I am in need of some peer review and feedback, It is an 8-10 page research paper and this is my first draft on it. I broke up the paragraphs so it is a lot easier for the eye. Research papers are always so extensive in writing. I could use any kind of pointers to make this a solid research paper.
Rough Draft
Everyone occasionally gets upset or feel sad throughout their life. But these feelings are usually short-lived and pass within a couple of days. Depression is a common but serious illness. In this day in age it is much easier to diagnosis mental illness than it used to be but are we as a society so quick to label something because it is difficult or inconvenient to us. It seems that society has become so lazy that adolescents are trying to clinically diagnosis problems that are not even there.
Many people with a depressive illness never seek treatment. But the majority, even those with the most severe depression, can get better with treatment. Medications, psychotherapies, and other methods can effectively treat people with depression. ("National institute of mental health" Web) So why would we want to even remotely self-diagnosis our problems just because we are feeling a little down or sad that day. Is occasional depression a natural state to an extent, and is the culture too eager to treat this as a disorder?
Social media is the high functioning source adolescences use in order to keep up, to keep in touch and to even to read upon many topics. This generation of teenagers is the first to grow up in the U.S. without ever having seen a world without texting, social media, and other similar forms of online communications. (Liu, Steven "Social Media and Depression" Web) Are we slowly allowing social media to take over so much that it is forming depression within adolescences?
Social media relationships can have a positive effect emotionally, but studies have been conducted linking social networking to depression, social isolation, eliciting feelings of envy, insecurity and poor self-esteem. It is said to be that that social media sites can be positive for people struggling with social anxiety and depression. Perhaps it's best to comprehend how our own personal motives for using social media and to evaluate whether or not our use of them is helping or delaying our sense of connection to others, as well as our overall emotional health.
A lot of what society revolves around is social media and how we use is our own propagative. Social media usage is bound up with how we view and portray ourselves, in other words, it affects our sense of identity. While depression is not only emotional and spiritual, experience working with youth shows that depression often comes with a lowered sense of self-esteem and self-efficacy. (Liu, Steven "Social media and Depression" Web)
When one is clinically diagnosed with depression, it is known to affect many areas of your day to day life. It causes pain for both you and those who are around and care about you. Depression is a common but serious mental illness. Depression can be caused by several factors, including interpersonal relationships. Interpersonal relationships are the relationship between individuals and the reactions and emotions of each individual expressed directly and discreetly to each other. (SAPA, "Social causes of depression" Web)
Even more so, many people with a depressive illness never go out and seek treatment. The majority even those with the most severe depression, can get better with treatment (NIMH "depression" web) This not only effects them but in the long run they will never have a grasp of what a normal lifestyle would be life. They would not be able to understand why it is so important to have healthy interpersonal relationships with others throughout our lives.
What causes society to be so quick to label and diagnosis everything that comes off as different. The important thing should be that all are living healthy and happy lives. What happens to the ones who are so stuck on being occasionally depressed that they cannot live happy and healthy lives? One of the greatest dangers of self-diagnosis in psychological syndromes, is that you may miss a medical disease that masquerades as a psychiatric syndrome. (Pillay, Srini M.D "the dangers of self-diagnosis" web)
A formal diagnosis is often the first step on the road to healing from a physical or a mental illness. Any form of mental illness, recognizing the problem is only the first step; it is then when one wants the help and furthermore going and getting the help. A diagnosis provides a faint feeling of illness with a name, and the right diagnosis can provide someone with a clear roadmap to wellness. (Dual Diagnosis "issues and dangers of self-diagnosis" web)
Most people miss the symptoms of clinical depression therefore never go and get the proper treatment they need and require. Clinical depression is signaled by persistent change in a person's feelings and behavior that are often misunderstood or ignored. Typical changes include sad or empty feelings, slowed behavior, and changes in eating and sleeping patterns. (University of Pittsburgh "clinical depression" web)
Illness interferes with and disrupts one's education, job and family life. No amount of "cheering up" can make it go away, and neither can a toughing it out. No amount of exercise, vitamins, or vacation can make clinical depression disappear. People with clinical depression need to get proper treatment which usually includes medication, psychotherapy, or a combination of both. (University of Pittsburg "clinical depression" web) Typically it is hard to say how or when a person decides to make the decisions on when they want to start taking the treatment seriously.
