Depression and Anxiety in Students

Depression and Anxiety: A Rising Issue for Families and Teachers

By Janelle Stear

Thirty students walk into my room and immediately slouch down in their chairs. Some instantly check their phones; some are chatting with others; some are trying to hide in their backpacks. Some are smacking gum, some slurp on heavy caffeine, and some smell of poor hygiene. Some care about their grades, while others could not care less let alone see how it can help with their future.

Seven times a day, these students walk into different teachers’ classrooms. The majority of them dread each class and cannot wait to have the day over. Some just appreciate that they are at school and not at home because school is better. A lot of the students suffer from depression and anxiety: “At some point, anxiety affects 30% of children and adolescents, yet 80% never get help.” Some endure until graduation, some just drop out. Some go untreated and carry their problems with them into adulthood. What can parents and educators do to improve adolescents’ mindsets when it seems so hopeless?

Why is Depression and Anxiety so common in Adolescence? 

Depression and anxiety have been linked to many causes in teenagers, including dropout rates. Psychologist and Physicians often diagnose teenagers with depression by a sudden or increased change in their mood. Anxiety tends to be more related to a child’s learned coping mechanism from fears, as Dr. Roy J. Steingard, from the Child Mind Institute (CMI), explains,  “A teenager who has been anxious since childhood may have a lifestyle built around her anxieties: the activities and environments she chooses and those she rules out, the friends she is comfortable with… That’s why it’s more challenging to treat anxiety the longer a child has lived with it.”

Reasons for Adolescent Depression/Anxiety

Students face pressures from school, families, and communities from high-stakes testing, homework, extra-curricular activities, after school jobs, not to mention pressure to fit in amongst their peers. Smartphone use, including Social Media and Cyber-Bullying has been on the rise for our teens with no end in sight. It is no wonder depression and anxiety are at higher rates than ever before as a San Diego State Study reveals,  “Teens who spend five or more hours online a day were 71 percent more likely than those who spent only one hour a day to have at least one suicide risk factor.”

Common Symptoms for Adolescents

The Anxiety and Depression Association of America reports, “Anxiety disorders affect one in eight children. Research shows that untreated children with anxiety disorders are at higher risk to perform poorly in school, miss out on important social experiences, and engage in substance abuse.” Parents and teachers should work together to identify signals in teenagers by looking for the following symptoms:

1. Withdrawal from interest in activities
2. Loss of appetite
3. Inability to sleep efficiently
4. Seems sad or irritable most of the time
5. Extreme change in appearance, or personality
6. Physical harm (cutting, anorexia, bulimia, suicidal thoughts)

Ridgevue High School Counselor, Connie Benke, believes, “Depression and anxiety can be from actual brain chemistry, but for the most part, they are the result of a belief that doesn’t provide space for resilience, for growth, and for simply working through challenges. I also believe the constant digital input, like an IV drip, has a significant impact on this situation that is still not fully known.”

Girls More Than Boys Experience Depression

Steingard (CMI) reports “by mid-adolescence girls are more than twice as likely to be diagnosed with a mood disorder as boys, with the prevalence at adult levels, 14 to 20 percent.” Since girls mature faster than boys, they are at a higher risk for developing emotional instability, i.e., they have a harder time dealing with acceptance through peer pressure, relationship struggles, and bullying. Therefore, as educators and parents we need to make sure there are positive supports in place for girls and boys.

Idaho-native and auto mechanic Paul Spitz, recalls, “At a young age I was diagnosed with ADHD bipolar with severe depression. The majority of the time, I felt alienated and different… I had low self-esteem and it was difficult to communicate with other individuals about what I was going through and how I felt… I ended up feeling like I had to fit in with the crowd, so I ended up making poor decisions getting myself into trouble with the law and in school.”

Some Parent Interventions 

By being able to identify depression and anxiety in teens, parents and educators will be better able to support them. The first step is recognition. Here are some other suggestions for help:

• Be positive; engage in reciprocal listening and model to them your own problems with suggestions for how you get through them.
• Limit your child’s personal device use/time.
• Work with your child’s school counselor/psychologist to form a treatment/intervention plan while at school. Schools offer 504 plans to provide accommodations for students with severe depression/anxiety.
• Find a Health Care Provider or Treatment: contact your primary physician for a referral.
• Check out National Anxiety Organizations, such as:
  • Anxiety and Depression Association of America
  • Depression and Bipolar Support Alliance
  • Mental Health America
  • National Alliance on Mental Illness
• Contact the “National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) for crisis counseling and mental health referrals. If the situation is potentially life threatening, call 911 or go to a hospital emergency room.
• Visit the National Institute of Mental Health for more information

Teacher Interventions

Districts train teachers to notice and report signs of extreme depression and suicide in students. However, there are some other strategies educators can incorporate into daily lessons to help all students:

1. Incorporate a Mindful Minute at the beginning of each period/day. Studies have shown that Mindfulness in the classroom increases student performance.
2. Develop a positive rapport with the student; provide one-on-one time outside of class for extra support.
3. Adapt lessons by teaching to the child’s strengths/weaknesses (i.e., if they have social anxiety, give them the chance to present a report to you instead of the whole class).
4. Collaborate with student, parents, counselor, psychologists to incorporate individualized strategies for student success.
5. Incorporate strategies for positive behavioral supports (PBIS).
6. Visit childmind.org for more resources.

Remember, every child deserves to have an appropriate and free education. As parents and educators, we must be proactive for all our students, especially those suffering from a mental condition like depression and anxiety.