Is Your Teen or Young Adult Experiencing Depression?
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Do you find your teen or young adult more tearful than usual?
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Are they struggling with self-esteem and self-worth, and it is now concerning?
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Does it seem like the energy, motivation, and drive have gone out of your teen or young adult?
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Have you noticed a shift in grades where they aren't getting the same grades they used to?
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Does your teen or young adult prefer more alone time away from family and maybe even friends they used to hang out with?
In October of 2021, the Children's National Hospital, the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, and the American Academy of Pediatrics declared teen and young adult mental health a "national emergency".
And from 2007 to 2017, teen depression and young adult depression have increased by 59%, according to the Pew Research Center.
Depression in teens and depression in young adults can be so very debilitating. In some instances, teen depression and young adult depression can lead to suicide attempts or completed suicides.
July 1st, 2023, the American Psychological Assocation (APA) wrote an article based on the numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The CDC found that:
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Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death among 10-24 year olds,
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13% of high school girls had attempted suicide,
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30% of high school girls had seriously considered suicide,
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Suicide among high school boys jumped 8% in 2021,
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Among LGBTQ+ teens, that number increased to 20% attempting suicide, and
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45% had seriously considered suicide.
It can be difficult to know if your teen or young adult may be depressed. Teens and young adult report not wanting to tell their parents that they need help with depression for the following reasons:
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They didn't want to add more stress to their parent's lives,
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They didn't want to disappoint their parents, and/or
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They didn't want to their parents to worry.
If you are worried that your teen or young adult may be experiencing depression, contact us today. Our teen therapists and young adult therapists specialize in teen therapy and young adult therapy. We are here to help and support you.
How to Identify the Signs of Depression
While everyone may experience depression differently, there are common signs of depression that are observable. While there are also some signs that may require a discussion with your teen or young adult as they may not be apparent.
Some of the signs that your teen or young adult may be experiencing depression include:
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Frequent crying,
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Feeling overwhelmed or hopeless about life,
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A drop in self-esteem or self-worth,
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Feelings of shame or unworthiness,
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An increase in irritability, anger, or agitation,
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Difficulty concentrating or focusing,
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Poor school attendance,
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Dropping grades,
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Has lost interest in hobbies that they use to like,
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Spending more time alone away from family and possibly friends,
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Drug or alcohol abuse,
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Excessive time on smart devices or video games,
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Sleeping too much or not enough,
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Eating more than usual or not enough,
As a parent it can be difficult to know if these signs are simply a phase they are going through. Afterall, each teenager goes through their own teen phase.
And some teenagers tend to be more dramatic than others. Are these signs just a teen or young adult being dramatic?
As a parent, if you are questioning or in doubt, you can have your teen or young adult meet with a specialist in teen counseling or young adult therapist.
A therapist will meet with your teen or young adult to assess whether it is depression or not, And if it is, they can give you a recommended course of action.
Neurofeedback Can Help with Depression & other Challenges in Teens & Young Adults
Neurofeedback has been an effective therapeutic approach to a wide range of emotional, behavioral, and even some physical challenges since the 1970's. It has recently gained more notoriety in the last several years due to the advancements in technology.
Neurofeedback requires a great deal of computer processing speed. Back in the 1970's, that required banks of computers and specialized software. Today, we can run neurofeedback on a gaming laptop.
Neurofeedback is an effective approach in helping teens and young adult overcome depression. It is one of the most effective, if not the most effective approach we have at Sugar Land Teen & Family Counseling in Sugar Land, TX.
Neurofeedback is helpful for just about any emotional or behavioral challenge that arises from the brain. While there are some things neurofeedback won't be a good fit for, it is the exception and not the rule.
And while neurofeedback may not work for everyone, it is effective in achieving results for many who use neurofeedback to help them overcome depression and other challenges.
Below are some of the emotional and behavioral challenges neurofeedback therapy in Sugar Land, TX can help with:
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Autism spectrum,
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Peak athletic performance,
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Peak academic performance,
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Sleep,
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Migraines,
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Tics, and
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More.
Neurofeedback may be new for you. If you have questions about neurofeedback and would like to learn more, contact us to schedule a 30-minute consultation with our Board Certified neurofeedback therapist, Jason Drake, LCSW-S, BCN.
An Overview of Neurofeedback for Depression in Young Adults & Teenagers
We get asked from time to time if neurofeedback provides any type of direct stimulation TO the brain. The answer is a definite, no.
