"Parents should not be scared of medication. Depression is due to the lack of something in the brain... for example, anemia is caused due to lack of hemoglobin. You need to take iron to get rid of anemia. Same way to get rid of the deficiency in the brain, you need to take medication," says Dr Shetty.

According to him, depression is the fracture of the mind and one would need to take time and medication to recover from it. "The most important thing parents and friends can do is be supportive and attentive," he says.

The other group that can participate actively is the peer group. Most teenagers spend a lot of time with their friends. Therefore, before the parents realise what is happening, it is friends who can quickly pick up on negative behaviour. They can then reach out to either the parents or teachers.

Renu B*, whose 15-year-old committed suicide just before the Class X examinations four years ago, says, "He was with his friends. Then he came home and hanged himself. Sometimes I feel if his friends would have told us that he was disturbed, we would have our son with us today. And then, we feel that maybe we all could have just tried to listen to him more."

Parental and social support ensures that the healing happens quickly and the teenager can then get back to normalcy in a short time.

What you need not do
Don't run to the astrologer if your child is exhibiting unusual behaviour, says Dr Shetty.

"My greatest rivals are not my fellow psychiatrists but astrologers," he laughs, "Doing shanty, kula daivat prayers is not going to help the teenager. Do all this if you must, but also see that your child is undergoing treatment with a psychiatrist or a school/ college counsellor."

Help at your fingertips

Here are a few numbers that offer help to troubled teenagers: