Adolescent Psychiatry

Depression in adolescents can be very different from depression in adults, so it’s important to know the signs and symptoms of it and how you can treat it. Adolescents can exhibit a lot of behavioral issues, low self-esteem, and so much more, but there are other signs that you can notice as well.

Some of the signs that an adolescent is suffering from depression can include:

• Crying spells
• Feelings of anger over the smallest things
• Feeling hopeless or even empty
• Irritable mood swings
• Conflict with family and friends
• Loss of interested in activities or hobbies
• Low self-esteem
• Self-blames or criticizes themselves
• Fixates on past mistakes
• Sensitive to rejection or failure
• No hope for their future
• Have trouble thinking, making decisions, or remembering things
• Thoughts of suicide
  

Adolescents can also experience a lot of behavioral issues too, such as using drugs and alcohol, acting out and showing more agitation, isolating themselves, paying less attention to their appearance and personal hygiene, self-harm, or even attempted suicide.

There are also more specific reasons why it is common to see depression and anxiety in adolescents, such as:

• Brain chemistry - When neurotransmitters are abnormal or impaired in your brain, the nerve receptors in your nervous system change, which can lead to depression.
• Inherited traits - Depression can run through the family and if you have a family member that has been diagnosed with it, there is a greater possibility that you can be diagnosed with it as well.
• Hormones - Having an imbalance of hormones can cause anxiety and depression
• Early childhood trauma - Significant life events in childhood can have long lasting effects that can cause a teenager to act out.
• Negative thinking - Learned patterns such as feeling helpless can affect a teenager’s future.
  

At any kind of psychiatry session, there are many things that will occur, but we understand the nervousness of going into a session and not knowing what to expect. There are a few different things that you should expect to happen during these psychiatry sessions, but the main one is that your first session will be your longest. Your doctor will want to get to know who you are and understand why you are seeking treatment.

It can also be intimidating to go to a psychiatry session for the first time, so you can always consider asking a loved one to go with you for your very first session so you get an idea of what to expect.

We also recommend that you go into each session with a reason as to why you are seeking treatment. Being able to recognize why you are wanting to seek therapy can help you get an idea of the things that you need to improve on and even establish your treatment plan right away with your therapist.

At each session, you will be able to discuss the things that are bothering you, along with any current successes or other issues going on in your life, along with the status of medications you may be taking and if your prescription needs to be increased or decreased depending on how you are doing.

Depression is something that affects about 3.2 million teens ages 12-17 where they may have already had a depressive episode, but knowing the signs and symptoms of it can help you realize that you need help.

Now, what exactly is depression? Depression, or Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), can be classified as a serious mood disorder that often leaves you feeling sad all the time, hopeless, worthless, and any other negative feelings you could possibly feel. It can affect not only your mood, but how you think, feel, and even how you perform daily activities too.

Adolescents can benefit from psychiatry for so many different reasons. There are a lot of studies out there that prove that teens who seek mental health treatment early can help reduce their risk of clinical depression later on in their adolescent years. By the age of seventeen, many teenagers are diagnosed with clinical depression, especially if they don’t have access to mental health services.

Getting into psychiatry as a teenager early on can help them improve their depression symptoms before they get out of hand. By seeking out this help, they can help to make lifestyle changes, mood changes, improvements in behavior, and more to help them live a better and healthier life than before.

There are a lot of options that you can choose from when you’re a teenager getting psychiatric help. Sometimes therapy is not enough and being on prescription drugs and going to medication management sessions is what could help somebody.

Psychodynamic Psychotherapy

Have you ever heard of psychodynamic psychotherapy? This type of therapy helps to motivate an adolescent with the hopes of influencing their thoughts, behaviors, and feelings about what they are going through and to help them through this process. This form of therapy can ultimately help them with their current struggles, behavior patterns, and other issues they may be facing.

Psychoanalysis

If you want a more in depth therapy session, or even just multiple therapy sessions, you should consider psychoanalysis, because it is a more intensive form of psychodynamic psychotherapy. This form of therapy also hopes to improve feelings, behavior, and help conquer internal struggles.

Medication Management

If you’re looking to get on a prescription drug in order to help you manage your symptoms of depression and anxiety, then you need to consider some medication management sessions. These sessions are very useful because after an initial evaluation, a psychiatrist can prescribe you medication that they think will work for you and you will meet with them to see if you need a higher dosage, or if you need to switch medications.

Depression should not be the end of the world and we know that you or an adolescent in your life wants to take their life back, so make sure to contact Transformations Care Network where they are dedicated to helping you get your life back on track. Contact us today to learn what our mental health specialists can do for you and how they can get you back on your feet.