If your adolescent is struggling, one of the best things you can do is refer them to a mental health professional such as a psychologist, counsellor, or social worker. Despite their distress, some young people refuse professional help. There are many reasons for this, including the fact that they do not believe a professional can help them, that they would rather deal with their problems alone, or that they are embarrassed to speak to someone they do not know. In this post we are going to discuss how to identify a depressed teenager and how to help a teenager who doesn’t want help.
When Common Teenage Behaviour Turns Into Problematic Teenage Behaviour
Many teenagers go through behavioural changes that can appear strange and unpredictable to parents as they start to assert their independence and find their own identities. Your obedient, sweet child, who once couldn’t stand to be apart from you, now avoids you at all costs and responds to everything you say with a slammed door or a roll of the eyes. Even though it may be difficult for parents to accept, these are just the actions of a typical adolescent.
On the other hand, a troubled teen displays behavioural, emotional, or learning issues that go beyond typical adolescent problems. They might frequently engage in risky behaviours like drinking, using drugs, having sex, being violent, skipping school, inflicting self-harm, shoplifting, or committing other crimes. Or, they might display signs of mental health issues like eating disorders, anxiety, or depression. Parents must know which behaviours are typical for adolescent development and which can indicate more serious issues, even though any negative behaviour repeated repeatedly can be a sign of underlying trouble.
Also Read: THE POWER OF PRANAYAMA BREATHING PRACTICE
How To Help A Teenager Who Doesn’t Want Help – Suggestions for Assisting a Depressed Teen
If you suspect your teen is depressed but they appear uninterested in seeking help or outright refuse it, there are steps you can take to assist them. To persuade your teen to seek help, use gentle but firm methods. These various approaches have all been successful in assisting depressed teens to move forward.
1. Support
Give your teen your undivided attention and encourage them to create a healing support system.
Tell them you’re in this with them and will do whatever it takes to assist and support them for as long as they require it.
Repeat as many times as possible. “I’m worried about you, I want to help you, and I’m here for you.”
Teen depression has been shown in studies to have a negative impact on a child’s physical, family, social, and academic functioning.
Supporting a teen by checking in on a regular basis, inviting them to social events, or simply assisting them with day-to-day tasks can demonstrate that you care.
2. Encouragement
After you’ve expressed your concern, encourage your teen to seek the assistance they require.
Assure your teen that depression is a common medical condition for which they should not be ashamed.
Make a list of the positive qualities you know they have that will aid in their healing.
Recognize that seeking assistance requires courage.
Reward them for any actions they take to overcome their depression.
Unfortunately, studies show that only about one-third of depressed adolescents in the United States seek treatment.
3. Communication
The first step is to talk openly and honestly with your teen.
Discuss in detail the signs and changes you’ve noticed in them that concern you and point to possible depression.
Discuss untreated depression and how it can harm them.
Make a compassionate agreement. For example, tell them that if they agree to an evaluation with a therapist who specialises in teen depression, you will treat them to a hot fudge sundae or another motivating reward.
Make an effort to understand your teen’s distress. Discuss, for example, how, while you don’t know how they’re feeling, they appear unhappy on the outside.
Fear of what family members might think is a significant barrier to treatment for many depressed teens, according to research.
They may be ashamed or afraid that close family members will not understand what they are going through. Communicating openly about depression with a teen is one way to help overcome this fear and stigma.
4. Obtaining Assistance
Assist your teen in locating the appropriate providers for the assistance they require.
Offer to assist them in developing a list of questions to ask a professional about depression, as well as their specific symptoms and circumstances.
Make it clear that they do not have to suffer alone.
Encourage them to consult their physician or a school counsellor.
Takeaway
- A teenager cannot be coerced into seeing a mental health professional. The best thing you can do as a parent is to keep offering your own support, care, and guidance if your adolescent repeatedly rejects it. In this manner, they will know you will be there to assist them if they ever change their minds.
- It’s crucial that a mental health professional and a young person click. It may therefore help a young person feel more engaged in the process and find someone they can really relate to if they are able to use the internet to actively find their own psychologist or counsellor.
- It might be useful to explain to your teen that getting professional help isn’t just for people who are ill if they don’t think they have a problem. Whatever their current state of wellbeing, mental health professionals offer people strategies for coping with life’s challenges.
