HERE'S HOW YOU CAN HELP YOUR TEENAGER COPE WITH DEPRESSION

The first step is to know the symptoms of depression so that you can identify these depression symptoms in your child to know if he is feeling depressed.

Is your teenager doing following things?

• Has aversion to people: Mostly prefers spending time alone, is not willing to talk to you or is not comfortable among family members or friends
• Loss of interest: He shows no interest in things which he used to like earlier
• Changes in sleep patterns: Increased/decreased sleep time
• Always lost in thoughts: He is always lost in negative thoughts, is not willing to share his concern despite asking several times
• Doesn’t care about his appearance: He takes no interest in his appearance. Someone who always dressed well suddenly loses interest in looking good or dressing well
• Appetite alterations: Decreased or increased appetite, gained or lost weight
• Feels hopeless: Doesn't find hope in anything, has trouble in concentrating
• Gets suicidal thoughts: He often gets suicidal thoughts and some might even attempt suicide, as they feel that is the only solution for their problems
• Extreme mood swings: Your child shows extreme mood swings.   

If your teenager is doing 3-4 things from the above mentioned list, then he/she might be suffering from depression.

According to WHO (World Health Organization), about 18% (global estimate) of people are affected with depression in India and among them 4-8% are teenagers. It is undoubtedly a major concern today, which we need to address wisely. Let us first understand the reasons behind depression.

Causes for depression could be many-

• Impaired brain chemicals-good mood hormone-"serotonin" can be impaired
• Hormonal imbalances
• Inherited traits
• Learned pattern of negative things
• Early childhood trauma
• Situational depression due to sad incidences. 

Among all, the biggest question arises and that is how we can help our children to cope with the situation. The treatment is definitely needed to cope with depression whatever the cause. However, there are certain things, which as parents you can do to help them cope with it.

• Never leave them alone: Talk to them in a most possible friendly manner. Very subtly you have to reach to a point where they start talking/sharing their concern with you.
• Try to gain their confidence: Assure them that they are being accepted as they are, in any situation you will be with them and emphasize on importance of family.
• Give positivity: Try to give them so much positivity that no negative thought should prevail.
• Try to provide solutions: If you can, try to provide solutions for their problems.
• Encourage them to exercise: Studies show that exercising daily (half an hour to one hour in morning) provides enough positivity and energy to deal with any kind of depression. It could be as simple as running.
• Set small goals: Set small goals for them and let them win. This will help them gain confidence.
• Motivate them to eat healthy: Eating healthy food like leafy greens, walnuts (are rich in omega3 fatty acids) help deal with mood swings, Avocado contains healthy fats and folic acid needed by brain to run smoothly, berries (blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries) are all rich in antioxidants, Tomatoes are packed with depression fighting ingredients, Seeds (flaxseeds, hempseeds, chia seeds are rich in omega3 fatty acids).

Next we come to an important part and that is treatment for depression.

The most common medications for depression these days are anti-depressants. However their effectiveness in mild or threshold symptoms is questionable.

Homeopathy on the other hand can provide safe and effective way in treating depression, sadness and anxiety. It is no longer only an alternate therapy but can be taken as a sole treatment now, as it treats depression holistically without any side-effects. There are so many homeopathic remedies that give best results like Arsenic album, ignatia, and Nat mur amongst others.