Adolescent identity and depression often times go hand in hand. It's not hard to see why. Adolescence is a time of discovering your identity and to top it all off in today's world you may find yourself one of many teens will little if any positive encouragement from those around you. There's something about adolescence that has many similarities to toddlerhood. A toddler begins to declare her independence. That's why we call it the terrible twos! All of a sudden, that once upon a time usually compliant little baby is taking on a personality of her own. What happened?

It's an adventure into independence and changing of hormones.

Adolescence like toddlerhood marks a new kind of independence from childhood. Often times, as a result, parents may feel rejected and lose confidence in themselves, often even rejecting their child. The teen feels this loss, as do the parents, but this new independence means that the parents are no longer needed to fully care for their child. Feelings of loneliness for the parent also happen and this may rub off on the child causing him to feel that his parents' unhappiness is his fault. The teen then feels guilty and useless. If a young person is not able to express his feelings in a supportive atmosphere, depression can set in (McCoy 11).

Researchers found that there was a "strong association between negative thinking and depression in adolescents" (Garber, Weiss and Shanley, 1993). It makes sense - if you think negatively, you begin to slip into depression.

Another cause of adolescent depression is the many changes that are happening in adolescents' lives physically, emotionally and cognitively. All of these are new experiences to them and often create inner turmoil. They simply do not know how to adjust to these changes. They have no history and past experiences to draw on and so they often feeling alone and left in the dark to cope (McCoy 15).

How do teens deal with their adolescent identity and depression?

Adolescent identity and depression can lead to serious outcomes and one is suicide. Attempts are often the adolescent's way of crying out for help for someone to take notice and help them with their depression (Myers 113). However, many times she does not want to die. She simply wants to be loved, cherished and understood. If an adolescent is accident prone or taking serious risks, this can also be a cry out for help out of depression.

Emptiness sometimes causes teenagers to play different roles seeking fulfillment as they have a lack of confidence and feel that they have no resources to cope because they feel isolated. Some choose to run away from the real question of who she is and instead turns to the comforts of drugs, alcohol, and sexual promiscuity or dating relationships (Myers 120). However, the emptiness continues once the adolescent is sober requiring more drugs and alcohol only causing a downward spiral into utter self-destruction.

So, what's a parent to do?

To lay it on the line - a teen most often suffers with depression and self-esteem when her emotional tank is empty and no parent or guardian is filling it. A teen needs to know they are unique and valuable! But, there is hope when the parent or guardian recognizes their role in investing in the life of the teen! Accept the responsibility and then educate yourself on what this looks like and both you and your teen will be the happier for it.

There is hope! Your teen is worth it!

Merri Ellen Giesbrecht

Notes:

Garber, Judy, Nancy Shanley and Bahr Weiss. "Cognitions, Depressive Symptoms, and Development in Adolescents." Journal of Abnormal Psychology. Vol. 102(1), February 1993: 47-57. PsycARTICLES Database.

McCoy, Kathleen. Coping With Teenage Depression: A Parent's Guide. New York: New American Library, 1982.

Myers, Irma and Arthur Myers. Why You Feel Down-And What You Can Do About It. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1984.

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