Look for the signs of depression
How do you look for warning signs?
Sometimes it can be difficult to work out if a friend, boyfriend, girlfriend or a family member is just having a rough time or whether their ‘out of character’ behaviour means that something more serious is going on.
Signs of depression and anxiety
Depression doesn’t just cause young people to feel sad or down, and anxiety doesn’t just make people worry. Teenagers can express depression and anxiety in many different ways. They may:
- have trouble falling or staying asleep, or complain of restless, unsatisfying sleep
- be tired, grumpy, irritable, tearful or upset most of the time
- feel restless, keyed-up or on edge
- lose interest in things they used to enjoy, and have trouble starting and completing assignments or work
- be forgetful, lose concentration and be easily distracted
- become withdrawn and lose friends
- either refuse to eat or eat a lot, and either lose or gain weight quickly
- have tense or sore muscles
- complain of feeling physically awful, with unexplained aches and pains, and not want to go to school.
Below we’ve listed six situations where someone’s behaviour has changed from how they’d normally act and where they might be experiencing depression. These situations might be useful to help you decide if someone you know needs help.
Know why someone’s dropped out of the crowd?
One of our friends, Simon, is 20 and has deferred from uni for a year. He used to be quite outgoing and spent a lot of time just hanging out with us and going surfing with Ben, his best mate. But now, whenever any of us call him, he doesn’t return our calls, and he definitely isn’t keen to go out any more. He’s always in his room and even his parents say they hardly ever see him. He’s stopped surfing with Ben, and he doesn’t seem to enjoy the things he used to love - like sport and even chatting up chicks.
Know why someone’s not sleeping properly?
I’ve been waking up late at night to the sound of the TV on in my sister’s room for a few weeks now. I’ve asked her why she’s watching TV so late and she says she can’t sleep very well. But she stays in bed all day with the curtains shut, and still keeps complaining about having no energy. She’s only 23 - I don’t think anyone should be having sleeping problems at that age.
Know why someone’s a little out of control?
Ashley’s 19 and he’s normally the big brother of our group. He’s always the sensible one when we go out and he looks after everyone else. But lately he’s been acting as if he doesn’t care about things as much. He’s been drinking to the point where he can’t walk or talk properly - and he’s even got himself into a few fights. He’s taking stupid risks in his car, and his girlfriend says that he’s stopped being interested in sex and stuff that they normally do together.
Know why someone’s feeling down?
Sarah’s 17 like me. We’re in our last year at school. She’s never been the best student, but usually she’s got this great outlook on life. She always somehow lands on her feet and keeps smiling no matter what happens. However, this semester, she definitely hasn’t been her usual bubbly self. It’s hard to have a conversation with her because she’s so negative about everything. It’s been ages since I heard one of her famous laughs. I think she might be on a diet because she’s lost a lot of weight. She’s also seems to have lost her sense of humour. She’s so much more sensitive and she seems to overreact to what other people say.
Know why someone’s a little worse for wear?
Josh is the fit, buff, pretty boy of our group. At 25, he’s the one with the well paying job, the fast car and the clothes to match. But when I saw him last week, I couldn’t believe it was the same guy. Normally he doesn’t even leave the house without blow-drying his hair, but this time he looked absolutely terrible. His work shirt wasn’t ironed and he was talking about feeling tired and angry all the time. He said he was having troubles with money, that he was stressed at work, and that his boss was picking on him.
Know why someone’s got a serious attitude problem?
Yuan’s always been pretty easygoing, nothing really seems to phase her. She’s 18 and part of a family of six, and normally gets on really well with her brothers and sisters. Recently, she didn’t turn up at work for a few days and when our boss rang to ask why she hadn’t called, she totally snapped at him. I was a bit worried, so I talked to Yuan’s mum. She said that Yuan wasn’t even talking to her brothers and sisters any more and gets annoyed about the smallest things.
