A 'Disturbing Development' in Teenage Depression

Half a million more American teenagers experienced a major depressive episode (mde) in the past year compared to 2005, according to the latest national study on depression published in Pediatrics.

In a follow-up article in the same journal, pediatricians Anne L. Glowinski and Giuseppe D’Amelio wrote that the study “sound[ed] an alarm” about a “disturbing development” in adolescent depression and anxiety.

The study evaluated over 350,000 Americans from 2005 to 2014, and determined how many suffered from an mde each year. Psychologists define an mde as “a depressed mood or a loss of interest or pleasure in daily activities consistently for at least a two-week period.” The prevalence of reported mde cases in teens rose from 8.7 percent in 2005 to 11.3 percent in 2014—signifying a 37 percent increase in a teenager’s chance of experiencing an mde.

From these numbers, Glowinski and D’Amelio calculated that roughly 2.8 million adolescents self-report having an mde each year. In 2015, the Department of Health and Human Services estimated this number to be up to 3 million. But as Time described in its recent cover story, “Teen Depression and Anxiety: Why the Kids Are Not Alright,” experts “suspect that these statistics are on the low end of what’s really happening,” since with issues like depression and anxiety, people are “deliberately secretive.”

Those same experts also worry about the lack of treatment for depression. Currently, only around 10 percent of young people with depression are seen by primary-care providers. Many, however, are seeking out other outlets. Researchers studying self-harm among teenagers with depression and anxiety found 1.7 million search results in 2014 for #selfharmmm on social media platform Instagram. In 2015, this number rose to 2.4 million. Many familiar with social media have likely come across the countless pages describing depression and self-harm, which are exhibited primarily by young adults.

Cell phones are the prime vehicle for these social networks, and many school counselors believe these play a major part of the increase in depression. A 2015 cnn special report studied the social media use of more than 200 young teens and found that “there is no firm line between their real and online worlds.” With a cell phone, school problems follow you home, you can be bullied without any physical interaction, and days can go by without a real conversation. As one of our columnists wrote: “These days, if we carry a cell phone or iPod, we are not alone.”

Though psychologists and therapists with hands-on experience point to immediate physical causes of depression, the Trumpet looks at it from a spiritual perspective (read “Defeat Depression—Master Your Mind”). Phone addiction and self-harm are merely the symptoms of a deep void. We wrote in “Finding the Path Out of Depression”:

The best cure for depression—and its companions, stress and anxiety—is to never fall prey to it in the first place. However, if you are already depressed, believe us: There is a way to get out and stay out. Let us help you find the path out of mental gloom, even in this world rushing toward the brink.