Teenagers and Antidepressants

By: Charley Howard

Early childhood trauma, abuse, biopsychological imbalance, inadequacy around grades, broken families, and exposure to illegal substances at a young age are all causes of depression in teens. 20% of teens experience depression before adulthood, of that, only one-third of those are treated, according to discoverymood.com’s article, “Depression Symptoms in Teens: Why Today’s Teens Are More Depressed Than Ever,”

According to Mayoclinic.org’s article, “Depression: Major Depressive Disorder,” Depressive Disorder or clinical depression is a mental illness that “affects how you feel, think and behave and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems.”

Major depressive disorder can be very common amongst high schoolers and teens in college. The disorder can go away by itself, but most of the time, it requires therapy and/or antidepressants.

“I think that antidepressants are a necessary component to treating major depressive disorder in teens,” says therapist Christine Pirlot. “With major depressive disorder, it is not only behaviors but there can also be chemical imbalances; so teens should always look to their doctors.”

When a teen is diagnosed, they may have several symptoms of depressive disorder like chemical imbalances and behavioral changes. The hormone Serotonin is a component in both. Doctors may prescribe an antidepressant which restores serotonin. However, antidepressant use does put adults on edge as suicide is often a concern when children have access to medication.

“An antidepressant overdose often occurs when someone takes antidepressants in large doses, attempts self-harm, or combines them with other drugs and alcohol,” says Recovery.org, in the article “Can You Overdose On Antidepressants?” “Most people fully recover from overdosing on antidepressants but may need treatment for substance abuse and/or mental health disorders.”

Manufacturers of antidepressants have gone to great lengths to create many different factors in the medication that not only is helpful but safe. Most antidepressants are made to be nonfatel due to the high suicide rates of people which consume perscription antidepressants.

            Depression can be a very hard illness to combat, especially as a teen. Doctors prescribe antidepressants to help teens cope and overcome depression. Overall, antidepressants are a tool doctors can use to help teens struggling with mental health.