different types of depression in teens

Published: 02/21/2025 | Updated: 12/30/2025

Authored by: Jemma Strain, B.S. Psychology

Edited by: Emma Loker, BSc, PgDip

Depression is one of the most common mental health issues in the United States. It can affect anyone, regardless of age, background, education, or culture. But can the types of depression affect a teenager in different ways? In short, yes. But there is one common effect – depression in any form can seriously impact a teen’s life.¹

The feelings of hopelessness and sadness caused by depression can be difficult to manage alone. However, depression in teens can also lead to issues such as relationship problems, trouble focusing at school, and negative thoughts about yourself, others, and the world around you.

The teenage years can feel tough, but you should never feel hopeless. If you or someone you care about is experiencing signs of one of the types of depression, know that you are not alone. Help and support are available to you – regardless of the type of depression you might have.

This article aims to help you better understand the different forms of depression and their treatment, including when to seek help for depression in teenagers.

Key Takeaways

Teen depression can take different forms, including major depressive disorder, persistent depressive disorder, bipolar depression, DMDD, seasonal affective disorder (SAD), atypical depression, and PMDD.
Major depression often lasts 2+ weeks and may look like irritability, withdrawal, sleep/appetite changes, physical complaints, school decline, or self-harm.
Persistent depressive disorder tends to be longer-lasting (often 2+ years) and can steadily affect energy, motivation, and self-esteem.
What is SAD in adolescents? A seasonal pattern of depression (often worse in winter) that may improve as daylight increases.
Treatment is tailored to the type and severity and may include evidence-based therapy (CBT, EMDR, interpersonal therapy) and clinician-guided medication support when appropriate.

Types of Depression in Teenagers

The following are the most common types of depression in teenagers.

Major Depressive Disorder in Teens

Major depressive disorder is the most common form of depression. You may have heard it called “major depression” or “clinical depression,” and it involves symptoms such as a persistent low mood or loss of interest in activities. Major depression lasts for at least two weeks at a time and interferes with daily activities.¹

The signs of major depressive disorder can vary from mild to severe and involve emotional and behavioral symptoms. These include:

Persistent low mood or feeling “sad”
Seeming hopeless or “empty”
Feeling sad, or suddenly getting overwhelmed by tears for no clear reason
Loss of interest in activities or hobbies that were once enjoyed
Irritation, frustration, or anger towards even mild triggers
Emotional “numbness” or not being able to experience their emotions
Low self-esteem
Frequent tiredness or exhaustion (due to trouble sleeping)
Increased time spent sleeping
Talking about being “worthless”
Difficulties in school, such as poor academic performance or regular absences
Regularly experiencing physical ailments such as stomach aches or headaches with no apparent medical cause
Changes in weight due to increased or decreased appetite
Engaging in risky behaviors, such as self-harm
Experiencing thoughts or speaking about death

While some teens with major depression may seem melancholy or “numb,” others may have “anxious distress,” which can lead to tense, restless thoughts and actions. This point highlights how depression in teens can look different from person to person.

Treatment for Major Depressive Disorder in Teens:

Treatment for major depressive disorder in teens usually involves a combination approach of therapy (such as cognitive behavioral therapy) and medication (such as antidepressants).²

We provide more information on therapy and medication options in the section “Therapy Options for Depression in Teens.”

Persistent Depressive Disorder in Teens

Persistent depression, once known as “dysthymia,” is considered to be the second most common form of depression. While its symptoms are similar to those of major depression, they tend to be less severe – but last for much longer. Persistent depression lasts for two years (or longer), is experienced for most of the day, and for more days than not.³

In other words, a teen with persistent depression will have mild or moderate symptoms that don’t go away. These include:

A chronic low or “dark” mood
Tiredness
Over- or under-sleeping
Lack of energy and interest
Difficulties concentrating
Feeling “hopeless”
A lack of self-esteem and self-worth

Treatment for Persistent Depressive Disorder in Teens:

Similar to major depression, treatment for persistent depressive disorder in teens often involves talk therapy or medication – or a combination of both. We discuss treatment options in more detail after the different forms of teen depression.

