Depression among young people is a growing phenomenon in this century which is very difficult to spot. 
Twenty years ago depression in children was almost unknown. Now the fastest rate of increase in depression is among young people. Again, this backs up the fact that most depression is not caused by chemical imbalances, whether in adolescents, teenagers or adults.
The National Health Service (NHS) says that, according to figures from the Office of National Statistics, 10% of children in Great Britain aged between 5 and 16 have a mental health problem, with 4% of children suffering from an emotional disorder such as anxiety or depression.
The NHS, too, says the problem for parents is that depression in children can be difficult to spot. And the website Clinical-depression.co.uk adds that modern society is seeing changes where basic needs for companionship, healthy goals, responsibility, connection to others and meaning are not automatically met.
Children, adolescents and teens are fed a constant diet of images showing how we are meant to look, sound and be, and told that this is important in life, the website says. Meaning is attached to what they have, or look like, rather than what they do, or achieve.
Depression in adolescents may be difficult to spot because sulkiness, irritability, antisocial behaviour, negativity and withdrawal often go hand in hand with growing up.
Another modern stress factor for adolescents, says the BBC, is cyberbullying which can lead to depression in later life. The BBC quotes psychiatrist Natasha Bijlani, from the Priory Hospital, Roehampton, as saying she expects to see a rise in teens and adults self-harming because of exposure to online and digital abuse.
She says children often fear reporting abuse which can lead to anxiety, depression and stress in adulthood and the NSPCC says children need help ‘as early as possible’.
Bijlani says: “The long-term effects of bullying can be prolonged and pervasive. Much more focus needs to be given on how best to educate young people about the risks of sending compromising images, and communicating with unknown others online.”
Dr Bijlani draws on research that suggests depression and anxiety affect more children than ever before.
Hypnotherapy can help adolescents deal with anxiety, stress and depression by identifying the rood cause of the problem and then using the sub conscious to overcome this.
The National Council for Hypnotherapy (NCH), with 1800 qualified therapists on its directory across the UK, is well placed to help teens or their parents come to grips with depression.
Hypnotherapists look at people as a whole, rather than just treating symptoms, and hypnotherapy for depression works with both the conscious and the subconscious mind in order to achieve the desired results.
Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed one in five 16- to 24-year-olds had symptoms of depression, anxiety or stress.
The Priory Group, which offers mental health services to children and adults, has seen a rise of 12- to 17-year-olds treated for serious depression or anxiety issues, from 178 in 2010 to 262 in 2014.
Peter Wanless from the NSPCC says: “A rising number of children contact ChildLine because they have mental health issues and just as worrying is the lack of executive services to help them. We have known some children who have been abused, bullied or relentlessly harassed to send sexual images of themselves sometimes resort to self-harming and others are having their futures jeopardised by depression.
“If we ignore this problem, we risk leaving a generation on the brink of despair.”
Contact an NCH registered hypnotherapist near you by clicking here and let someone qualified look at the root cause of stress, anxiety and depression. They can address the problem without resorting to medication or drug abuse.
