Let

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Lets Talk About Teen Depression
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Teen Depression

• Approximately 4 out of 100 teenagers get
  seriously depressed each year.
• Everyone gets sad now and then
• Thats not depression

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What is Depression?

• Depression is defined as an illness when the
  feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and despair
  persist and interfere with a persons ability to
  function.
• Teenage girls are at especially high risk, as are
  minority youth.

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Depression

• Most people with depression can be helped with
  treatment. 
• Most depressed people never get the help they
  need.
• When depression isn't treated, it can get worse,
  last longer, and prevent you from getting the
  most out of your life.

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Signs of Depression

• When someone has five or more of these symptoms
  most of the time for 2 weeks or longer, that
  person is probably depressed
• Frequent sadness, tearfulness, crying  
• Hopelessness  
• Social isolation, poor communication 

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Signs of Depression

• Decreased interest in activities
• Inability to enjoy previously favorite
  activities  
• Persistent boredom low energy 
• Alcohol and drug abuse
• Self-Injury
•  

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Signs of Depression

• Poor concentration   
• A major change in eating and/or sleeping
  patterns  
• Talk of or efforts to run away from home  
• Thoughts or expressions of suicide or
  self-destructive behavior  

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Signs of Depression

• Low self esteem and guilt  
• Extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure   
• Increased irritability, anger, or hostility
• Difficulty with relationships  
• Frequent complaints of physical illnesses, such
  as headaches and stomachaches  

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WHEN YOU'RE DEPRESSED..

• You feel sad or cry a lot and it doesn't go
  away. 
• You feel guilty for no real reason you feel like
  you're no good you've lost your confidence. 
• Life seems meaningless or like nothing good is
  ever going to happen again.

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WHEN YOU'RE DEPRESSED..

• You have a negative attitude a lot of the time,
  or it seems like you have no feelings.
• You don't feel like doing a lot of the things you
  used to like-- like music, sports, being with
  friends, going out-- and you want to be left
  alone most of the time. 

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WHEN YOU'RE DEPRESSED..

• It's hard to make up your mind. You forget lots
  of things, and it's hard to concentrate.
• You get irritated often. Little things make you
  lose your temper you overreact.

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WHEN YOU'RE DEPRESSED..

• Your sleep pattern changes you start sleeping a
  lot more or you have trouble falling asleep at
  night. Or you wake up really early most mornings
  and can't get back to sleep.
• Your eating habits change you've lost your
  appetite or you eat a lot more.

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WHEN YOU'RE DEPRESSED..

• You feel restless and tired most of the time. 
• You think about death, or feel like you're dying,
  or have thoughts about committing suicide

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Why do people get depressed?

• There is no single cause for depression. Factors
  include
• genetics
• environment
• medical conditions
• life events
• certain thinking patterns that affect a person's
  reaction to events.

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Brain's response to stressful events

• Death of someone close to you
• Relationship problems
• Low self esteem
• Poverty
• Homelessness
• Substance abuse

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What Happens in the Brain

• chemicals neurotransmitters assist in
  transmitting messages between nerve cells in the
  brain.
• Certain neurotransmitters regulate mood.
• When they are not available in sufficient
  quantities, the result can be depression.

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Types of Depression

• Major depression short lasting and severe
• Dysthymia - longer-lasting but less severe
• Adjustment disorder with depressed mood
  (depressive reaction to a specific life event)

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Types of Depression

• Bipolar disorder (also sometimes called manic
  depressive illness) involves periods of major
  depression mixed with periods of mania.
• Mania is the term for abnormally high mood and
  extreme bursts of unusual activity or energy.

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Treatment for Depression

• Having depression doesn't mean that a person is
  weak, or a failure, or isn't really trying... it
  means they need TREATMENT.
• Most people with depression can be helped with
  COUNSELING, provided by a professional
  psychologist

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COUNSELING

• Means talking about feelings with a trained
  psychologist who can help you change the
  relationships, thoughts, or behaviors that are
  causing the depression
• When you're depressed, you're in a rut, and you
  can't see anything good.

