Finding out your pregnant as a teen can be one of the scariest moments in your life. Many teens find themselves emotional crazy, this can lead to teen depression. Teen depression can be prevented and treated, keep reading for help with teen depression.
Getting pregnant can be a really happy time for many women. However, getting pregnant as a teenager can unexpectedly make all your hopes and dreams seem unreachable. Suddenly that dance you were hoping to go to does not seem as important. Or additional education may not even be a possibility as you struggle to graduate from high school. And how do you tell your parents you are pregnant? Plus what do you do about the baby? These emotionally frustrating problems are only aggravated by the many physical and hormonal changes you can go through being pregnant.
But many women and many teenagers do get depression during pregnancy. Understanding depression is important as then you can take the necessary steps to get treatment and counseling. So how do you tell if your feeling depressed or if your feelings are just a normal part of pregnancy? Here are some signs of depression:
If you feel down for two weeks or more
- If you are not interested in things you used to be interested such as fun activities or schoolwork
- If you feel extremely guilty about getting pregnant
- If you appetite suddenly changes on the extreme, either you do not want to eat, or suddenly you eat and eat and eat
- You cannot sleep
- You have crazy mood swings
- And finally, any thoughts of suicide
These signs can help you determine if you are feeling depressed. Anything that you feel that seems to be on the extreme is not a good emotion. You need to go to your doctor to determine the best ways of treated your depression. Treating teen depression, like treating any disease, can be different due to the fact that you are pregnant and cannot always take the same medications as when you are not pregnant. Getting support is so important however, to help you combat your sad and frustrated feelings. Getting support from other teenagers who are going through the same thing as you are can be a wonderful bonus whether or not you are depressed and can help you get through your teen pregnancy easier.
An additional note: the father of the baby may or may not be involved. Watch for signs that he is depressed as well. Finding out you are going to be a teen father can be an emotional upheaval.
Understand that teenage depression can last after pregnancy. So do not stop treatment after having the baby is the depression seems to continue. You are now in charge of another life. Getting care for both you and the baby is very important. Keeping your emotional, social, and physical well-being healthy is a vital part of taking care of this new life.
Teen Depression Sources
- American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, “When Children Have Children” [online].
- Pregnancy-Info.net, “Depression During Pregnancy” [online].
- Teens Health, “Having a Healthy Pregnancy” [online].
- University of Michigan Depression Center, “Depression in Pregnancy” [online].
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