Teenagers. The people who will visit mars; the people who will cure cancer; the people who will build sentient AI; the people who will become world leaders… The people of the future.

So, why is not enough being done to support them? Why do we treat them like adults, and respond to them like children? Because they’re too young to understand? Too young to know about ‘the real world’?

Well, funnily enough, a study conducted by the Journal of the American Medical association has shown that suicides have risen by 47 per cent in 2017, since 2000 in the USA. And, moreover, an estimated 3 million teenagers experienced a major depressive episode, or MDE, in 2015 in America. That’s 12.5 per cent of the adolescent population… meaning over one in ten teens have experienced symptoms of depression.

But, I’m dismissing the causes. In today’s education system, there is so much demand for teenagers to do well. They are threatened with a bad job, a bad career, a bad life… if they don’t perform well in exams. While some of this is definitely true, and schoolwork is definitely important, the benefits do not justify why the teenagers are pressurized so much.

But…but… teenagers bully each other… that’s a cause too…

Sure, it’s not a lie that bullying is a factor for teenage depression and suicide. But, by peeling back the onion, you question: what causes bullies to bully? Low self-esteem, low confidence, and perhaps even depression themselves. Also, another big factor which contributes to the making of bullies, is divorce in parents. While divorce is nothing people want, and we all make bad decisions that sometimes do not work out in the future, it’s important not to forget the effect this has.

We see people who commit suicide on the news so regularly, feeling sympathy for a minute or two, and moving on with our day. But what if that person was our friend, our relative… or our child. Imagine the sorrow we would feel for the loss, even more so because, when they tried to reach out to us, we just dismissed it and told them to get over it, told them it was just a phase.

Please, take depression victims seriously. Depression is not a joke. Take self-care seriously too. You, yourself, could have it also. Some common symptoms include:

· continuous low mood or sadness

· feeling hopeless and helpless

· having low self-esteem

· feeling tearful

· feeling guilt-ridden

· feeling irritable and intolerant of others

· having no motivation or interest in things

· finding it difficult to make decisions

· not getting any enjoyment out of life

· feeling anxious or worried

· having suicidal thoughts or thoughts of harming yourself.

Here are some suicide helplines:

UK- 116 123.

US- 1–800–784–2433

AU- 13 11 14

COVID-19 is making life harder for many. Check up on your friends and family today. Ask them how they’re doing. You never know what they’re going through.