My friend called me after ages some days back. By the sound of her voice, she was definitely not doing well. She begged I accompany her to a counselor she was going to visit. On the way, I could see she was what people normally termed as ‘depressed’. The way she talked about things, she sounded like she desperately needed help. Depression among teenagers is very common these days. The look on the college counselor’s face when you enter his office clearly reflects that. I also had him asking me bluntly if I needed help due to depression I would to wait in a very long list of people.


Talking more about my friend, she was depressed because she couldn’t handle stress in her life. She was being constantly nagged by her parents and most of her possessions were confiscated as exams were approaching. The pressure from teachers and the competition among peers was difficult for her to handle at the same time. Moreover, she was not allowed to go out and see her friends, and her social life was crumbling. Though it sounded like a piece of a very stupid movie to me, this is the reality for most of the teenagers in town today. Many have even ended their lives as a result.


In this so-called fast paced cut-throat world, everybody cannot be expected to achieve. Expectations lead to disappointment and thus pressures pile up. Inability to cope up with this pressure leads to frustration which aggravates to depression. Reasons like being bullied or lack of competence can still be considered a pretty normal reason to be depressed. But here, the reason does not merely limit to failure. There exist the most absurd reasons like, for example, not being invited to a party your friend is attending or not owning the same brand of jeans your sibling did!

Like everything else in the country, depression has been exaggerated. Every fifth teenager undergoes or has undergone depression.  It wouldn’t be surprising if the counselors themselves start suffering from depression. Whatever reasons justify depression, it is a very severe situation. People simply do not get depressed by not being invited to a party. Depression also is an excuse for many not to do things. ‘He’s depressed’, is a good way to get away from things and is also a fashion statement in itself.

 In the context of today’s people, depression is any emotion which is not happy. That is hilarious and totally wrong! It is a well known fact that teenagers today are more into TV, mobile phones, games and what not.  We do not eat a healthy diet anymore with numerous fast food outlets being opened up, and many still survive on practically no food as I see it. Most are sleep deprived, thanks to the low call costs and internet charges at night time. To cut a long story short, we do not maintain a very healthy lifestyle. This is one major reason for various bodily juices not flowing like they should, leading to criss-crossing of emotions, or in other words, depression.

Depression is merely overrated, like making a mountain out of a molehill. Depression among teens is viable but there must be plausible reasons, broken families to name one. It, in its true form, is very dangerous and could lead to psychological disorders as well. The actual proportion of the really affected teens is very less, and they could not be getting the required counselling because of numerous reasons.