Ours is a generations that suffers from rampant anxiety and depression and somehow it has become imperative to find out why that is. Most disturbing of all is the fact that, in nine cases out of ten, we aren’t even aware that we are indeed suffering. Both anxiety and depression are very easy to be written off as everyday mood-shifts and thus one has to be extremely vigilant about the symptoms and how to address them.
With the growing cases of depression, especially amongst teenagers, it is important to question the reasons and causes that lead up to it.
Peer pressure
While for adults peer pressure may seem like a petty issue, for teenagers and children, it is a very real problem. The immense stress of creating a space for your own self while at the same time fighting the inferiority complex that an individual is constantly prone to, very often leads to depression.
Cyber bullying
In our day and age, everything is digital. Bullying too. It takes seconds for random people to come together and troll a person whose opinion is not appreciated. Or acquaintances ganging up and shaming an individual on a social platform. It may not seem like much but cyber bullying has led to the recent spike in suicide rates and is an issue that the authorities should gain control over.
Low self esteem
Another reason for growing depression amongst teenagers is an issue of low self esteem. It is not very uncommon to find parents and teachers telling children that they are good for nothing. What they forget is that their words have a lasting impact on the child. Children who are constantly demoralised develop a low self esteem and eventually slip into depression.
Physical or sexual abuse
Cases of physical and sexual cases are widespread among Indian children. It is unfortunate that beating up a child is completely acceptable in the Indian society and that sexual abuse goes undetected. These traumatic experience are something that scars the personality of a child and emotionally handicaps him/her. It is very probable for a child to undergo depression due to such an experience.
Bad parenting
As is frequently seen, more and more parents seem clueless about how to deal with their children. Use of negative reinforcement, constant reprimanding and hostile means of communication, all do more harm to a child than good. Parents often turn extra constrictive in response to the changes of adolescence and that pushes children to go into a shell and fall prey to depression.
It is high time that we raise more awareness about problems like depression which are often neglected and pushed to the side-lines. It is important for people to realise that depression is not just merely feeling sad and lonely. It may lead to dire consequences like wanting to end one’s life and thus, it is important to seek help for it, especially if one is a teenager. Depression is a disease like any other and so, it requires treatment for someone to get better. With the growing number of cases, it is absolutely necessary to raise awareness so that it doesn’t go unnoticed.
