Adolescent Depression

Adolescent depression and substance abuse that contributes to “chronic” adolescent depression could be the results of abuse, neglect, unresolved grief, or low self-esteem. Adolescent depression and how it relates to a teenager’s self-esteem is a broad concept, but basically it has to do with attitudes toward the self: approval versus disapproval, acceptance vs. rejection, and pride versus shame.

The teenager who is suffering from adolescent depression may turn to substance abuse to compensate for his or her unhappiness. Adolescent depression is present in young people who get into trouble as well as those who have troubles they can’t cope with. People think of depressed teenagers as quiet and withdrawn, but the most common symptom of adolescent depression is misbehavior, what professionals call “acting out”.

The instrumental stages that adolescents initiate drug use can be based on two primary incentives: hedonistic and compensatory. Hedonistic use of a mood-altering substance is just that: pleasure- seeking. It can be characterized by experimentation and bingeing. It is substance abuse that typically begins in the social context, but which progresses to private use as well. It is motivated by a simple desire to get high or to remove inhibitions.

The second type of instrumental stage for substance abuse is called “compensatory”, meaning that it is the intentional use of mood-altering chemicals as a means of coping with stress and suppressing uncomfortable emotions that can create adolescent depression. Even adolescents who do not start off using substances as a means of coping with negative emotions eventually discover this use for mind-altering chemicals. What starts out as fun and socially appealing soon evolves as a method of coping; of getting through a bad day, of forgetting an argument with a girlfriend or boyfriend, of relieving boredom or reducing stress. In other words, substance use begins as a form of compensation. Compensatory use is functionally different from hedonistic use, but outwardly the adolescent depression trait may look the same. One sometimes has to look closely to see the emotion that is being dealt with through compensatory use: in certain cases it is painfully obvious. It may be anger or depression, brooding resentment or chronic anxiety. Once substance abuse has subsided, these emotions are quick to emerge, and if unexamined can drive the individual into relapse.

The main concern that should be involved when treating adolescent depression is determining whether or not substance abuse is creating the problematic behavior or if it is the other way around.

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