SALT LAKE CITY (ABC 4 News) – Wednesday, Attorney General Mark Shurtleff announced plans to end his bid for a senate seat in 2010, a decision he said is based on the needs of his teenage daughter who is battling severe depression.
So how can you tell if your teen is grappling with depression? What are the warning signs?
Mental health experts, parents and kids agree the teen years can be tough.
Doctors say hormonal changes, changes in social life, peer pressure, and added school responsibility cause stress.
"Frequently they don't pull it off very well in their own mind,” said Dr. David Tomb, Director of North Valley Mental Health.
Tomb said those feelings can lead to depression.
“Adolescents can become extremely distressed, convinced that they are not going to amount to anything, convinced they have nothing that they are interested in. They can't make friends. They are not getting along with their parents. They are rebelling against everybody,” he said.
Dr. Tomb says a big warning sign is rebellion against their own peer group.
"If they are not able to make friends, if they don't have friendship relationships that are things they rely on, that's a big red flag,” he said.
He said to be on the look out for feelings of worthlessness and guilt, difficulty making decisions, poor concentration and suicidal feelings.
There are also physical symptoms of teen depression: Changes in sleeping habits, feeling agitated, fatigue, being tired all of the time and appetite changes.
Dr. Tomb said if you notice these signs in your teen it is time to get some help, because he said depression can have deadly consequences.
In fact, depression and suicide go hand in hand, and suicide is the third leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of 15 and 24.
"A year doesn't go by when they don't have several suicides among the high school population,” he said.
Dr. Tomb also points out there are genetic and biological causes of depression that require medication, as well as therapy.
Attorney General Mark Shurtleff on Wednesday said his daughter's life hangs in the balance, and the family will have a role in her treatment.
Doctors say family is critical to the recovery process and that often parents and even siblings require counseling as well to help their loved-one through the process.
