Recognizing and Helping Student Depression

Written by Dr. Paul Carlisle

Depression can touch every aspect of a teen's life. It impacts his thoughts, emotions, body, and spirit. In other words, if a teen is depressed, there is not one portion of his life that is left unaffected. The Scriptures give several examples of persons who experienced depression in their lives, but it also makes it clear that God is a God of hope, joy, and peace. He can comfort and heal those suffering from depression.

A clinical depression is different from simply feeling discouraged. The two aspects of depression that must be considered are intensity and duration. Discouragement is low intensity and short duration. Clinical depression is high intensity and longer duration. Now that you know that intensity and duration of symptoms are crucial to spotting depression, here is a list of symptoms to help you determine if a teen is experiencing serious depression.

Symptoms of Depression

• Persistently sad, anxious, or in an "empty" mood
• Loss of interest or pleasure in activities
• Restlessness, irritability, or excessive crying
• Decreased energy, fatigue, feeling "slowed down"
• Feelings of guilt, worthlessness, helplessness
• Sleeping too much or too little, early-morning awakening
• Appetite and/or weight loss or overeating and weight gain
• Thoughts of death or suicide, or suicide attempts
• Difficulty concentrating, remembering, or making decisions
• Persistent physical symptoms that do not respond to treatment, such as headaches, digestive disorders, and chronic pain

These symptoms are used by a physician to make a diagnosis of clinical depression. He usually diagnoses depression if a majority of the symptoms have been experienced daily for two weeks or more.

Helping a Depressed Teen

• Slow the teen's pace.
• Reach out to the depressed teen.
• Ask God to use you in the teen's life.
• Ask friends to help.
• Help the teen seek professional help.
• Help the teen get to the root of the problem and not just treat the symptoms with medication.
• Encourage the teen to lean on the healing power of God and Scripture.

Dr. Paul Carlisle is a professor of pastoral care and counseling at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. He and his wife, Terri, have two teenagers.

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