Ways to Support Your Teen Through Depression
When your teen is feeling unhappy it can make you feel helpless. You don’t want your teen to suffer but sometimes you just don’t know what to do! Choosing a private counsellor can be expensive and the IWK can have long wait times.
One simple way to start focusing on feeling better is to create a plan of action on exercise, eating habits, sleep, and being social. All of which can affect your teen’s mood. Below is a Mood Enhancing Plan that you can discuss with your teen to help them start to feel better!
Mood Enhancing Plan
#1 Exercise
Is there a physical activity that your teen likes to do? Or maybe just walking around the block once a day? No matter what the activity is, being active has been proven to help people feel better.
- What activity?
- How often per week?
- Will you do this alone or with other people?
#2 Eating Well
What healthy foods could your teen add to their diet? Maybe some baby carrots, cucumber, apples, or strawberries? Eating healthy can make you feel better so start eating those greens!
- What healthy food can you add into your diet?
- How often will you eat this health food?
#3 Sleeping Well
Having good sleeping habits is vital to our mood and growing teens need a lot! Encourage your teenager to go to sleep around the same time each night and to wake up around the same time each morning. Teenagers need around 9 hours of sleep each night!
What time will you try to go to bed?
What time will you wake up?
How will you stick to this habit? (alarm clock, powering off phone before bed, etc.)
#4 Being Socially Active
Connecting with others is so important to help stop depression! Ask you teen if there is a friend(s) that they can hang out with once a week, a club they could join, an extracurricular class, or possibly even start a part time job where they could meet other teens.
How will you be social each week?
Meet Jules Smith
Jules Smith, MEd, RCT, CCC, is a Halifax therapist who supports teens experiencing depression. Using a compassionate, narrative therapy approach, they offer space for teens to explore their emotions, make sense of their experiences, and find new ways to cope with the challenges they’re facing.
