Depression
Depression
For some young people, feelings of sadness and unhappiness outweigh their happy and excited emotions. When you have depression, these sad feelings become overwhelming and long-lasting, affecting how you think, how you feel and what you do. These feelings can last for weeks, months or even longer.
Depression is more than just feeling upset or sad – it is a serious condition which makes coping with day-to-day life hard and leaves you feeling down most of the time.
Common symptoms include:
- Feeling irritable, sad and stressed most of the time. Feeling angrier than usual and restless, unable to relax or stop thinking about what is on your mind. Feeling guilty, worthless, frustrated, unhappy, indecisive, disappointed and miserable.
- You might experience negative thoughts about yourself, people around you or your home environment.
- Lose interest in the things you usually enjoy, and lose concentration easily.
- Experience sleep problems, and feel constantly tired
- Change in appetite
How common is depression?
Clinical Depression occurs in 5-9% of adolescents.
What to do if you are worried about depressive symptoms.
If your condition is fairly mild, your symptoms might be relieved with lifestyle changes like getting regular sleep and exercise, planning workloads and positive activities, using calming and self-help strategies. School counsellors can provide helpful advice and there are a range of strategies on the internet.
If your symptoms of depression are moderate to severe you might need psychological and/or medical treatment. If your symptoms are getting in the way of your everyday functioning visit your GP to discuss your concerns and gain referral to a mental health practitioner. Alternatively, contact Bendigo Headspace for support.