Is it normal for every teen in the u.k to have depression

To illustrate the other side of the coin, I was diagnosed with depression five years ago. I was bobbing along (albeit not merrily) but surviving and my employer insisted I visit my doctor or be sacked (my sickness levels had been high). My appointment with my doctor lasted just over two minutes in which time I was diagnosed and left with a prescription.

I understand why my employer acted, I understand the pressures my doctor was under, and I partially understand that the way we live our lives aren't conducive to good mental health (and things are getting worse). There is an elephant in the room that we are really not dealing with. We need to change the way we live our lives and increase simplicity.

There are deprived kid everywhere.

To return to your question I think that people tend to abuse of the word depression. For some conditions it would be better to call it sadness or deception.

I *am* a UK teen, and I've yet to meet a single one who thinks depression is "cool".

*Look at a deprived kid in Africa then talk to me about depression. You have it so good here. *

This tells me you know absolutely nothing about life and you are talking out of your ass.

Other people having it worse doesn't invalidate someone's feelings and it's that mentality that prompts people to hide their feelings for fear of being seen as weak.

Personally, I think our society has jumped on a bandwagon of normality. Anything that deviates from the norm MUST be considered a mental illness. We're too quick to turn to drugs and almost no one stops to think "hey, maybe mind-altering chemicals should require a little more than a talk session to get".

Just give them the pill, the quick fix.

Um, not every teen has depression in the UK, actually. Maybe if you stopped being so over the top you'd realise the problem isn't as big as you might think it is.

I was doing fine until i started thinking about all those pill addled limey twerps and starving African kids.

Now i'm depressed.

Depression effects 1 in 5 people in this world. It is a mental illness that should be taken seriously.
Common symptoms of depression are sleep deprivation, suicidal thoughts, thinking there is no point in living, wanting to be alone, losing/gaining appetite, bursts of emotions or a lack there of.
Depression comes in many different forms, effecting many different people. It can be varied in seriousness as well.
There is being depressed, which is when you go through a single period of depression.
Depression/clinical depression is when it comes in waves, and you will probably feel depression again later in life. It usually requires some mental support from others. It can be dull and unseen to people on the outside or very much a rollercoaster for that person dealing with depression.
Severe/chronic depression is when a person is dealing with the effects of depression everyday of their lives. It's a really difficult thing to deal with as an individual. I myself deal with this level of depression.

There are some people who exaggerate depression who are not actually depressed at all. They're just sad and going through a hard time. There are also a lot of people who are actually going through this, and it's very difficult for them. Please respect that difference, okay?

I think that the amount of people who have true depression is way less than people think it is, but that doesn't negate the fact that it is a legitimate mental illness. I'm doing a double major in college hoping to go into art therapy, but I'm not a big proponent of medication.

I do feel there are many people who are helped by it, but I think there are just as many if not more people who are innappropriately perscribed, perscribed the wrong thing, etc. My mother is a fantastic example. Wonderful woman, usually very happy, but she would overthink and overstress and just worry too much in general. Just her own little personality quirk. Doctors are trying to get her on antidepressants. She doesn't need them, her stress is coming from outside factors not from a damn chemical imbalance. Everyone pushes the quick fix these days.

I've been through counseling myself thanks to trauma in my past, partially why I want to go into psych myself and try to help kids because I didn't seek help until way later in life, after things had gotten so bad on their own. I have refused all medications, they tried to put me on antipsychotics. For trauma related anxiety really? No thank you. I just try to keep up with my counseling and have been working through things myself and I feel much better and stronger for not taking the easy way out.

Again, I do feel that it's right for some people, but I think we're severely overusing it and I do see some merit to overcoming things without chemical aid, however for certain people and certain disorders this simply isn't an option.

Maybe it's the weather.

I was exaggerating but the point I was getting at is that a lot of kids in the UK are milking this whole depression thing.