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Overcoming Teen Depression And Anxiety: A Guide For Teenagers

Overcoming Teen Depression And Anxiety: A Guide For Teenagers

Want tips and insights for overcoming teen depression and anxiety? Read on for a helpful guide for teenagers.

When you’re dealing with depression and anxiety, you can feel like there is a huge rain cloud hanging over your head. Even things that you used to enjoy become a boring chore. Plus you find that very few things bring joy into your life anymore.

If you’re suffering from these symptoms, you can feel helpless.

Sometimes, you find yourself wanting to stay in bed and neglect your responsibilities.

This can lead to judgment from others – and added pressure.

Note: If you’re new to my work, I’m a bestselling wellness author, research geek on happiness and founder of The Anxiety Cure – a groundbreaking video course with tools to help reduce stress and overwhelm.

Here are 7 helpful steps for overcoming teen depression and anxiety.

Thankfully, there are things that you can do to try to overcome your depression and anxiety.

For example, if you can identify what triggers your worst moments – so you are proactively prepared to deal with these triggers effectively. But that’s just one tactic. Here are 7 helpful steps for reducing teen depression and anxiety.

Step 1. Identify any issues

Sometimes, your depression doesn’t have a cause. In fact, for most people it is simply a result of a chemical imbalance in the brain, that needs to be treated with medication and other types of therapy. However, this isn’t always the case.

Perhaps there are issues that lead to you feeling this way, like bullying at school or the loss of a loved one. Whatever it may be, it’s important to try and identify what you think is the main cause of your issues, and try to rectify it.

Speaking to those around you can help if you want to deal with your triggers effectively. So, tell your parents or teachers that certain things are making you feel worse. They will work with you to create a better environment.

Step 2. Speak to a professional

Identifying the issues, and working on dealing with them on a personal level, is an important part of overcoming teen depression and anxiety.

However, sometimes you just need the help of a mental health specialist, and they could put you on the right path.

Book an appointment. Try to note down how you’ve been feeling a few days before you go in. This will help you to explain your symptoms properly, as it can be hard to remember all of these things if you feel under pressure in the doctor’s office.

It may be a good idea to get in touch with a practice that specializes in teen depression treatment, as they will be more well-equipped to help you with your mental health.

You can also check out The Anxiety Cure – a life changing video course, which is packed with research based tools to help with stress and depression.

Remember: There’s nothing ‘wrong’ with you for seeking out some extra support.

Step 3. Avoid turning to substances

When you’re dealing with an overwhelming feeling of sadness, it can be tempting to turn to drinking or drugs or food addiction to help to either numb yourself, or to feel a brief happiness or euphoria. Of course, it’s natural to seek such a release when you have depression.

However, substance abuse does just that: it provides a release. It will only mask the problems; it won’t get rid of them. In fact, you could find that you come out of the other side of a binge feeling even worse, and alcohol is, of course, merely a depressant that will bring you down further.

As many note, drinking alcohol (and taking drugs) can also put a lot of strain on your relationships with others, which could make your depression worse. You’ll be in a cycle that is difficult to escape, so avoid using substances as a ‘treatment’.

Overcoming Teen Depression And Anxiety: A Guide For TeenagersStep 4. Remember that people love you

When you have issues with your mental health, you can feel like a bit of an outsider.

Perhaps you believe that your depression will make you embarrassing to your family.

Or that they won’t want to spend time with you anymore because something is ‘wrong’ with you.

However, remember this statistic: 300 million people across the globe are said to suffer with depression. And there are probably a lot more than that who haven’t spoken out yet.

Depression is a common problem to face. You shouldn’t feel strange because of it.

Remember: People love you and they want to spend time with you, no matter what your depression would lead you to think.

If you’re committed to overcoming teen depression, you must ignore the negative voices as much as you can. And you must not isolate yourself from the people that care about you the most.

Step 5. Find your passion again

OK, so telling somebody with depression to just go out there and find their passion for life again has never cured anybody before.

However, if you’re going to be able to battle the illness, then you need to try and push yourself to do things that you love again.

Think about the hobbies that you had before, and the things that used to bring you joy. Although going and doing these things won’t be the sole factor that fixes your depression, it will be what you need to do alongside any other treatments that you’re having.

Try to think about why they brought you joy, and how much you enjoyed these things and people.

The ultimate aim of any depression treatment is to make these things fun again. So keep fun and joy in mind as goals to attain. 

Overcoming Teen Depression And Anxiety: A Guide For TeenagersStep 6. Exercise and get out of the house

We’ve all experienced the same feeling when our depression is at its worst. You feel like you really don’t want to leave the house.

Sometimes it’s okay to stay in bed and put on Netflix. But you should resist making this habit a regular thing.

Push yourself. Go for walk around the block. Stop buying things online and visit an actual store.

If you’re really ready to push yourself, then go on a jog – or get on your bike. When you’re being active, you wind up clearing your head. Exercise releases dopamine and serotonin, which are both proven to increase your mood!

Step 7. Look after your body

Depression can have a wide range of effects on your body. Some people want to eat every bit of junk food that they can find, and others will go without meals altogether.

Some people will oversleep. And others will stay awake worrying and stressing about things.

It’s important you put in the time and effort to look after your body – because your body and mind are interconnected.

Eat a healthy, balanced diet.Try to get the right amount of sleep. 

If you’re worried or stressed about things and it’s preventing you from sleeping, then speak to your therapist about it. You can try to find coping mechanisms that work out for you.

Perhaps you’d benefit from writing things down, or learning to meditate, or distracting your mind with a good book.

Step 8. Don’t be afraid to start small

It’s important to remember: Everybody has to start somewhere when it comes to conquering – or simply learning to live with – their depression.

Also keep in mind: The journey doesn’t look the same for everybody.

So be sure to celebrate the small things you do to move forward from depression.

Perhaps you got up and had a shower when you were in a major depressive episode. Or you even just managed to wash your face. It sounds like a tiny thing, but for most of us, it does have significance.

No matter how you cope with your depression, the most important thing is that you’re putting in some effort – no matter how small. Be appreciative of these attempts to feel better – and aware of new glimmers of happiness

Get More Tools for Overcoming Teen Depression

Check out The Anxiety Cure – my groundbreaking video course

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1. Check Out My Book On Enjoying A Well-Lived Life: It’s called "Your To Die For Life: How to Maximize Joy and Minimize Regret Before Your Time Runs Out." Think of it as your life’s manual to cranking up the volume on joy, meaning, and connection. Learn more here.

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