You have noticed your teen seems a little off lately, are you concerned? Is your teen showing signs of being irritable, sleeping a lot, and having trouble with school when they didn’t before? Do you fear that your well-intentional parental instincts be pushing your child away?

In this podcast episode, I talk about 5 tips on how to parent a depressed teen. I also talk about the symptoms you should be looking out for. If you are worried about your teen, act now.

In This Podcast

Summary

• Symptoms of depression
• Things parents might notice in their teenagers
• 5 tips on parenting your depressed teen

Symptoms of depression

Here is a short list of some common symptoms of depression, ranging from mild to severe:
– Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
– Loss of interest or pleasure in activities
– Changes in appetite
– Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
– Loss of energy or an increase in fatigue
– Increase in purposeless physical activity
– Slowed movements and speech
– Feeling worthless or guilty
– Difficulty thinking, concentrating or making difficult decisions
– Thoughts of death or suicide

Things parents might notice in their teenagers

– Irritable or cranky mood, preoccupation with song lyrics that suggest life is meaningless
– Loss of interest in sports or other activities, withdrawal from friends and family, relationship problems
– Failure to gain weight as normally expected
– Excessive late-night TV, having difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep, having trouble getting up in the morning
– Inability to sit still, taking a long time to complete normal tasks, pacing back and forth, and/or excessive repetition of behaviors
– Social withdrawal, napping, withdrawal from usual activities, boredom
– Making critical comments about themselves, having behavior problems at home or school, being overly sensitive to rejection
– Poor performance at school, drop in grades, frequent absences
– Frequent complaints of physical pain (headache, stomachache)
– Writing about death, giving away favorite belongings, making statements like, “You’d be better off without me.”

What I find that is highly common in teenagers is depression during puberty. Depression is one of the most frequent mental health illnesses that most teenagers will experience. (Veronica Cisneros)

5 tips on parenting your depressed teen

1 – Listen to understand

Try to refrain from fixing. I know as a parent we want to find out why they are depressed so we can fix the problem. Do not ask this as they might not know the answer and this may only trigger more feelings of unworthiness. (Veronica Cisneros)

Ask open-ended questions, like, “How are you feeling? What is on your mind at the moment? Tell me more …”

2 – Be open-minded.
Don’t judge or criticize. Don’t minimize their feelings by saying, “This is just a phase”, or tell them to “Snap out of it”. That’s not how this works.

I know it’s hard and you want to fix this problem, but I’m going to tell you right now, this is not a problem you can fix. We may need professional help, especially if your kids are asking for therapy. Give it to them! (Veronica Cisneros)

3 – Learn to control your emotions.
Model emotional maturity and healthy mental wellness behavior. You need to do your own work as well so that your child’s uncertainty doesn’t throw you off course too.
You need to be constant and calm even when they are uncertain because you can extend that support to them too.

4 – Validate their emotions.
You don’t have to agree and do not talk about yourself and compare your experiences to theirs. Help your child identify their feelings.

5 – Schedule an appointment with a therapist.
Give hope, there are people who can help and I will provide a list of people for you.
We can work on reading their bios together to see who is a perfect fit.

Useful links:

• How to Heal from Trauma with Kelly Smyth-Dent | EU 140
• Feelings Wheel 
• FREE Guide Download – 5 Mistakes to Avoid for a Healthy Marriage
• Join The Empowered and Unapologetic Housewives Club
• Empowered and Unapologetic Instagram Page 

Meet Veronica Cisneros

Hello, my name is Veronica Cisneros, I am a licensed marriage and family therapist for over 7 years, a Group Private Practice owner, a Mother of 3, and married for over 20 years. I help housewives transform their marriage, communicate effectively and build confidence. Like you, I also struggled with cutting through the communication barriers. I felt like there was no reason for my husband and me to feel unhappy because we had it all. We just felt disconnected and our conversations were filled with avoidance, kids’ hobbies, and schedules. 

I’ve helped plenty of couples in my private practice who struggled with similar issues. With my proven strategies and step-by-step skills, I’ve helped hundreds of women reignite their marriages. I am known for helping women step outside of their comfort zones, I don’t do bandaids, I only teach life-changing healing methods.

Whether you listen to the podcast, join the free Facebook community, or join our ‘Reconnect with your Husband’ Workshop,  you’re in the right place. Let’s do this together!

Thanks for listening!

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