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Healthy ways to Cope with Depression as a Teen

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The voice of depression isn’t kind. Depression tricks the mind into thinking things like there’s something wrong with you, that you can’t do anything right, and that there’s no hope for the future. None of these tricky thoughts are true, but their lack of truth doesn’t mean that depression isn’t incredibly difficult to cope with. 

There is always hope, even if your brain is trying to trick you by telling you otherwise. If you or someone you care about is finding coping with depression difficult, advice and support are available. This article can start the process of learning how to cope with depression, but the best step for well-being and a bright future is talking to a mental health professional.

Teenage boy using healthy ways to cope with depression as a teen

Teen Depression Coping Strategies

The following teen depression coping strategies are all effective ways of getting the symptoms of depression under control. However, it’s important to understand that these are not a replacement for professional mental health support. A trained therapist can help you get to the root of the problem, build awareness, and develop coping strategies that can help you manage depression in the long run.

Talk to Someone You Trust

If you’re wondering how to manage depression as a teenager, one of the best steps you can take for your well-being is to speak to someone you trust. This person could be an adult such as a parent, teacher, school counselor, or mentor. As long as you feel comfortable opening up to them and asking for support, that’s all that matters. Our article “How to Talk to Your Parents About Getting Help for Depression” could help. Talking about depression means that an adult can help you get the professional guidance that you need. 

If you’re not comfortable talking to an adult just yet, perhaps consider sharing what you’re going through with a friend. They may be willing to accompany you when you feel ready to talk to an adult. 

Building a Support System for Depressed Teenagers

If you’re feeling depressed, it can be difficult to make time for friends. Often, tiredness, a lack of motivation, and low self-belief can cause teens to withdraw from their friend groups. However, friends are an important source of support for teens – they can help each other problem-solve, see things from different perspectives, and act as a source of humor and comfort. What’s more, friends can share ideas on how to stay well.1

If you’ve been feeling a little removed from your friend group, consider reaching out to one to two friends you trust most. If the idea of “big” social events feels too much right now, remember that hanging out with friends doesn’t have to be draining. You could suggest small ways to connect, such as watching a movie together or collaborative gameplay. 

If you don’t feel like you’re in a good enough place with friends at the moment to reach out, online social media platforms offer many community groups that may cater to the same interests as you. Plus, these platforms often have support groups for mental health, which could help you see that you’re not alone in your experiences. 

Mindfulness Techniques for Depressed Adolescents

Mindfulness is about paying attention to the “here and now” without judgment. Making mindfulness exercises a part of your daily life has been shown to reduce depression – and may even help prevent it from coming back. This benefit might come down to how mindfulness can help change how our brains work, offsetting depression’s impact on how it functions.2

There’s a wide range of mindfulness exercises that can help with the signs of depression, so it’s a case of doing a bit of research to find ones that work best for you. But if you’d like to try one as soon as possible, the following is a simple mindfulness technique. 

  • Pay attention to your breathing (even 15-20 seconds can be enough). 
  • How does your body feel as you inhale and exhale? 
  • Without judging the sensations in your body, try to describe them. For example, instead of labeling the sensations “bad” or “good,” describe them as “tight,” “warm,” “tingling,” and so on. 

Well done! You’ve just done a mindfulness exercise. Making simple steps like this a part of your life can go a long way toward helping you feel better. You could even try them as part of a form of therapy called Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR).  

The Importance of Sleep for Teens With Depression

Constant tiredness is one of the most common symptoms of depression. This might come down to how teenagers with depression often struggle to fall asleep, or else wake up a lot during the night. However, a lack of sleep and the tiredness it causes can make coping with emotions even more difficult in depression. Creating a sleep routine can help.3,4

A sleep hygiene checklist can help you fall asleep faster, get better quality sleep, and reduce symptoms of depression. The following is an example of a sleep hygiene checklist:

  • Use low-level lighting close to bedtime
  • Avoid screen time, including social media, in the hour before sleep
  • Keep a comfortable bedroom temperature
  • Limit naps during the day or keep them short
  • Avoid stimulants such as caffeine later in the day
  • Keep your bedroom organized
  • Use comfortable bedding 
  • Exercise during the day