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MEDICINE

• Used to treat depression that is severe or
  disabling.
• Antidepressant medications are not "uppers" and
  are not addictive.
• Medication might be necessary, in addition to
  counseling.
• Most often, counseling alone is sufficient.

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  YOU ARE NOT ALONE!

• With treatment, most depressed people start to
  feel better in just a few weeks.
• There's help out there

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Myths about depression

• MYTH It's normal for teenagers to be moody
  Teens don't suffer from "real" depression. 
• FACT Depression is more than just being moody.
  And it can affect people at any age, including
  teenagers

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Myths about depression

• MYTH Telling an adult that a friend might be
  depressed is betraying a trust. If someone wants
  help, he or she will get it.

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Myths about depression

• FACT Depression, which saps energy and
  self-esteem, interferes with a person's ability
  or wish to get help. It is an act of true
  friendship to share your concerns with an adult
  who can help. No matter what you "promised" to
  keep secret, your friend's life is more important
  than a promise.

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Myths About Depression

• MYTH Talking about depression only makes it
  worse. 
• FACT Talking about your feelings to someone who
  can help, like a  psychologist, is the first step
  towards beating depression.

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Myths About Depression

• Talking to a close friend can also provide you
  with the support and encouragement you need
• Talk to your parents or school counselor about
  getting evaluated for depression.

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The Link Between Depression and Suicide

• Majority of suicide attempts and suicide deaths
  happen among teens with depression
• About 1 of all teens attempts suicide and about
  1 of those suicide attempts results in death
  (that means about 1 in 10,000 teens dies from
  suicide)

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The Link Between Depression and Suicide

• For adolescents who have depressive illnesses,
  the rates of suicidal thinking and behavior are
  much higher.
• Most teens who have depression think about
  suicide, and between 15 and 30 of teens with
  serious depression who think about suicide go on
  to make a suicide attempt.

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The Link Depression and Suicide

• It's not hard to see why serious depression and
  suicide are connected.
• Serious depression (with both major depression
  and bipolar illness) involves a long-lasting sad
  mood that doesn't let up

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The Link Depression and Suicide

• Depression also distorts a person's viewpoint
• They focus only on their failures and
  disappointments
• Exaggerate these negative things.
• Depressed thinking can convince someone there is
  nothing to live for.

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The Link Depression and Suicide

• Loss of pleasure in things you once enjoyed.
• Involves thoughts about death
• Negative thoughts about oneself
• A sense of worthlessness

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The Link Depression and Suicide

• A sense of hopelessness
• Low energy
• Noticeable changes in appetite or sleep.

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The Link Depression and Suicide

• The hopelessness can make it seem like there will
  be nothing good in the future

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The Link Depression and Suicide

• Helplessness can make it seem like there's
  nothing you can do to change things for the
  better.
• And the low energy that is part of depression can
  make every problem (even small ones) seem like
  too much to handle.

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What Else Puts Teens at Risk for Suicide?

• Teens with conduct disorder are at higher risk
• Teens with conduct disorder have problems with
  aggression and may be more likely than other
  teens to act in aggressive or impulsive ways to
  hurt themselves when they are depressed or under
  great stress

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What Else Puts Teens at Risk for Suicide?

• Substance abuse problems also put teens at risk
  for suicidal thinking and behavior

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What Else Puts Teens at Risk for Suicide?

• Alcohol and some drugs have depressive effects on
  the brain.
• Misuse of these substances can bring on serious
  depression, especially in teens prone to
  depression because of their biology, family
  history, or other life stressors.

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What Else Puts Teens at Risk for Suicide?

• Alcohol and drugs alter a person's judgement
• Interfere with the ability to assess risk make
  good choices, and think of solutions to problems.

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What Else Puts Teens at Risk for Suicide?