Bipolar Disorder in Teenagers

Although bipolar disorder is associated with depression, it’s about more than experiencing severe low moods. People with bipolar mood swings also get extreme “highs” in emotions. These low and high moods are much more intense than regular good and bad moods and are called “mania” and “hypomania” – and they can seriously impact a teenager’s life.

Bipolar disorder commonly starts during adolescence. When it begins as early as this, it can have even more long-term impacts on a teen’s life, such as major and persistent depression – highlighting the need for early support.⁴

The symptoms of bipolar disorder in teenagers can vary. Some teens might get more highs than lows, while others may experience the reverse. Plus, some teens with bipolar disorder may have “mixed episodes” in which they experience mania and hypomania at once, potentially creating confusion and even more difficulty coping with emotions.⁴

Having said as much, the common signs of bipolar disorder in teens include:

Extreme highs in mood (mania)
Intense low moods (hypomania)
Depressive symptoms (such as those listed above for major and persistent depressive disorder)

In addition to these symptoms of bipolar disorder in teens, a teen may demonstrate “rapid cycling” – when moods shift between highs and lows in a relatively short space of time. If a teen experiences rapid cycling of moods, they may be at higher risk of long-term complications, so they might require immediate professional intervention.⁵

Treatment for Bipolar Disorder in Teenagers:

As with other forms of depression in teens, treatment for bipolar disorder often involves a combination approach. This means that both talk therapy and medication can help with the management of bipolar disorder – however, the types of medication sometimes differ from those used in other forms of depression.⁶Your doctor will be able to advise you about the best ways to treat bipolar disorder for you. We also discuss talk therapy options below.

Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder in Teens

Disruptive mood dysregulation disorder (DMDD) is a relatively new addition to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). Once commonly misdiagnosed as bipolar disorder, DMDD is now understood to describe a form of depression in which children and teenagers show frequent outbursts of anger and ongoing irritability.⁷

As the signs of DMDD include temper tantrums and outbursts of aggression that are out of proportion to the events at hand, teens with DMDD may also experience issues such as:

Conflict at home
Difficulties with making and maintaining friends
Problems at school, such as school-based anger

Additionally, since these issues are often persistent and ongoing, teens with DMDD who don’t receive timely support may experience mental health issues into adulthood, such as major depression.⁷

Treatment for Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder in Teens:

As with other forms of depression, a combination of talk therapy and medication is often advised for the treatment of DMDD in teens. If you’re concerned that you or someone you know has DMDD, we discuss these options below in the section “Therapy Options for Depression in Teens.”

Seasonal Affective Disorder in Adolescents

Seasonal affective disorder (SAD) is a type of depression that can come and go with changes in seasons. For most teens with SAD, a low mood comes during the winter months when the days are shorter and there’s less sunlight – hence why SAD is sometimes called “winter depression.”

It’s believed that SAD happens because of disruptions to the hormones that regulate the sleep-wake pattern, making it harder for teens to adjust and leading to low mood, sleep problems, and behavior issues.

SAD commonly starts to affect people during childhood and adolescence, but as it tends to be underreported, could be more widespread than many realize.⁸However, for clear reasons, teens who live further away from the equator may be more at risk of developing SAD.

The symptoms of seasonal affective disorder in adolescents include those associated with major depression, such as low mood, irritability, difficulty sleeping, and exhaustion. Yet, these symptoms often go away during the summer months.

Treatment for Seasonal Affective Disorder in Teens:

Talk therapy has proven to be an effective method of treatment for teens with SAD. However, antidepressants, light therapy, and vitamin D have also been shown to help both prevent and treat SAD.⁹A health professional can advise you on the best method of treatment for you.

Atypical Depression in Teens

Atypical depression in teens is when teenagers have depression but show signs that aren’t typically associated with it. Atypical depression doesn’t mean that the condition is “odd” or “abnormal” – just that its symptoms often don’t align with what people expect.