Adolescence depression in teens may manifest in many different ways than they do in adults. This is due to the variety of different social and developmental challenges facing teens. Peer pressure, sports, changing hormone levels, developing bodies, awkward tendencies, and a host of other factors can convey many ups and downs for the youth. However, these ups and downs can be signs of major depression. Depression is accompanied with higher levels of stress, anxiety, and in the worst possible scenarios, suicide. It can also affect other aspects in a teen's life including personal, work, social, and family life, which can turn into social isolation and lead to other problems.
Trying to find the correlation between how adolescent development can create or even turn into major depression. Approximately one out of five adolescents has a diagnosable mental health disorder, and nearly one third shows symptoms of depression. (HHS "mental health disorders" web) It is an extremely vital time in a child's life when they go through puberty and even more so how they grow and adapt.
Genetics can sometimes play a role in how the child chooses to develop; some things are within control and others are not. Mental illness however is not in anyone's control. Unfortunately, an ongoing stigma regarding mental health disorders inhibits some adolescents and their families from seeking help. Effective treatments for mental health disorders, especially if they begin soon after symptoms appear, can help reduce its impact on an adolescent's life. (HHS "mental health disorders" web)
How any child deals with adolescent pressures can really determine the outcome of physical, emotional and mental illness. Despite everyone's best efforts, teens become depressed. Many factors can contribute to depression. Studies show that some depressed people have too much or too little of certain brain chemicals. (MHA "depression in teens" web)
Many young people feel that life is not fair or that things "never go their way." They feel "stressed out" and confused. To make matters worse, teens are bombarded by conflicting messages from parents, friends and society. Today's teens see more of what life has to offer both good and bad on television, at school, in magazines and on the Internet. They are also forced to learn about the threat of AIDS, even if they are not sexually active or using drugs. (MHA "depression in teens" web)
A big link to depression starts back with stress. Any time in life we are in a great deal of stress, good or bad. Sustained or chronic stress leads to elevated hormones such as cortisol, the "stress hormone," and reduced serotonin and other neurotransmitters in the brain, including dopamine, which has been linked to depression. When these chemical systems are working normally, they regulate biological processes like sleep, appetite, energy, and sex drive, and permit expression of normal moods and emotions. When the stress response fails to shut off and reset after a challenging situation has passed, it can lead to depression. ( WebMD "stress and depression" web)
Life for many young people is a painful tug of war filled with mixed messages and conflicting demands from parents, teachers, coaches, employers, friends and oneself. Growing up and negotiating a path between individuality and dependence on others is a tough business. It creates stress, and it can create serious depression for young people to cope, communicate and solve problems.
Stress is considered by feelings of tension, frustration, worry, sadness and withdrawal that commonly last from a few hours to a few days. Depression is longer lasting and a lot more severe than the symptoms of stress. Depression is characterized by extreme feelings of hopelessness, sadness, isolation, worry, withdrawal and worthlessness that last for two weeks or more. The finding that 9 percent of high school students are severely depressed is important since depression is the most important risk factor for suicide. The Minnesota Study found that 88 percent of the youth who reported making suicide attempts were depressed. Approximately 6 percent of the students reported suicide attempts in the previous six months. (University of Minnesota "Adolescent Stress and Depression" web)
Adolescent depression is common and always a matter for concern, but for some youth it is a marker of a persistent course that includes not only recurring or chronic depression but also a stressful, challenging, and ultimately depression-inducing life context. It is a competitive and pressure filled life as teen and the feeling of having to be constantly available and respond 24/7 on social media can transpire into severe anxiety and major depression. We become as young teens so invested in being cool or fitting in that the pressures of that relate to many mental illness. Even more so, how easily it is to be so confused with what is physically changing within our bodies is how we are confused with what mentally and emotionally is changing. It is hard to watch teens can go from sad and upset for a short amount of time and it travel into being sad and upset for a long period of time. There are many factors being said that contribute to depression, but within adolescences it is critical of how teens accompany the knowledge to understand the difference between occasional depression with major depression. The access to the internet has become so involved within the lives of teens that it might be difficult to understand what is going on when their bodies are constantly changing.
