Depression In Adolescents: A Literary Analysis

Major depressive disorder is a mood disorder characterized by the DSM-5 of depressed mood and markedly diminished interest or pleasure in nearly all activities occurring nearly every day, for most of the day, as indicated by a subjective self-report or an observational report from others. Also seen in individuals who have depression is significant weight loss, insomnia or hypersomnia, psychomotor agitation, fatigue and loss of energy, feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt, diminished ability to concentrate, and recurrent thoughts of death. Most people who suffer from depression usually experience major depressive episodes in unipolar depression, while some others experience both depressive and manic episodes in bipolar disorder. The …show more content…
The stories of Emma Schumacker and Hart Lipton depict how depression in adolescents tends to go undiagnosed as it is mistaken for typical teenage behavior. From the early age of eleven, Emma began to feel lonely and depressed for most of the day but she assumed that her friends were feeling the same way and that she was just weak for not being able to deal these changes during this critical time in her life. For Emma, she used the ego-defense mechanism of repression to mask these feelings of sadness, loneliness, guilt, and hopelessness until her sophomore year of high school because she was not old enough to comprehend that these sorts of feelings were unhealthy and atypical. Only during her sophomore year when her symptoms escalated to excessive drinking, pot addiction, and visions of herself killing herself by overdosing on Tylenol and slicing her wrists did she finally come to understand that these types of behavior deviated from that of other adolescents, leading her finally seek help. …show more content…
Ellie Zuehlke represented the one in eight mothers who develop postpartum depression when she experienced many of the symptoms of major depressive disorder such as feelings of hopelessness and fear, difficulty sleeping and an overwhelming sense of guilt. However, a key difference with postpartum depression is that the guilt tends to be more towards the lack of an emotional connection mothers feel for their newborn child, and in this case it was Ellie towards her son. Also, the difficulty that people with depression have regarding sleeping is greatly increased with mothers experiencing postpartum depression, as seen in Ellie’s inability to sleep because of her son’s constant demands of his id. Ellie began to experience high levels of anxiety when anticipating having to care for her son as she began to anticipate the negative things that would result such as lack of sleep. Ellie tried to raise her son despite experiencing the effects of postpartum depression, but decided once she experienced intrusive thoughts of harming her child that it was time to seek help. Mothers like Ellie who suffer from postpartum depression most likely are reluctant to receive treatment right away as they are afraid of the stigmas that might become associated with them having this disorder.