While both atypical depression and major depression involve low mood and loss of interest, people with atypical depression can experience an uplift in mood in response to certain events. For instance, while someone with atypical depression may feel positive and excited about an upcoming party, someone with major depression would feel consistently low. This response in atypical depression is known as “mood reactivity.”¹⁰

Additionally, aside from the common signs of depression, atypical depression includes symptoms such as^11:

Increased appetite (major depression is usually associated with loss of appetite)
Excessive sleep (in contrast to the lack of sleep more commonly associated with major depression)
Heaviness in limbs, which can make movement feel exhausting
Heightened sensitivity to rejection

Treatment for Atypical Depression in Teens:

Treatment for atypical depression is similar to that for major depression in that both talk therapy and medications can help. We discuss these options in more detail below.

Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in Teens

Premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PDD) only affects those who are assigned female at birth and is different from and more severe than the common signs of premenstrual syndrome.

PDD can start around two weeks before the menstrual cycle and involves symptoms of depression, but it usually eases a couple of days after the start of the cycle. The signs of PDD can be similar to those of premenstrual syndrome, but to be diagnosed with PDD, someone needs to show a wide range of symptoms that cause significant distress and impact life in a variety of ways. In other words, people with PDD have a disruption to their emotions, behaviors, and quality of life for around half the month.^12,13

While premenstrual syndrome affects roughly 30% of the population who menstruate, PDD impacts up to 12% of this population. Although PDD is still underresearched, it’s thought that it might be caused by increased sensitivity to imbalanced hormones during the menstrual cycle.¹³

Treatment for Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder in Teens:

PDD is often treated with hormone therapy, antidepressant medication, and lifestyle changes such as to the diet. However, as PDD can impact a teen’s emotional and mental health, talk therapies such as cognitive behavioral therapy are often recommended by health professionals.

Treatment for Different Types of Depression in Teens

Depression, of any form, can have serious impacts on a teenager’s emotional and physical health and quality of life. It can affect how they see themselves and the world around them, as well as their ability to learn and relationships. For these reasons, if you suspect that you or someone you love has a form of depression, it’s important to seek support.

Early diagnosis and treatment can pave the way for an optimistic present and future for a teen with depression. You can start this process by speaking to a health professional for guidance.

Treatment for depression in teens will depend on a number of factors, including their:

Type of depression
Symptoms
Age
General health

Based on this information, a mental health professional may recommend one of the following talk therapies based on the type of depression you or a loved one has.

Therapy Options for Teen Depression

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)

CBT is effective for different types of depression in teens as it can help identify and understand negative thoughts. It can also target how to challenge these thoughts, build healthy ways of coping with them, and transition these skills into the world outside of therapy.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

If previous experiences, such as trauma, are contributing to a teen’s symptoms of depression, EMDR can help them process these in a safe, supportive environment. EMDR changes the way trauma is stored in the brain and helps a teen build more positive self-beliefs and ways of coping with life’s challenges.

Interpersonal Therapy

This form of therapy helps teens understand how problems in relationships can contribute to their feelings – and how to work through these issues. Interpersonal therapy can also help a teen figure out the issues behind behaviors and how to manage these for better mental health.

Each of these therapies can be used to treat different types of teen depression in both residential mental health treatment programs and outpatient programs, depending on a teen’s needs.

In addition to talk therapy, a health professional may recommend a form of medication based on the type of depression you or a loved one has, as well as your symptoms and age. These include:

Antidepressants: Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors (SSRIs) are considered to be the “first-line” medication treatment for depression in teens. If SSRIs don’t prove to be effective, your doctor may talk to you about other antidepressant options.
Mood stabilizers: As there is some evidence to suggest that antidepressants may not be effective for some people with bipolar disorder, a doctor may discuss the option of mood stabilizers.

As is the case for any type of medication, it’s important to follow health professionals’ advice and regularly monitor how medications are used. Your doctor may also require you to make follow-up appointments to check in on your well-being.

When to Seek Help for Types of Depression in Teenagers

Different forms of teen depression can affect life in a variety of serious ways, including impacts on self-beliefs, beliefs about others and the world around them, relationships, and school performance. Without treatment, depression’s effects can last for weeks, months, and even years. Further, depression has been linked with other mental health conditions, which can worsen its effects.

For these reasons, if you or someone you know is experiencing a form of depression, it’s important to seek help as soon as possible. Asking for support is a sign of strength – it takes courage to recognize that you can’t do everything by yourself.