• Many suicide attempts occur when a teen is under
  the influence of alcohol or drugs.
• Teens with substance abuse problems often have
  serious depression or intense life stresses, too,
  further increasing their risk.

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What Else Puts Teens at Risk for Suicide?

• Social, academic, and personal pressures such as
• Physical or sexual abuse
• Witness one parent abusing another at home
• Lots of arguing and conflict at home.
• Violence in their neighborhood

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What Else Puts Teens at Risk for Suicide?

• Parent with a drug or alcohol addiction
• Struggles with concerns about sexuality and
  relationships

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What Else Puts Teens at Risk for Suicide?

• Body image and eating problems
• Learning problems or attention problems that make
  it hard for them to succeed in school
• A recent loss or crisis

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Types of Suicidal Behaviours

• Teen girls attempt suicide far more often (about
  nine times more often) than teen guys
• Guys are about four times more likely to succeed
  when they try to kill themselves.
• Teen guys tend to use more deadly methods, like
  guns or hanging.

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Types of Suicidal Behaviours

• Girls who try to hurt or kill themselves tend to
  use overdoses of medications or cutting.
• More than 60 of teen suicide deaths happen with
  a gun.
• Suicide deaths can and do occur with pills and
  other harmful substances and methods.

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Types of Suicidal Behaviours

• Sometimes a depressed person plans a suicide in
  advance.

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Types of Suicidal Behaviours

• Many times, though, suicide attempts are not
  planned in advance, but happen impulsively, in a
  moment of feeling desperately upset.
• Suicide attempts can occur under conditions like
  the following because some teens - at least for
  the moment - see no other way out

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Types of Suicidal Behaviours

• Situations like
• a breakup,
• a big fight with a parent
• an unintended pregnancy,
• being harmed by abuse or rape
• being outed by someone else
• being victimized in any way can cause a teen to
  feel desperately upset.

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Types of Suicidal Behaviours

• Sometimes teens who feel or act suicidal mean to
  die and sometimes they don't.
• Sometimes a suicide attempt is a way to express
  the deep emotional pain
• Hope that someone will get the message they are
  trying to communicate.

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Types of Suicidal Behaviours

• Teens who attempt suicide as an answer to
  problems tend to try it more than once
• Suicide attempts are highest during middle
  adolescence

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Types of Suicidal Behaviours

• By 17 or 18, the rate of teen suicide attempts
  lowers dramatically
• With maturity, teens learn to tolerate sad or
  upset moods, learn how to get support, develop
  better coping skills to deal with disappointment
  or other difficulties.

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Warning Signs - What to Look For

• Pulling away from friends or family and losing
  desire to go out
• Trouble concentrating or thinking clearly
• Changes in eating or sleeping habits

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Warning Signs - What to Look For

• Major changes in appearance (for example, if a
  normally neat person looks very sloppy - as if
  they're not taking the usual care of themselves )
  
• Talk about feeling hopeless or feeling guilty
• Talk about suicide

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Warning Signs - What to Look For

• Talk about death
• Talk about "going away"
• Self-destructive behavior (drinking alcohol,
  taking drugs, or driving too fast, for example)

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Warning Signs - What to Look For

• No desire to take part in favorite things or
  activities
• Giving away of favorite possessions
• Very happy and cheerful moods after being
  depressed or sad for a long time (this may mean
  that a person has decided to attempt suicide and
  feels relieved to have found a "solution")

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Getting Help

• If you have a friend or classmate who you think
  is considering suicide, get help right away
  rather than waiting to see if he will feel
  better.

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Getting Help

• Even if your friend or classmate swears you to
  secrecy, you must get help as soon as possible -
  your friend's life could depend on it.
• A person who is seriously thinking about suicide
  is depressed - and isn't able to see that suicide
  is never the answer to his problems.

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Getting Help

• Suicide isn't the answer - it's a permanent
  solution to a temporary problem.