How to Explain Your Antidepressant Use to Your Teenager

Explaining to teens why their parents take antidepressants daily requires an entirely different approach than one might take to explain the situation to young children. Teens can do their own research, form their own opinions, and are more susceptible to the influenced opinions of others on such matters. In other words, while a child might take you at your word, a teenager is more likely to criticize and demand a more thorough explanation. Of course, if you've had a teen for longer than five minutes, you were already aware of that. The following is a list of tips to help any adult explain their antidepressant use to a teenager while maintaining dignity and respect during such a potentially difficult conversation.

Tip #1: Explain the complexities of any imbalance. While a child may not be able to comprehend the information surrounding a chemical imbalance, a teen will be able to understand the medical terminology more clearly. Explaining a chemical imbalance to your teen will help him/her see that there is an underlying, medical explanation to your need for daily antidepressant use. Making this clear is an excellent way to help teens understand that the use of such drugs is not based on emotional shortcomings, as is often depicted in the media outlets they frequent. Understanding that a medical issue is present that requires medication for correction, just as any other condition would, can ease a teen's prejudiced views of antidepressant use.

Tip #2: If no chemical imbalance is present, explain the underlying issues surrounding your antidepressant use to your teen thoroughly. It's likely that you've come to understand in your therapy sessions that some factor out of your control contributed to your need for antidepressants. Whether it's an unhealthy relationship with parents, a troubled childhood, or a traumatic experience, don't be afraid to open up to your teen about what played a large role in your current need for antidepressants. Being honest about these issues, rather than trying to protect your teen from them, will help your child understand that the situation is not your fault or a reflection upon you.

Tip #3: Discuss your recovery/coping plan with your teen. Teenagers often have the misconception that parents taking a pill for emotional needs are dependent upon them. If you haven't already formed a plan for coping with any underlying disorder or traumatic experience, talk with your doctor first about what you can do additionally to help ease the problem. Letting your teen know that you want to approach depression or a chemical imbalance from every angle will further help him/her understand that the condition is being taken care of responsibly.

Tip #4: Refrain from blaming an emotional outburst on lack of medication. We all have emotional outbursts from time to time. Blaming anger or sadness on a missed medication in front of your teen may inadvertently give him/her the impression that you are only held together emotionally and mentally by a prescribed pill. While you may understand that that's not true, teens have a tendency to go overboard with their assumptions. Allow yourself rage, anger, sadness, and other natural emotions without the need for a constant excuse.

Tip #5: Don't make light of the situation, but don't play the victim. Parents of teenage children often try to cope with an uncomfortable antidepressant conversation by making light of their own needs or by victimizing themselves. Instead, be honest and calm about the situation. There's no need to make fun of a serious condition for the sake of making someone else feel more at ease, especially as doing so may make your teen feel that joking about the subject is permissible. On the other hand, try not to make yourself out as in desperate need of your child's support. A teen will still need you to be the parent, whether using antidepressants or not, and giving him/her the impression that you are counting on their support may add unnecessary feelings of resentment. Allow your teen to process the information, but try not to burden him/her with the need to "take care" of you unintentionally.

Finally, be sure that your teen understands that, while the situation is of a personal nature, it's ok to talk about it openly and to have questions. While these questions should be asked at the appropriate time and not at, say, a dinner party, it's perfectly acceptable to want to know more. Remain the strong parent, refrain from asking for "help" from a child who is unable to offer it, and stay very matter-of-fact about your use of antidepressants. After that, let your teen go on with his/her life. There's no need to dwell on a subject that may be uncomfortable for you both. If your child has more questions later, rest assured that they will be able to come to you with an open mind and a more understanding heart.