THE NEGATIVE EFFECTS OF DEPRESSION ON TEENAGERS 1

The negative effects of depression on teenagers

wRoxanne Isaac

T.A Marryshow Community College

School of Arts, Sciences and Professional Studies.

COM 103 (Section L)

David Ambrose

27th January, 2021.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow once said, " Every man has his secret sorrows

which the world knows not; and often times we call a man cold when he is only sad. Imagine

yourself in a dark situation or a dark place how would you cope with it just think about.

Depression is known to be a mental illness that affects how we feel, think, and behave. It

can be more than a state of feeling of sadness. It is one of the most common causes of many

issues in our lives: such as abuse, death and even conflict. According to the World Health

Organization (WHO), depression affects more than 264 million people in the world today.

Amongst these people, 20 percent (%) of them are teenagers. Three (3) negative effects that

depression has on teenagers are; low-level academic performances, substance abuse and

perpetrate suicide or suicide attempts.

Firstly, depression can be an obstacle to every aspect of a teenager’s life, especially in

their academic performance. It is very common for a disease like depression to cause problems

for these individuals. It causes them to lack the ability to concentrate and lose interest in

classroom participation and activities. For example, students would often skip classes regularly

or they would make excuses not to take part in certain activities.

It also causes them to lack communication with teachers and friends due to the negative

impacts that depression has on their mental and physical health.

The unpredictability of depression often leaves students feeling frustrated. This act of

feeling usually confuses the teacher in the actions needed to deal with the situation other

problems arising from this situation stress. Stress can cause teenagers to drop out of classes or

even school. In some colleges across countries, there have been reports where 25% of students

from ages 16-19 complained that stress lowered their grades and their ability to finish certain

courses. It also decreases sleep qualities. The absence of adequate sleep makes managing stress
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very difficult, which can eventually cause a student to lack basic communication skills. For

example, listening. Some students also develop aggressive behavior due to stress. Due to that

fact that they are angry.

Secondly depression can lead to substance abuse. According to researchers

, Teens who experience signs of depression are two times more likely to abuse drugs and

alcohol, than other teenagers who are not depressed.

Psychology states that Substance abusees a pattern of harmful uses of any substance for

mood-altering purposes. These substances can either include alcohol and drugs

. Depression is considered as one of the foremost causes of substance abuse in many

teenagers. Whenever these depressed teenagers face hard times, they tend to turn to drugs and

alcohol. Many of them believe that they can manage their emotional well-being by engaging in

this indecorous behavior.

\The misleading cause of drugs and alcohol is that it affects and damages parts of the

brain and the body. This can also leave the individual with long-lasting health issues such as

kidney failure and liver damage.

Alcohol and drugs can also affect certain brain regions such as the frontal lobe. This part

of the brain is responsible for controlling important cognitive skills in humans like; language,

problem solving, organizing, planning and making decisions. This region is at play in behavior

disorders like attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The use of substances can also

affect teenagers who are seeking medical and physical treatment. It can lower the effectiveness

of that medication and also interrupt their engagement in psychological therapy.

Finally, depression can cause teenagers to perpetrate suicide or suicide attempts.

Suicide is when someone causes his or her own death on purpose, it is also known to be the third

major cause of death in the world today especially among teenagers. On the ratio scale,

7.4/100,000 teenagers have lost their lives due to suicide and, in the year 2018 it was recorded

that 1.4 million people attempted suicide.

Research has proven that over the years the rates of suicide among teenagers has

increased by more than 60%.

The majority of these suicides may be associated with many problems such as; stress,

death, financial stability, failure, and even self-doubt.

The main question asked is, ‘What are we as individuals doing to better these teenagers’

life”? Most of them find suicide to be the only solution to all of their problems. The causes of

suicide in teenagers can be very detrimental for that person. At this point, they go through a

challenging stage in their life. No matter what the situation may be like, they always find it

overwhelming. Teenagers who are having suicidal thoughts may use comments such as, “I can’t

see any way out of this “or “It’s my fault, I’m to blame” etc. Observation made shows that boys

are more likely to commit suicide than girls. Boys tend to turn to more harmful methods such

as guns, hanging, and jumping from heights. On the other hand, girls are more likely to harm

themselves by taking drugs or cutting themselves. These issues have been on the rise for quite a

few years and even in today’s society.

In conclusion, we see how depression had quite a number ofe effects on teenagers.

This is because depression can cause teenagers to obtain a low-level academic performance. In
 THE NEGATIVES EFFECTS OF DEPRESSION ON TEENAGERS 5

addition, it increases the use of substance abuse in teenagers, and causes them to perpetrate

suicide or suicide attempts.

References

Online article

Depression and Substance Abuse in Adolescence - Polaris Teen Center

online dictionary:

https://languages.oup.com/google-dictionary-en

online article

https://www.gatewayfoundation.org/faqs/effects-of-drug-abuse/

online blog

https://www.houstonbehavioralhealth.com/blog/self-medicating
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https://www.momsteam.com/health-safety/teenage-depression-effects-signs-and-

symptoms

https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/low-performing-students_5jrp0jd15gtc.pdf

Impact of Anxiety and Depression on Student Academic Progress (ibcces.org)

The Relationship Between Depression and Academic Performance | by Caroline

Summers | COPE McMaster | Medium