Teenage is probably the toughest phase of life. On the outside, it may look like a phase of fun and frolic but if one examines it deeply, it is not that easy to lead a life of a teenager. To begin with, the teens face many kind of changes in their body, emotional status their mental make-up due to spurt of hormones in their body. These hormonal twists and turns take some time in settling down in the body. Before settling, they create lot of chaos in a teen’s life. For example, girls begin to experience their menstrual periods during this age. Most of the girls get depressed before or after menstrual cycle due to hormonal interplay. Similarly, boys also get sometimes depressed and sometimes elated due to hormonal fluctuation.
Another reason behind teenage depression is ever increasing pressure on the teens from various facets of life. As a teenager who is conscious about his looks, a boy has to pay attention on body building and looking “cool,” has to do well academically to get recognition from school authorities and parents, has to do something “different” in order to be known as superhero among peer group and simultaneously has to abide by family values for acceptance in the family (which by and large always creates conflicts with other pressure points). Pressure from so many directions confuses and depresses teenagers because they feel directionless and do not know whom should they follow and what should they avoid.
Many teenagers commit suicide because they find themselves incapable of handling so much pressure. It is imperative that we inform our adolescents about all that they want to know, right from sexuality to family values in a non judgmental manner and provide them guidance as and when they need it, without attaching any labels to their actions and opinions.
