness, nothing can be better.

In sickness and in health

Rock solid relationships do not only encompass flowers and stars, it comes as a boon when reality strikes hard and cold. If your partner stands firm by you, in case of emergencies and sickness, it means that the bond between you two is no longer just casual attachment or fling.

Acceptance and understanding

We all have certain fantasies and idols set in our mind, when the word soul mate comes to our mind. There are some criteria which we want in that other person, but it is not always necessary that we get that as well, because after all it is a relationship and not checklist. It is important that one accepts you for what you are, and not some perfect person that the other person is looking for. Once the initial days of romance are over, you will get to see the real side of a person, and if you like what you see, if you are comfortable then the stars of your relationship is burning bright. The real test is to disagree in certain points, but still hold hands while doing so. Trusting each other and understanding the other person’s views is very much important.

Future plans for each other

Another important parameter is whether you can see yourself having a future with the person concerned, if you can, and vice versa half battle is won. It means you both are comfortably tuned into, and your families are also cool about the fact of your moving together, marrying and having a future together.

There might be other signs of a rock solid relationship which only you will feel, be it a little quip of heart when he takes your name or the light in the face while uttering the three magical words.

Do You Fight over these Issues in Relationships


A relationship is never all stars, teddy bears and flowers; and there is bound to be major to minor fights in a couple. Some of these fights are results of thought differences, some due to different up-bringing and some normal compatibility issues. While it is good to have a good argument, than keeping it under wraps and increasing the cold war like situation, it is good to know the common triggers of couple war and avoid the same. Continue reading “Do You Fight over these Issues in Relationships” →