Second Opinion:Teenage depression has a very destructive effect on family relationships when lethargy, lack of interest and procrastination are not recognised for what they are - a slowing down in activity that is a common feature of depression.
Parents can believe a teen is burning the candle at both ends and be very impatient with an adolescent's dark moods when they don't understand the intense inner pain that is depression.
We have an expectation that adolescents will be on something of an emotional roller coaster. The pressure of examinations creates stress. Peer pressure creates anxiety and issues about sexual identity and feeling attractive foster insecurities. It's hardly surprising if they are sullen or difficult.
Depression can go unnoticed for long periods when the moodiness and withdrawal are believed to be a normal part of adolescence.
Media coverage about the rising rate of male suicide has raised a justifiable alarm in this country about young men who are at risk. There is less awareness of the hidden epidemic of cutting and eating disorders.
Girls are twice as likely to experience depression as boys. The issue of self-harm is complex, distressing and hidden.
It's very frightening for the teenage girl who finds herself collapsing into tears for no apparent reason. She can't account for why she is experiencing such deep, deep sadness. Her sense of shame for feeling so out of control damages her self-esteem and erodes her confidence.
Young people keep their feelings to themselves for fear of being misunderstood, laughed at or criticised. For the majority of teenagers, drinking to get drunk is almost a rite of passage.
A significant number of young people medicate with alcohol. They drink to ease their emotional pain without realising that it is a depressant.
Alcohol is a drug that gives temporary relief but it actually intensifies the dark mood when taken to excess. It is a depressant that makes them feel worse in the long run.
Studies have reported actual suicide attempts in 6-12 per cent of depressed children and young adults. A girl who takes an overdose of pills or cuts herself and tells someone soon after is not coping with life. It horrifies me that anyone could dismiss such a cry for help with the comment "She's acting like a drama queen."
The National Suicide Research Foundation interviewed nearly 3,000 students aged between 15 and 17 about their mental wellbeing. More than 25 per cent were grappling with anxiety, depression and self-harm.
By the time they reach their mid-teens it is estimated that 10 per cent of children have deliberately harmed themselves in some way.
It's probable that some of the accidental deaths in car or motorcycle accidents are actually disguised suicides. Many young people who go out to get smashed or high on drugs think they are losers and don't recognise that they are depressed.
A young person who is overwhelmed by negative thoughts feels a tremendous sense of personal failure. It's like they are in a black hole that saps their energy, steals their concentration and interferes with their memory.
A parent may have no awareness that a compliant student who appears caring and is very respectful may in the privacy of her bedroom take a pencil sharpener apart and use the blade to cut herself.
The inner torment of a teenager who is struggling with self-loathing and self-criticism is intensified when a parent who doesn't understand the situation predicts examination failure.
Complaints of being lazy and not working add to the conviction that one is a failure and intensifies despair and hopelessness about the future. Living each day with the dread that someone will find out how badly you feel is a nightmare few people understand.
Logic would suggest that an intelligent young person who is worried about feeling depressed would talk to a friend or parent. Many can't bring themselves to do so. The guilt at the thought of hurting, shocking or letting a parent down is overpowering.
Be alert when uncharacteristic changes occur in a teenager's sleeping, eating, socialising and studying patterns at the same time there is serious emotional distress. What a teenager cannot communicate in words will be shown non-verbally in attitude and behaviour.
Carmel Wynne is author of Coaching - The Key to Unlocking Your Potential. She is a life skills and business coach and psychotherapist. www.carmelwynne.org
Muiris Houston is on leave.