Teen depression in Boys

Interestingly, more and more teen boys are succumbing to depression.  What was once thought to be a female only issue, has crossed over into teen boy’s lives as well.  Rates of anxiety disorders and depression are soaring among teen boys. For the first time, depression among males is nearly as prevalent as among females in this group.

During the adolescent years, teen boys are learning to be men.  They get ideas about how to do this through television, movies, books, friends and from older men.  However, when teen boys are fighting depression, they do not feel like confronting it because it doesn’t seem “manly” or sometimes even allowed.  This can make detecting teen depression difficult.

Unlike girls, who often cry or express emotions outwardly, teen boys generally hold their feelings inside.  Their depression may be expressed as anger or outbursts.  Sometimes teen boys detach or cant’ concentrate.  But mostly, they stuff their feelings or ignore them when teen boys are feeling depressed.  Some may not realize they are dealing with depression.  They may just feel weak and attempt to hide the feelings of weakness they are dealing with.

According to rightstep.com, “Boys ignore depression by zoning out in TV or video games. They ignore it by spending hour upon hour in their room listening to music. Rarely will adolescent boys verbalize their struggles. Instead (they adopts a mask to cover the pain (they are) feeling.”

Ellen McGrath, of Psychology Today, reports of teen depression that, “Perhaps the biggest problem with today’s young males is that they often have mild to moderate alexithymia—they are unable to identify their own (and others’) feelings and thus unable to communicate about them. They never learned how from absent or overworked fathers.

However, the ability to communicate feelings is an increasingly important survival skill. It is certainly required for stable interpersonal relationships throughout life—at school, at work, and in the families most expect eventually to create…There is an immediate need to take action. If not, our sons face life-threatening consequences—drug and/or alcohol addiction, self-destructive behavior and accidents, suicide, and violence towards others. Such problems are already rampant.”

Although there is a rise in depression among teen boys, there is much that can be done to solve the problem and help these boys regain confidence and happiness in their lives.