Carl Clark

Many say that the best stage in life is during the teenage years. Perhaps this is true. But one cannot deny that it is also the stage when your life becomes one big soap opera. You begin to become self-conscious because of changes in puberty. You become part of a groupie and experience the pressure of trying to look good and fit in. You begin to have crushes and believe you are in love. You get genuinely hurt for the silliest reasons such as your crush not liking you back. You begin to have questions about who you really are and what your purpose in this world is. You begin to argue with your parents as you insist on fighting for your right to be independent and decide on certain things. You begin to feel confused. With all the drama involved, it is not so easy to determine if your teenager is just being what a normal teenager should be or if his or her behavior is already an indication of depression.

Teenage life has got to be the most pleasing stage in a persons life. This stage, however, is also the one where emotional feelings are predominant. A normal teenager usually feels the pressure of changes due to peer pressure, love life, identity crisis and simply puberty. Plus, teenage life is also the time when these kids and their parents start to argue because the former wants to feel liberated and independent. With all these, it would be hard to distinguish if the teenager is just having a mood swing or is experiencing depression.