Why are teenage girls more prone to depression?

Mental problems have become increasingly important during COVID times, what are the reasons behind some of the most commonly known mental disorder.

Teenagers are prone to mental highs and lows. Their mental volatility comes with a dose of physical changes and societal problems. To put it simply, teenagers cope with pressure in terms of their schooling and issues with their social lives.

20% of teenagers are reported to be depressed by the age of 14. However, the count is more than that and is rising exponentially. Girls especially are faster to adapt to emotional changes; due to their natural ability to be more perceptive, they are generally overwhelmed by the changes around them, making them more prone to depression than boys.

Childhood traumas, sexual abuse and stress are various reasons for this mental problem to come out. Due to chemical imbalances, the brain ends up causing depression where the emotions and thoughts do not sync up. These emotional mix-ups cause further problems, same for boys and girls.

However, due to the premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PDD) which occurs before a girls mensuration period; these neurotransmitters mix up even further at a much regular rate. Anyhow, the PDD is something girls cope with, the problems come with societal laws.

When a girl is obese or is forced to conform to societal stereotypes, they face more attacks, not coming from family or schooling problems than their own colleagues and classmates. The societal laws work together with a girl's emotional responsiveness to instigate these chemical faults in the brain.

Anyhow, depression is not just limited to girls. Boys face the same challenges confronting constraints on masculinity. Boys are considerably more emotionally vulnerable than girls. They are not as perceptive or adaptive as girls are. They end up shying away from emotions and tend to bottle feelings—all leading to mental stress which collapses like a roof during an earthquake.

However, boys do not get depressed in these cases due to the idea of masculinity; they tend to further press their feelings down, resulting in a volcano of counterintuitive chemicals fighting against each other. These cause breakdowns, and even though depression hits at a later stage, the trauma sets in.

Therefore, boys are more prone to depression and mental issues at a later age.

Now coming to COVID. This time has told a lot of people the value of their emotions and mental stability. People are increasingly becoming more and more aware of their emotions and feelings. People tend to open up more and find comfort in people they absolutely trust.

The pandemic may not always be as bad as we feel on the surface. It has taught us a lot, and it has allowed us to reflect on ourselves.

It is essential to open up and converse about these topics, not bottle them like boys and not face them alone like girls. It is the pandemic's gift, which allows us to learn about mentalities and illnesses to truly find solutions to a problem tainting everyone on this globe.

It is recommended to not just look for psychiatric help but also open up and speak to yourself. The cure for something in your mind is at the end of the day in your mind. Lakhs of rupees spent on mental treatments will not always be the solution, ten minutes alone with yourself, however, can be.