Mission Prep’s team of trained mental health professionals offers comprehensive and individual depression treatment for teens in various locations. We understand that different types of depression in teenagers can have varying effects, so we help by creating a treatment package that caters to each teenager’s specific needs. With time and support, it is possible to cope with depression and plan for a positive future. Contact us today for support and advice.

References

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American Psychiatric Association. (2022). Persistent depressive disorder. In Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed., text rev.). https://www.psychiatry.org/getmedia/fd3dfaad-d409-4e94-8605-0350adec5b91/APA-DSM5TR-PersistentDepressive.pdf
Lewinsohn, P. M., Seeley, J. R., & Klein, D. N. Bipolar disorders during adolescence. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 108, 47-50. https://doi.org/10.1034/j.1600-0447.108.s418.10.x
Coryell, W., Solomon, D., Turvey, C., Keller, M., Leon, A. C., Endicott, J., Schettler, P., Judd, L., & Mueller, T. (2003). The long-term course of rapid-cycling bipolar disorder. Archives of General Psychiatry, 60(9), 914–920. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpsyc.60.9.914
Sachs, G. S., Printz, D. J., Kahn, D. A., Carpenter, D., Docherty, J. P., & The Expert Consensus Panel on Bipolar Disorder. (2000). The Expert Consensus Guideline Series: Medication treatment of bipolar disorder 2000. Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, 61(Suppl 9), 1-49. Retrieved from https://www.researchgate.net/publication/12423030_The_Expert_Consensus_Guideline_Series_Medication_Treatment_of_Bipolar_Disorder_2000
Bruno, A., Celebre, L., Torre, G., Pandolfo, G., Mento, C., Cedro, C., Zoccali, R. A., & Muscatello, M. R. A. (2019). Focus on Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder: A review of the literature. Psychiatry Research, 279, 323-330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psychres.2019.05.043
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Łojko, D., & Rybakowski, J. K. (2017). Atypical depression: current perspectives. Neuropsychiatric Disease and Treatment, 13, 2447–2456. https://doi.org/10.2147/NDT.S147317
American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.
Lanza di Scalea, T., Pearlstein, T., & Rubinow, D. R. (2017). Premenstrual dysphoric disorder. Psychiatric Clinics of North America, 40(2), 201–216.
Hofmeister, S., & Bodden, S. (2016). Premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder. American Family Physician, 94(3), 236–240. Retrieved from https://www.aafp.org/pubs/afp/issues/2016/0801/p236.html

Types of Depression FAQs

How can I tell if my teen’s sadness might be a type of depression?

If mood changes last, feel hard to manage, or start interfering with school, friendships, motivation, sleep, or appetite, it’s worth taking seriously. We also pay attention to irritability, withdrawal, unexplained physical symptoms, and any self-harm behaviors. A mental health professional can evaluate symptoms and help identify what kind of support fits best.

What’s the difference between major depressive disorder and persistent depressive disorder?

Major depression is often more intense and occurs in episodes that last at least a couple of weeks. Persistent depressive disorder tends to be less severe day-to-day, but it lasts much longer—often years—and can quietly wear down energy, concentration, and confidence. Both are treatable, and both deserve care.

Can teen depression show up as anger, irritability, or outbursts?

Yes. Depression in teens doesn’t always look like sadness—some teens experience it as frustration, irritability, emotional numbness, or frequent anger. DMDD can also involve ongoing irritability and repeated outbursts that disrupt home life, friendships, and school functioning. The right treatment can make these symptoms far more manageable.

What treatments help different types of depression in teens?

Treatment is individualized, but many teens benefit from therapy like CBT (to identify and challenge negative thought patterns), EMDR (when trauma is contributing), and interpersonal therapy (to address relationship stressors). Medication may be recommended depending on diagnosis and symptom severity, and it should always be monitored closely by a qualified clinician.

When should we seek help immediately?

If your teen is self-harming, talking about death, or you’re worried about their immediate safety, seek urgent help right away. Even when it isn’t an emergency, getting support sooner rather than later can reduce how long symptoms last and help your teen reconnect with daily life and hope for the future.