Why is adolescent depression more and more common?

Depression is not a simple "bad mood", but a disease. The prevalence of depression among adolescents in China is on the rise with grade growth, and some children are in a long-term depression. (People's Daily)

According to relevant statistics, the detection rate of depression among adolescents in China has reached 24.6%, about 30 million young people under 17 years old suffer from various emotional disorders and behavioral problems; The number of suicides due to depression is up to 200000, and the trend is increasing year by year.

In Guangzhou Hear Hear Bar, I met many patients with depression in psychological counseling. In recent years, I found that more and more young people suffer from depression, and their age tends to be younger.

In the past, college students and high school students were more depressed, but now many junior high school students and primary school students are also depressed.

There is even a phenomenon that many teenagers suffering from depression are excellent children, including key middle schools and famous universities.

Many parents are very confused. They think that their children have excellent living conditions, and they don't know why their children are depressed.

Why is adolescent depression more and more common? What factors affect it? The following summarizes the common causes found in psychological counseling.

　　 1、 Sense of unintentionality

I don't know when the sense of meaninglessness and valuelessness began to breed and spread among young people.

For adolescents, this stage is the stage when they begin to explore their outlook on life and values, as well as the establishment of self-identity. They began to think, where do I come from? What is the meaning of my life?

The answers to these three questions constitute a sense of self, form a role of self, and gain a sense of meaning of life.

Many teenagers in psychological counseling said, "I am always in an environment of brushing questions, and I don't know what I like or why I want to learn."

Nowadays, families generally have better living conditions. Many teenagers can't find the motivation to struggle, and feel confused about their future, which aggravates their sense of unintentionalness.

Teenagers at this stage are easily confused and have a sense of meaninglessness. They need to give correct guidance and help.

　　 2、 Lack of connection with the real world

In today's society, many children are wrapped in an information cocoon room, without really establishing a life connection with the world, with others, and with themselves. This loss of sense of meaning is actually a loss of connection.

On the one hand, due to the increasing number of only children, many children also live in big cities, and the interaction with neighbors is almost zero, there is no brother or sister to communicate, and there is a lack of opportunities to contact with nature, play with small partners, and contact with different people.

On the other hand, teenagers yearn for friends but feel lonely. They can only watch TV, play with mobile phones, and access network information. Receiving too many stimulating and novel messages makes people more and more disordered and unable to stay with themselves quietly, which aggravates the depression tendency.

　　 3、 Family members over protect/control their children and deprive them of their right to be themselves

In life, many parents help/control their children in a big way. They don't let their children do any housework and make decisions for their children. They not only lack real and effective spiritual nourishment, but also deprive their children of the right to free development.

This leads to excessive dependence of children, and even if they encounter some small blows, they will become depressed due to frustration and helplessness.

However, many children who were treated like this since childhood will be afraid of making mistakes, unable to stick to their own choices, and sometimes feel very bad about themselves. They always have a huge hole in their heart, empty and confused, and lack of goals.

　　 4、 Can't accept the ordinary but real self, and can't tolerate the lack of excellence

When they were young, they were not unconditionally accepted by their parents, they were always overestimated, the school was relatively single, or their parents' emotional neglect in childhood, which may lead to teenagers being unable to accept ordinary themselves.

Many children can't accept that they are not good enough. When their expectations exceed their actual ability and cannot be lowered, this excessive demand for self will make them fall into pain and frustration again and again.

The more they can't accept the ordinary, the more they fight against themselves. This confrontation is an attack and injury to themselves. Many people with depression are out of balance between reality and self expectation.

In addition, the Internet allows teenagers to access more information, even social culture in advance, which leads more and more teenagers to understand that ordinary people's efforts have little impact on the success of social definition.

In addition, no matter what they did, they failed to meet their expectations, so they fell into the "learned helplessness" and chose to "put out the bad". They would not have passion for anything they did, nor would they think that there is anything exciting in life. This is a meaningless life, which is the inevitable result of depression.

　　 5、 Too much academic pressure, unable to have a good rest

Teenagers are under more and more pressure from schoolwork. The time and intensity of studying at school and reviewing at home are no less than those of adults (996). They go out early and return late, and sleep is seriously insufficient. In addition to classes and homework, they have almost no time for outdoor activities.

Some children pursue perfection in character and like to blame themselves. They will make strict study plans and harsh living habits for themselves. At night, they are also too anxious to aggravate insomnia, a vicious circle. The lack of adequate rest and entertainment results in teenagers not having enough space to release pressure. Long term stress and insomnia can also make people increasingly depressed.

　　 Guangzhou Heartball Psychological Consultation Conclusion:

If your child suffers from depression, first of all, accept the fact that the child suffers from depression, and find a professional psychologist in time for psychological counseling. At the same time of counseling for children, parents may also need to intervene in family therapy together to understand the causes of children's depression, learn how to guide children correctly, strengthen communication, and accompany children out of depression.

Recommended reading:
What should parents do about adolescent depression? How to help children out of depression?

Teenager Psychological Consultation: What should I do if my 13-year-old daughter is tired of school, addicted to the Internet and anxious?

Adolescent Psychological Consultation: Rebellion or Emotional Disorder?