5 steps to save your teenage child from depression

Does your child sit quiet for hours, seems sad always, or retreats to his room if you attempt to talk to him? It is not unusual for teenagers to display this behavior sometimes. To add to it the hormonal changes that take place in their bodies, it's easy to see why their moods swing like a pendulum. However, such behavior should not be encouraged if it is persistent, as it can be an early sign of depression  that needs attention & treatment.

Remember that if depression affects your child in his teens, it will become a negative lens through which he will see and experience the world. It will have an adverse impact on his mental, physical and emotional health. Therefore, catch depression early and treat it immediately before it affects his future. Know how.

Step 1. Diagnose it. It is more than normal teenage moodiness   

Estimates suggest that as many as 1 in 5 teenagers experience depression at some point during adolescence. But the condition often goes undiagnosed because it is difficult to distinguish normal teenage moodiness from a more serious problem like depression. One way of diagnosing it is to check the duration such unhappy days exists for. So if your teen's unhappiness lasts for more than two weeks, see if the behavior is associated with other symptoms of depression.

Step 2. Look out for these symptoms

• Your teen is lethargic all the time & sleeps excessively
• There is drastic change in his eating habits; has either loss of interest in food or displays compulsive overeating
• He has difficulty concentrating and making decisions
• Persistent feelings of sadness, anxiety, or hopelessness
• Complaints of pains like headaches, stomachache or low back pain
• Displays excessive guilt
• Shows irresponsible behavior like being late for classes or skipping school
• He exhibits criminal behaviors such as shoplifting or becomes outrageous
• Preoccupation with death and dying
• Rebellious behavior
• Sudden drop in academic grades
• Use of alcohol or drugs
• Withdrawal from friends.

Step 3. Acknowledge that depression is a medical condition & needs treatment 

The problem with most parents is that they do not want to acknowledge that their child is suffering from a medical disorder, as depression is not counted as one. Therefore, it is important for you to know that depression is not something that will go on its own. It needs an appropriate medical treatment. If not treated, depression may increase the chance of risky behaviors such as drug or alcohol addiction. It also can ruin relationships, cause problems at school or college, and make it difficult to overcome serious illnesses.

Step 4. Ditch those antidepressants

Anti-depressants are not the solution to your child’s depression. Did you know that it is absolutely the biggest lie that anti-depressants are your rescue remedies for depression? The reality, which has been proven through several clinical studies is that they do very little to manage depression. A recent study reported in The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) showed that the long-term use of anti-depressants led to sexual dysfunction, weight gain, and sleep disturbances. Anti-depressants can also be addictive causing withdrawal symptoms like insomnia, headaches and tiredness. So, save your child from harmful side-effects of anti-depressants.   

Step 5. Embrace homeopathy to treat depression naturally & without side-effects 

Given its intuitive, holistic mind-body approach, homeopathy is the ideal choice of treatment for depression. It offers safe, natural and customized plans for patients of depression. Studies confirm that homeopathic remedies treat depression effectively and without any side-effects. How homeopathy works is that it does not merely look at the symptoms, because no two patients of depression present with the same set of symptoms—while one patient may feel sad and withdrawn, another may develop suicidal thoughts.  Instead, Homeopathy goes to the root of the problem. While it cannot change the circumstances causing the condition, what it can and does do is to help alter reactions to that circumstance. For example, if depression in your child has resulted due to a recent disappointment in love, which is one of the common reasons of stress amongst teenagers today, the homeopathic medicine Ignatia may be used but if depression results from long-lasting grief, other medicine called Natrum Mur is suggested.

So, do not let your child suffer from depression. Diagnose it, treat it and see your child come out of that black pool of depression and live happy healthy life.