Many teenagers go through phases when they are moody and irritable for a few days or even up to a week or so. However, when young adults are consistently irritable and easily annoyed for several weeks on end, they may be depressed rather than just a normal teen.
Your child could express feelings of hopelessness in many ways. They might state that nothing will ever go right for them or that nothing will ever change or improve in their life. Your teen may just appear to be sad when they are feeling hopeless.
Again, if this is a passing issue for a day or two, you might not need to worry too much. Everybody has a bad day. But if it lasts for several days, you might have a problem.
If your child was once very social and had a relatively large group of friends and peers that they spent time with and now they are acting antisocial and showing no interest in spending time with their friends, they are likely showing signs of depression.
Teens tend to change friends and social groups quite often as they develop their identity. However, they are not normally suddenly disinterested in all or most people.
There are several different types of suicidal ideations (thoughts) a person can express and have. The most recognizable of these are the specific thoughts about specific means of suicide and a desire to kill oneself. However, there are other suicidal thoughts known as global suicidal ideations.
Global suicidal ideations are more general thoughts about death and suicide. This could be something along the lines of your teen wishing they were never born, thinking that things would just be easier if they were dead, or that they want to die in general. Even if they are making jokes about such issues, these thoughts are considered to be suicidal ideations and are serious warning signs of depression.
Now that you know some of the important signs of depression to look out for in your teen, you can be sure that if they are depressed you get them the treatment and care that they need to manage their condition as soon as possible. Contact a center, like The Lakes Treatment Center, for more help.