Parents worry about their children for various reasons, but mental health concerns have now taken the spotlight. In 2015, Palo Alto saw a spike in teen suicides and teen depression, leading parents to ask how they can help their kids navigate the sometimes hazardous seas of adolescence.
Scientists are working to understand better what causes teen depression and how to prevent it. Here are some scientific recommendations:
1. Maintain Consistent Warmth, Love, and Support
Research suggests that parents assume they provide little to teenagers, but that is not entirely the case. Teens with high parental support had fewer depressive symptoms and lowered cortisol and C-reactive protein levels, both of which are physiological markers associated with depression.
For teenagers who do not receive enough parental assistance, the situation is precisely the reverse. Peer support had little effect on these measures, suggesting that parental support is critical.
Good parent-child relationships also lowered activity of the brain's reward area, called the ventral striatum. Parents can improve their relationship with their children to help them cope with and ultimately conquer depression.
Be involved in your teen's emotional lives by being present and engaged with what they are going through, on good days, and especially bad ones. It’s also important to be gentle even when your teen's words and actions don't match. Your kids need to know they are unconditionally loved and accepted, whether they do good or poorly.
2. Instill and Demonstrate Strong Social and Emotional Skills
Teens, like adults, face challenging social and emotional situations—changing friendships, broken romantic relationships, job setbacks, academic pressure, and college admissions procedures. Because teenage brains are wired to heighten emotions, coping with these issues can be tricky, increasing the risk of teen depression.
How parents deal with their teen's distress through difficulties can impact how effectively they handle anxiety in the real world. They are also less reactive in emotionally intense encounters with their friends and other peers.
Parents need to be positive emotional role models for their children to assist them in coping with life’s difficulties. Parents may help their children by acknowledging their feelings and demonstrating mindfulness—nonjudgmental awareness of one's present feelings, thoughts, and experiences.
3. Encourage Healthy Peer Interactions
Teenagers seek approval and status from their peers. However, strained relationships can contribute to depression. Negativity in friendships and sexual relationships, on the other hand, predicted depression and social anxiety. Experts discovered this in a study of youths who had at least one close friend.
Additionally, being a part of a supportive social group has enhanced adult relationships and physical health and alleviated feelings of sorrow and anxiety. We should not dismiss or discourage their adolescent friendships.
So what can parents do? Taking chances in relationships is part of growing up, so we shouldn't worry about our kids having "too many" or "too few" friends. Parents can find time to talk to their teenagers about friendship, love relationships, and self-protection.
4. Encourage Your Teen to Find Meaning in Their Lives
The activities that kids participate in should be meaningful, not just a way to pad their college applications. Having a feeling of purpose in life, or even searching for one, is excellent for increasing happiness and hope across all age groups, including teenagers.
Parents should ask open-ended questions about their interests and then attentively listen to the responses to better engage their teenagers. Parents should instill thankfulness as a strategy to foster purpose. Other studies show appreciation has immediate psychological advantages for youth.
5. Make an Effort to Improve the Classroom Environment
We want the best for our kids, but "the best" may entail adjustments outside our control, such as systemic reforms in schools that could improve teen mental health.
Sleep-deprived teens also perform poorly in school and are more susceptible to depression. It is why some parents advocate for schools to have teen-friendly schedules. Parents should also want schools to provide healthy cuisine for youngsters to prevent future mental health difficulties.
Conclusion: Let’s Battle against Teen Depression
Several factors may cause teen depression, but treating it is not a hopeless case. There is no cure-all solution to depression, so parents need to discover what specific causes trigger depression in their children and navigate through solutions that get them out of depression.
Some parents think that shielding their child from the world is noble, but such protection does not help them learn how to manage their emotions, bravely face their challenges, and navigate them calmly.
Remember that we must treat our kids as individuals, recognizing their particular strengths and limitations while giving them guidance on living life fruitfully. The fight against teen depression will not be won overnight, but we need to stay vigilant, aware, and proactive to win our kids back and nurse them to mental health.
In this approach, we help shape a positive future for both youth and society. Hope Seed Support Center is committed to helping the Texas community through counseling, nutritional therapy, and many other services. Contact us and know more about our services today!
