Boston University students may have no trouble heading down to Student Health Services when think they are coming down with the flu, or to get that nasty bruise from broomball checked out, but when it comes to mental health, adolescents are not going to be as eager to seek help. The recommendation by U.S. Preventative Task Force to screen all teenagers for depression during their general pediatric check ups is a welcome change that will save lives.
For too long, society has stigmatized mental health issues as being less important than physical ailments. But mental health is an integral part of overall well-being. Thousands of teenagers are committing suicide in the United States each year, a staggering statistic that isn’t given enough attention. It may seem like an inconvenience to most teenagers to have to fill out a survey at their next appointment, but it might just raise the red flag for a teenager in need.
Of course, a simple questionnaire is not going to definitively say whether or not a patient is depressed. Plenty of teenagers exhibit a symptom or two of depression while still being in good mental health. But there is absolutely no downside to screening all adolescents to see if they show signs of depression. According to the task force, more than two million teenagers are affected by this debilitating mental illness. If even a small fraction of depression cases can be treated as a result of this recommendation, then it will have been worthwhile.Some might argue that this country has become too aggressive in diagnosing teenagers with mental illnesses and subsequently over-prescribing anti-depressants that can sometimes do more harm than good. This recommendation, however, will do nothing to change the diagnostic procedure. It will only ensure that the symptoms of depression will no longer go unnoticed at a teenager’s physical exam. From there, the doctor can work with the patient to make sure that they are getting the help they need.
According to the American Association of Suicidology, ‘untreated depression is the number one risk for suicide among youths.’ If teenagers with depression are unwilling to seek help, then it is the responsibility of the medical community to make sure that depressed adolescents are not slipping through the cracks.
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