<![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression - Jezebel Comments]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression - Jezebel Comments]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I was clinically depressed all through high school, as were most of my friends (males and females). I graduated a year early from high school thinking it would cure my depression, but because all of my friends were in high school still, I was still wrapped up in the drama, so I was still depressed.

Bad times.

Jadoremonchat

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I was too anxious about social stuff in high school, so much so that I decided not to go to my best friend's graduation party at the very last minute. It would have been worse if I'd felt bullied. Now I'm anxious about grade stuff, so much so that I have trouble focusing when I study.

The Hammer is my penis.

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Honestly I think a huge influence in depression has to do with hormones. There is a reason women are twice as likely to be depressed, women get post-partum depression, and mood can be hugely affected by menstrual cycles and birth control. We go through way more shit biologically in addition to environmental stress.

Freshprincess50

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> This article makes me hopeful that young kids will start getting the help they need. My Mum used to laugh at me when I tried (several times) to tell her I had depression. If I had a panic/anxiety attack, I really didn't know what to do, and she was no use to me because she didn't understand and wouldn't try to help.

Years later I'm on medication and have paid thousands in psychologists bills... I could say "guess who got the last laugh!" but I'm not laughing...

eigne

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @R.Skye: Did you read the post about how blogging can be like anti-depressants? And as for your friends, you really cannot expect them to understand. I am assuming they are your age, 13, and are more than likely not going through what you are going through. And if they are, voicing that struggle may be coming across as a joke, such as "Oh, are you emo now?" I suggest going to a school counselor, teacher, nurse, etc., and if they consider it serious enough (and if they don't TELL THEM IT IS. For real. Don't let them sweep this shit under the rug if you're having suicidal thoughts.) they'll send you in the right direction. For me, my disease wasn't treated until a few months ago, and I was put into a mental rehabilitation program. Yeah, not so fun. I cannot stress the importance enough of making sure your doctors preform the right tests on you, or anyone for that matter. They are too fucking willing these days to schill out "miracle drugs" and don't or aren't willing to take a closer look at the patient's medical history or family background. Fuck! It still makes me angry!

raleigh likes swaddling

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @R.Skye: Just know that you can survive anything, and never think that what you're going through is any less trying than what someone else is going through. The knowledge that the legitimacy of my stress/depression was irrelevant kept me from doing anything rash more than once. Keep in mind that even though you're having a hard time at this moment, something great may happen tomorrow.

elizamulcahy

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I shouldn't have clicked on this, probably, and I most definitely shouldn't have read all the comments. I'm thirteen and have been clinically depressed for almost two years. I don't think that any of my friends are depressed, but I would never say that I'm sure they aren't. I am kind of overly sensitive to global and national issues, which makes even watching the news a trying ordeal. I remember seeing a news report on a soldier dying and just breaking down into tears in the kitchen, trying to not let my mum see. I was suicidal for a while, though I never attempted, and still have suicidal thoughts once in a while. I've recently gotten a bit worse because of some issues with my dad (he's now living in Minnesota with his new family). Top all of these things off the regular emotionalness of teenagerhood? It can be a deadly combination. No person, boy or girl, should have to go through this ever. And if they do, they should be able to have a good support system and not be stigmatized as hell. Some of my best friends responded to my telling them of my depression by asking if I was emo now. There isn't anything that can describe the feelings and effects of depression and my thoughts are always with those with depression (any sort) and their families. I thank the universe every day that I have the internet (and my blog) so that I can articulate my feelings on things and not be mocked.

R.Skye

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I just wanted to thank you for the kind words of support. It turns out that he's OK with going to talk to someone, at least for now. Hopefully we can find a way to make him feel better.

emmabovary

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> As someone who has struggled with "depression" since my early teens, I know all the stories. I put depression in quotations because I'm bi-polar. No one has ever diagnosed me as such, which is fucking bull because both of my parents are and both of their parents are/were, etc. The doctors just put me on anti-depressants, which if you're bi-polar is a HUGE mistake. They make your symptoms worse. Far worse. I would eat and eat and eat, without purging. Go home from work, get into bed, and never get out until I had to go to work the next day. This went on for months. And while I was in bed, I would scream. I would hit my head against walls, against my fists, anything to try and relieve whatever it was that was going on inside my head. Add substance abuse on top of it, and boy. I was obviously using the substances to mask and try and cope with my issues, but we all know that when you wake up, that shit is still there. And when people would ask you what was wrong, I could never answer. "Well what do you want? What do you need?" "Nothing." would always be my answer. I know, looking back, how frustrating it must have been. I wanted them to read my mind and do exactly what it was to fix me, but I didn't even know what it was! It was a horrible cycle. Depression, a lot like addiction, is a disease that no one will ever understand. I am both. An addict and bi-polar. I fully understand neither. I learn a little something new everyday, but I don't strive to do it, it just comes. Shit sucks, yo. No matter how you try and slice it.

raleigh likes swaddling

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @ItchykooParker: Nice to see you, too!