Exercise Benefits for Teenage Depression

If depression could be compared to a pressure cooker in which steam builds up before it explodes, exercise is a way to release this pressure from the valve. It often acts as an outlet for frustrations, as well as releases “feel good” chemicals in the brain that often don’t work as they should in depression – helping you naturally feel more hopeful and energized. Plus, exercising can help you sleep better, distract you from negative thoughts and emotions, and even serve as a way to spend time with friends if you exercise with others. 5

While depression can make it difficult to muster up enough energy to exercise, even gentle ways of moving your body can help. You could try yoga, gentle stretching, or taking nature walks if cardio-heavy exercise feels like it requires too much effort for now. 

Diet and Nutrition Tips for Teens With Depression

You’re probably familiar with the saying “You are what you eat.” The phrase is thought to have originated in the 1800s from a French philosopher who wrote “Tell me what you eat and I’ll tell you what you are.” While, clearly, we cannot literally be what we eat, the message behind the phrase highlights how the food we choose to put into our bodies can spark changes in how we feel. In other words, you can help ease your feelings of depression by eating healthily. 

Here are some healthy eating recommendations:

  • Drink enough water: How much water you should drink every day depends on your age, weight, and activity levels. But, as a guideline, teenagers aged between 9-13 years should drink around eight cups a day, and those aged 14-18 should aim for between 8-11 cups. Drink small amounts throughout the day.6
  • Make a colorful plate: A colorful plate suggests plenty of fruit and veg, which are packed with brain-boosting vitamins and minerals. Studies show that five or more portions of fruit and veg a day can reduce symptoms of depression.7
  • Include whole grains and proteins: Whole grains, especially in unprocessed forms, as well as lean proteins such as eggs, can keep your brain and body healthy, as well as balance your mood.8

And, remember, when it comes to healthy eating, it’s quality over quantity, and when it comes to coping with depression, quality matters even more so. 

Limiting Social Media to Improve Teen Mental Health

While social media use can have benefits such as helping a teen feel more connected to others, depression can make teens more sensitive to triggering or upsetting content. Plus, social media can affect self-esteem, impact relationships, and worsen sleep – all issues that can make symptoms of depression worse.9,10

If you’re finding coping with depression hard, it may be a good idea to limit how much you use social media. This doesn’t mean you have to cut it out of your life entirely, but you could aim for quality over quantity. In other words, avoid “doom-scrolling” and consciously spend time online, such as on community groups or connecting with friends. Also, you could consider setting yourself social-media-free times of the day, like when spending time with family or before bed.

Take Care of Yourself

When depressed, it can be difficult to take the time to relax, exercise, do things we enjoy, and eat well. But these things matter most when we’re feeling overwhelmed and depressed. Self-care is the practice of looking after yourself based on what you know about your health and preferences. In other words, self-care works best for your mental health when you make it meaningful to you. 

Aside from eating a healthy diet, exercising, and sleeping well, it’s important to factor in elements of self-care that make you feel like the best version of yourself. 

Think about what self-care means to you. What makes you feel:

  • Relaxed?
  • Happy?
  • Supported? 
  • Balanced?
  • Rested?
  • Healthy? 
  • Joyful? 
  • Energized? 

The answers to these questions hold the key to what self-care actions you could include in your life to help you cope with depression. They could involve spending more time with family, watching a favorite TV series that makes you feel comforted, being creative, or taking a walk. If it makes you feel good, it’s important to make it a regular part of your life. 

Teenage boy struggling without ways to cope with depression as a teen

Treatment Options for Depression in Teenagers

If depression is affecting your happiness and ability to cope with daily challenges, there is a range of professional support and advice available to you. Depression is treatable and getting help is the best thing you could do for your present and future mental health. 

Treatment for depression may depend on the type of depression you have or the severity of your symptoms. A mental health professional can talk you through the best options for your needs, including:

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT can help teens with depression to identify and understand their negative thoughts. It can also target how to challenge these thoughts, build effective ways of coping with them, and transition these skills into the world outside of therapy.

