Depression Rising in Teens



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It's 4 o'clock in the morning and you are still crying yourself asleep. Will this pain ever end? Will the feeling of loneliness and emptiness ever go away? You wake up after a sleepless night of crying and your eyes are as puffy as can be and no one seems to even notice. You get up get ready and start your day with out a sound of someone caring if you got up or not or even asking if you've eaten breakfast or not. Everybody is busy doing their own thing that no one sees to mind anymore. Sadness surrounds you and negative thoughts invade you but do not fear this feeling does not last forever.

According to teenhelp.com 20% of teens will experience depression before adulthood is reached. Symptoms of depression include apathy, guilt, memory loss, unable to make decisions, withdrawal from fiends, use of drugs and alcohol, rebellious behavior, mood swings, and lack of sleep. These symptoms are triggered by need of attention, communication, and love. If you or a loved one are experiencing any of these symptoms do not hesitate to ask for help.

Treatment for depression include talking to a psychologist, taking medicine, getting involved, joining a youth group, volunteering, meeting new friends, going on a walk or run, and getting out there and expressing your thoughts. If any negative thoughts try to invade your space push them away with a positive thought. No one is perfect so why should we try to be? Please yourself and be happy. And whenever you feel like giving up just remember that you can accomplish anything you set up your mind to be and "Si se puede!"(Yes you can!)

Low-Self Esteem In Teens

http://www.jessicasimien.com/take-it-from-me-low-self-esteem-is-a-waste-of-energy/

It is your first ever pep-rally in high school and your parents bought you what you believe is the most amazing outfit ever. You are super excited to wear it that on that day you wake up extra early to make sure you shower get ready and look great. As soon as you walk into the school you hear someone shout "Nice outfit" in a sarcastic tone. In your first class the girl sitting next to you asks you if you woke up late since your outfit seemed a last minute outfit and it smelled weird. Every rude comment makes you just want to run home and change from the what you thought was an amazing outfit and your self-esteem lowers and lowers by the minute. What are you going to do now? Your parents wasted a lot of time and effort trying to please you and make you happy to just tell them you did not like the outfit anymore. You do not feel good about yourself, the way you look or even the way you dress. But do not worry your not the person they make you feel like what you feel about your self is your self esteem and depending how good or bad you feel about yourself will go up and down, you are unique in your own way and you are wonderful inside and out.

In a recent research I conducted with a group of high school teens from Montbello High School 19 out of 20 teens admitted to at one point having low-self esteem. Most of them said that they felt like they where left out an not included in activities if they did not have the most recent I-phone, Jordan shoes, newest trending clothes, or even a car. These aspects made me realize that most of the time a factor of low-self esteem depends on materials not on how a person is or their knowledge. Symptoms that a teen has low-self esteem is a withdrawn or shy teen, afraid to have fun or invite someone to come over their house, and is terrified of trying new things since failure to learn will cause a bad feeling about themselves. What we can do to prevent low-self esteem is to not worry as much about fitting in. Yes everyone wants to be liked do not get me wrong but if our able to throw on that bright green top with an orange hat or scarf and feel great about yourself then do it. Do not feel like a prisoner in your body, you are amazing just the way you are and even the biggest superstars and singers feel self-conscious about themselves but their is not a day they give up on their dreams and neither should you. Throw on that new outfit your parents bought you and stroll your high school high ways like no one else has.

Anxiety in High School Teens

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First day in a new school you are now a freshman in high school and you are really anxious. Who are you going to sit with? What are you going to wear? What if no one likes you? What if something bad happens? The what if's go on and on and your anxiety increases and torments you for the whole four years of high school. Each year hoping it would go away but it never does. So what do you do now?

A recent study from the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) suggest that 1 in every 8 teens suffers from anxiety and does not know how to deal with it. Symptoms that you are experiencing anxiety include stomachaches, nausea, dizziness, dry mouth, blushing, headaches, and shortness of breath. These can be caused by things like asking a teacher a question, finding friends to hang out with, physical education class, and many more things. Social teen anxiety can consequently cause loneliness, low-self esteem, reduced success in school, depression, and substance misuse.

What specifically can you do to help this? First of all talk to someone maybe a parent, a teacher, a counselor, a close friend, anyone that can help you get bigger help. You are not alone so do not feel like you are. Second take a warm bath with lots of bubbles and buy yourself your favorite food. Do not forget to remember that you are important and anyone would be lucky to have a friend like you because it is true. Stay positive and be positive because we all need a friend and we may need someone but someone may also need us more. Third do not be afraid to be anxious it has happened to all of us once in a while just be cautious of what you are doing to make it better and participate you never know what you are good at until you try.

High School Teenage Stress

http://www2.maxwell.syr.edu/plegal/ltgwestinghouse1/milnewq1.htm

      It is your senior year in high school and you have finals coming up, you have stayed up the last couple of nights trying to turn in late assignments you missed from a couple of days you where sick and you feel like time is running out and to top that off graduation is around the corner, You feel your stress levels rising to the highest they can be, and it won't go away. Do not feel alone and definitely don't feel like your the only one facing this issue according to the American Psychological association survey tens have reported their stress levels during high school year far exceeds what they believe to be healthy. It has risen in the past few years due to teenagers obsessing to obtain a good enough career and a job. I personally asked my 17 year old sister, a junior in high school what stressed her out an she stated, "What stressed me out is competing with every other student for a future we are not certain about, what stresses me out is not having enough time in a day to accomplish everything I have to do like homework, study, help my parents with chores, have a social life, and be able to sleep my full 8 ours at night and for people that also work it gets worse." Once I had heard this from her made me realize that there are so many students such as you suffering from stress that are even higher on stress levels than adults as the American Psychological Association recalls. This makes me think are we setting you high school students up to have a stressful life or are we actually motivating you for a better future.
       This debate could go either way.
       Are you really adopting adult stress habits and how will they affect your future? In a recent research "Ten percent of teens reported receiving lower grades than capable due to stress." High school is the time of your life where it can either make-you or break-you and I as a college student believed back in high school that if you did not have good enough grades you could not go to college and obtain a career. This is affecting you as a student since it motivates what kind of adult life you want to have an obtain.
     Is stress seen as a motivator to different high school students? Yes. Many high school students such as my sisters' friend Danya determined that if it was not for the stress she was having she would not motivate herself to get better grades and be the smart young girl she is. When asked about stress she responded "Yea stress can be a bit stressful but if you know how to manage it and get your priorities straight you can do anything." Such as Danya her motivation is stress but then again no two students are the same and they should not be feeling as high stress levels as adults in our high school days.

Teenage Health

Graduation, prom, college, media, fashion, relationships, so much to think about and in so little time so what health risks are these life changing decisions affecting high school students? Many students may say that they get used to it and learn from the previous year but many also say they cause stress, anxiety, low-self esteem, and depression. I Avilene Delgado as the writer of this blog will be blogging more about health related issues in high school students.