Teen Depression

Case Study: Teen Depression
Teen depression needs serious attention since it occurs at that phase of life when young adults start to explore life and its adventures. If the starting of their life is negative, then there is a negative impression on their minds for the rest of their lives. This paper explores the symptoms of teen depression and it impacts adolescents in terms of physical and mental health. As expressed in the case, the clinical manifestations of teen depression are obesity, poor physical hygiene, being socially isolated, and having suicidal thoughts. These symptoms are in line with those of adolescent depression that include suicidality, issues in proper functioning in the society, and low physical and mental health (Maughan, Collishaw & Stringaris, 2013).
According to the case, Thomas might have shown initial signs of depression due to his mother's death, moving to another place, and having problems in adjustment, especially in the new school where other students did not accept him wholeheartedly. They started to bully him, which he could not tackle and could not tell his sister about it. He thought he was of no use to the world and should be better off if he died. Teen depression cannot be quickly overcome since it has severe implications that could be life-long. It needs long-term treatment and psychological counseling (Mayo Clinic, 2018). Hence, the above mentioned were all clear indications of prehypertension that also stemmed from his obesity.
As Thomas remained absent from school, his sister was unaware that he was suffering from severe bullying and resulting depression. Nurse interventions could help eliminate the problem as adolescent depression is majorly seen in over two-thirds of school districts (Puskar et al., 2006). Nurses could do health education in schools since counseling is already provided at most schools. School nurses could identify risky behaviors that might lead to hurting oneself and should be stopped before time.
The contact with all the students would allow the nurse to scrutinize his intentions, and assessment of mental health needs would be timely done. The nurse would conduct constant encouragement through mentoring by the nurses and a therapy session. The holistic approach provides a means for screening and valuation through routine tasks. An interdisciplinary team of nurses could be assigned to different schools so that students of all races, such as Thomas, an African American who is known to be one of the highest numbers of victims from this ethnicity, could be given mental healthcare.
For this purpose, diverse programs need to be introduced, and nurses with special diversity training should be allocated. Children like Thomas would be able to connect with those nurses more easily. The comfort and trust level would be high when Thomas knows that either the nurse belongs to the same ethnicity or knows how to tackle diverse children with care. Medications could be prescribed by the nurse and shared with the school administration so that the authorities could discuss the problems and their remedy with the child's guardian.
One indication in Thomas's monologue was that he was apprehensive of the doctor that he did not like Thomas much. If Thomas becomes aware that doctors and nurses are there to help him only and not harm him, as he was depressed and was cynical of other behaviors, he would be more open in sharing his fears and thoughts.
The issue of emotional stability should be taken under consideration for the patient's unique care needs. This would require cognitive-emotional regulation, which involves nine adaptive or maladaptive strategies (Stikkelbroek et al., 2016). The adaptive strategies should be incorporated with more emphasis that encompasses handling the seriousness of event by making comparisons with other events, positive refocusing by thinking about joyful incidents, positive reappraisal by bringing thoughts in mind that would instill positive meaning and growth for a person, acceptance of what had happened and experienced, and contemplating about the steps that should be taken for removing negative thoughts from the mind.
In the first scenario, when Thomas is assessed in the primary care setting, he was in a depressively poor state. He was unhygienic, obese, and needed serious mental care. He had suicidal thoughts since he was of the view that he was of no use to anybody. He was severely affected by his schoolmates' behavior as he did not maintain eye contact, spoke in a soft low voice, cried profusely, and had a lack of energy.
A small survey was conducted to check how he scored on the suicide severity scale to conclude whether he is a threat to himself or the others. A further decision was also based on this survey that whether he should be recommended for a psychiatry institute and its relevant therapies for bringing positive improvements in his behavior. The results showed that he should be admitted to the mental health unit under patient safety precautions. The safety precautions were necessary to be watched for possible suicidal attempts that the survey disclosed he had already thought about and tried.
Suicide affects almost all age groups, but the age group, under its greater effect, is between 10 to 34 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2020). It is the tenth key death-cause in the United States and has caused negative economic impacts. It is not about the individual himself only; it is about the community he is associated with. If Thomas commits suicide, then his sister and her son, who was the only close person to Thomas, would be in shock and depressed. The statistics also showed that nation is affected by the costs of suicides up to $70 billion per year as there are expenses related to loss of work and medical ones.
References
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2020, April 21). Preventing suicide. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/violenceprevention/suicide/fastfact.html
Maughan, B., Collishaw, S. & Stringaris, A. (2013). Depression in childhood and adolescence. Journal of the Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 22(1), 35-40.
Mayo Clinic. (2018, November 16). Teen depression. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/teen-depression/symptoms-causes/syc-20350985
Puskar, K.R., Stark, K.H., Feretman, C.I., Engberg, R.A., & Barton, R.S. (2006). School-based mental health promotion: Nursing intervention for depressive symptoms in rural adolescents. Californian Journal of Health Promotion, 4(4), 13-20. DOI: 10.1901/jaba.2006.4-13
Stikkelbroek, Y., Bodden, D.H.M., Kleinjan, M., Reijnders, M. & van Baar, A.L. (2016). Adolescent depression and negative life events, the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation. PloS One, 13(1), e0192300. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0161062