Interpersonal Therapy

Sometimes, problems in relationships can contribute to feelings of depression. Interpersonal therapy helps teens and families work through these issues and figure out how to manage conflict for better mental health. 

 

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

Previous experiences, such as trauma, can be a cause of depression. EMDR can help a teen process these experiences in a safe, supportive environment – changing how trauma is stored in the brain. EMDR can also help a teen build positive self-beliefs and cope better with challenges. 

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

TMS can be effective in treating treatment-resistant depression. It’s a non-invasive treatment that uses magnetic fields to activate nerve cells in targeted areas of the brain – improving outlook and mood. 

Each of these therapies can be offered as a part of a residential mental health treatment program or outpatient program, depending on a teen’s needs. Group therapy is also an excellent option for seeing that other people understand what you’re going through and gaining knowledge of how to cope with depression. 

Also, a doctor may talk to a teen about the option of medication, such as antidepressants. While antidepressants often have an important place in the treatment of depression, their use needs to be carefully monitored – and they’re most effective when combined with therapy.

Friends using ways to cope with depression as a teen

When to Seek Help for How to Manage Depression as a Teenager

Coping with depression can be difficult to do on your own, but the good news is that you don’t have to. Talking about depression is a sign of strength and is one of the best ways of coping with its effects. Depression can make you feel isolated and like no one could understand what you’re going through, when, in reality, there are many people well-placed to understand and support you. 

Mission Prep can help. Our team of trained mental health professionals offers depression treatment for teens which helps them learn lifelong ways of coping with depression. Nothing can be changed until it’s faced, and with our support, teenagers can understand and cope with depression in ways that help them see a bright and promising future. Contact us today for support and advice.  

References

  1. Ozbay, F., Johnson, D. C., Dimoulas, E., CA Morgan, I., Charney, D., & Southwick, S. (2007). Social Support and Resilience to Stress: From Neurobiology to Clinical Practice. Psychiatry (Edgmont), 4(5), 35. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC2921311/
  2. Kuyken, W., Warren, F. C., Taylor, R. S., Whalley, B., Crane, C., Bondolfi, G., Hayes, R., Huijbers, H. C., Williams, J. M. G., Byng, R., Dalgleish, T., Kessler, D., Lewis, G., Speckens, A., Teasdale, M., & Segal, Z. (2016). Efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in prevention of depressive relapse: An individual patient data meta-analysis from randomized trials. JAMA Psychiatry, 73(6), 565–574. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2016.0076
  3. Sleep Foundation. (n.d.). Depression and sleep. Sleep Foundation. Retrieved [date], from https://www.sleepfoundation.org/mental-health/depression-and-sleep
  4. Clarke, G., & Harvey, A. G. (2012). The Complex Role of Sleep in Adolescent Depression. Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 21(2), 385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chc.2012.01.006
  5. Guo, Z., & Zhang, Y. (2022). Study on the Interactive Factors between Physical Exercise and Mental Health Promotion of Teenagers. Journal of Healthcare Engineering, 2022, 4750133. https://doi.org/10.1155/2022/4750133
  6. Good Food Is Good Medicine. (2022, July 21). Why it’s important for you to drink water and stay hydrated. UC Davis Health. https://health.ucdavis.edu/blog/good-food/why-its-important-for-you-to-drink-water-and-stay-hydrated/2022/07
  7. Arfirsta Dharmayani, P. N., Mishra, G. D., & Mihrshahi, S. (2022). Fruit and vegetable consumption and depression symptoms in young women: Results from 1973 to 1978 cohort of the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health. European Journal of Nutrition, 61(8), 4167. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00394-022-02926-8
  8. Tello, M. (2020, January 29). Diet and depression. Harvard Health Publishing. https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/diet-and-depression-2018022213309
  9. Berry, N., Emsley, R., Lobban, F., & Bucci, S. (2018). Social media and its relationship with mood, self-esteem and paranoia in psychosis. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 138(6), 558-570. https://doi.org/10.1111/acps.12953
  10. Radovic, A., Gmelin, T., Stein, B. D., & Miller, E. (2017). Depressed adolescents’ positive and negative use of social media. Journal of Adolescence, 55, 5-15. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2016.12.002

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