What are the warning signs?

A teenager with depression may show some of the following signs:

• no interest or enjoyment in their usual activities
• changed eating patterns with weight gain/loss
• bad sleeping problems
• low energy levels
• poor concentration with schoolwork or other things
• loss of interest in friends
• not wanting to go out
• feeling hopeless or worthless
• being sad or tearful
• being angry or irritable a lot of the time
• feeling to blame for things going wrong
• drug and alcohol use
• not caring about appearance or hygiene
• endless worrying about physical health
• complaining of constant headaches, stomach aches and other pains
• carelessness about physical safety
• behavioural problems
• talking or writing about being better off dead or that life is not worth living – see [suicide risk factors]
• obsession with death and suicide.