While there are approaches out there like Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS), neurofeedback is a comfortable, non-invasive, effective therapeutic approach to overcoming emotional or behavioral challenges.
Neurofeedback uses sensors that record the electrical activity of the brain. Much like an EKG that reads the electrical impulses from the heart, neurofeedback uses sensors to record an electroencephalogram, or EEG for the brain.
These electrical signals in the brain are how the brain communicates and performs. The EEG helps the neurofeedback therapist to identify regions of the brain that are over or under performing.
When someone struggles with depression or other challenges, it is often due to this over or under performing in the brain. Neurofeedback helps to regulate the communication in the brain to help down train where it is overperforming and uptrain where it is under performing.
So how does neurofeedback train the brain and help teens and young adults overcome the effects of depression, anxiety, panic attacks, social anxiety, ADHD, trauma, PTSD, autism spectrum, and other challenges?
Neurofeedback & Brain Training
Our brains are always taking in information from the environment. Our brain seeks out patterns and works to figure out those patterns.
In the 1960's and on, scientists discovered that through introducing the brain to specific patterns, we could change the way the brain performs and help people overcome emotional, behavioral, and some physical challenges.
During neurofeedback, the neurofeedback therapist places individual sensors on your head. Or the neurofeedback therapist may use a cap with sensors embedded into the cap to help record the electrical activity of the brain.
Once the therapist identifies which parts of the brain need training to help your teen or young adult overcome depression, the create a training protocol. The vehicle that the training protocol is delivered is through T.V., movies, or a neurofeedback specific video game.
When the brain is performing like we want it to, the client gets to hear and see what is playing on the T.V.
When the brain is not performing like we want it to, the screen fades to black and the sound decreases in volume.
Through this back-and-forth system, the brain is rewarded for performing optimally. And it is not rewarded for performing less than optimally. Over the course of neurofeedback sessions, the brain learns to perform at optimal levels and changes the way it communicates to accommodate this.
How Does the Brain Influence Depression & How Can Neurofeedback for Depression Help?
Our brain is an absolute marvel! We are still leaning more and more about the brain and it's functioning. With over 86 billion neurons in the human brain and over 1,000 trillion synapses, we will be studying the brain for some time to come.
When a teen or young adult is depressed, there are regions of the brain that are often involved in creating that feeling, sensation, and thoughts around depression. When we identify which of these regions is over or under performing, we can then train it to perform without creating depression.
In general, the depression network in the brain includes the following brain regions:
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Dorsal Prefrontal Cortex,
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Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex,
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Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Gyrus,
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Ventral Anterior Cingulate Gyrus,
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Orbitofrontal Cortex, and
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The Insula.
While there may be other regions of the brain involved in teen depression and young adult depression, these are some of the main regions that influence depression.
Neurofeedback trains these regions of the brain to perform at optimal levels. The end result is often moderate to significant gains in overcoming depression.
More Information on the Specifics of Neurofeedback
Here we explore teen depression and young adult depression and an overview of how neurofeedback can be helpful. For a deeper dive into what neurofeedback is and how it works, click on this link.
If you have questions and would like to talk with our neurofeedback therapist, please contact us to schedule a neurofeedback consultation.
Neurofeedback for Young Adults & Teens: Depression Counseling
Sugar Land, TX
Depression is one of the more challenging emotional struggles teens and young adult face today. It can rob them of drive, motivation, energy, hope, self-worth, and create deep feelings of sadness. There are many great therapeutic approaches out there to help your teen or young adult overcome depression. Neurofeedback is one of them.
At Sugar Land Teen & Family Counseling located in Sugar Land, TX, neurofeedback training for depression can help. Our office is conveniently located off of US 90 and Dairy Ashford Road.
We also have our office in Katy. Katy Teen & Family Counseling in located in Katy, TX, where we also specialize in teen, young adult, couples, and family counseling. We are conveniently located off ofI-10 and the 99-feeder road in Katy, TX.
If you are ready to begin neurofeedback for anxiety, all you need to do is follow these 3 simple steps:
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Contact Sugar Land Teen & Family Counseling.
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Speak with our neurofeedback therapist.
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Start neurofeedback to move forward without depression!
Other Services Offered at Sugar Land Teen & Family Counseling Sugar Land, TX
Neurofeedback For:
Neurofeedback for Social Anxiety
Peak performance (optimal academic brain performance)
Peak performance (optimal athletic brain performance)
Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)
Trauma Therapy
Depression Counseling
Therapy for Anxiety
Therapy for Social Anxiety
Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR therapy) For:
Teen trauma treatment
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) For: