How is Teen Dating and Depression related
Can dating at a very young age increase the chances of Depression? What are the advantages of not dating in your teens?
What can parents do and how can they be there for their growing children?
Inner Dawn Counsellor Kala Balasubramanian’s views featured in Deccan Herald on 12/Sep/19
It is true that more teens are into the dating scene today. Though it may be the trend and teens want to follow trends to feel accepted in their peer groups, the question to ask is, are they mentally and emotionally ready and prepared to deal with the asks of a relationship. Dating would give them a heady high and enhance their esteem, but are teens prepared to deal or cope the other side of dating – rejection, heart breaks, betrayal, trust issues which are all possible negative outcomes of a relationship.
When these issues crop up, they will be emotionally disturbed and it will affect their focus on their studies and other focus areas.
Do teens have the support of their parents? Do they have a safety net to catch them when they fall? If parents consider dating taboo, sexual topics taboo and react badly when the teen opens up about anything that parents consider taboo, how does the teen ask for and get support from parents?
Having an open channel of communication is very crucial between parents and their teens. This cant be emphasized enough. The teen should be able to open up to parents with out any fear of reprisal. They are after all teens and will do things, try things, make mistakes, fail before they learn.
When things are going tough, counselling for the teen or even family counselling can enhance the communication between the parents and their ward and address the conflicts at hand. Children are not to be fixed, they need to be understood, they will fall and learn to get up. Parents can only be there to support them in ways needed.
And when the problems affect the teens emotionally, they are deeply impacted and the lack of support mechanisms compound the problems and could lead to depression and even suicidal tendencies. Reach out to a professional if your child/teen talks of suicide. Do not take it lightly and ignore any signs that indicate of this.