For what it's worth, for all my issues with depression and mania as a kid, it was my cousin, a guy, who actualy killed himself, in his late teens. He didn't feel like he could talk to anyone, and his parents were going through a very acrimonious divorce, wherein they were sort of using him as a tool, and he just couldn't take it.

So one day, he drove to a secluded area and shot himself. I don't think his parents have ever actually recovered.

Bitter Poor

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @megnificent:

There's something awful about the phrase "best years of your life."

One semester in college, my meds were making me sick, my classes were impossible, I had more existential angst than I knew what to do with, and in my estimation I was very much failing at life. Every week when I spoke to my grandmother, she would say, "how can you be unhappy? but these are the best years of your life!"

When you can barely get out of bed in the morning, it certainly doesn't help to hear that the ensuing years are going to be even worse... but fighting, and still being alive, even in the shittiest of times, means you're still winning.

Shosha

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @jejune--

Wow. That's almost exactly my story.

Looking back now, I can kind of see that I probably had some minor issues with depression pre-high school, but my first major episode was about two thirds of my freshman year. I didn't even bother mentioning it to my parents--in my house shrinks were something that people got threatened with when they did something my parents really disapproved of--as in, you must be crazy to have done something that awful. High school was awful and while in between episodes I had some good friends and good times, I remember surprisingly little of it considering that it wasn't that long ago. Things only got worse in college--my first year I was numb and exhausted and couldn't make myself face my homework, and fall semester this year I often slept 8 hours a night and took four hour naps during the day. Wellbutrin just made this the best semester of my life. I can't believe I wasted so much time--I've since talked to some family members (not my parents) and this shit runs in the family. Wellbutrin saved my Aunt's life. It drives me crazy thinking how much different things could have been if I'd gotten to this point sooner.

stormia

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Whooooo boy is this close to home.

I first attempted suicide when I was 7. And then again every two years until I was 13, when I moved on to cutting which lasted through high school. (I had given up on being able to die to get out of my shitty life, and decided that I was simply made to suffer. So it wasn't like I was getting better, really.)

Sophomor year of college was the deepest, darkest spot though. The days of gray where if I got out of bed it was a good day. (I think some of elementary and middle school would have been that bad, but my parents wouldn't let me stay in bed. I esacped other ways. In my single dorm though, I could lose hours watching the wall.)

I did some talk therapy through some of it. In general, I'm a very strong person, and with a good therapist I can knock out some coping strategies and generally get back in order fairly quickly. With a bad talk therapist... well... I went to the school's offered therapy during college and scared the crap out of an intern. (I was having panic attacks and night terrors and doing things like chewing through my tongue while I slept and missing classes because I couldn't leave my house. That's why I went to therapy, you see, being insane was interferring with my life, and that was not acceptable.) The first meeting he basically scraped his jaw off the floor - I felt like such a freak. No wonder I shouldn't talk about this stuff!

Now I'm at the point where a couple of meds balance me out mostly, so we're okay, but yeah... the teen years were rough.

TheLadyK

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @roodles: I hate hate HATE when people used depressed instead of just saying upset.

@jejune: Yay for Wellbutrin.

I don't remember much from when I was a kid, but I distinctly remember the first time I thought there was something wrong with me. Normal kids don't cry themselves to sleep three times a week, and don't go into hysterics because the old microwave finally broke and had to be thrown out.

These kinds of studies are desperately needed, and full disclosure! If there IS a history of mental illness in the family, children should know about it. Not just a oh by the way, two of your grandfather's siblings committed suicide. What, you're depressed?

Dauphine

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @LuxieP: Luxie, it's nice to see you here!

I think girls attempt more often, boys succeed more often when it comes to suicide. So very sad.

Things are SLOWLY, SLOWLY improving, I guess, as far as awareness and knowledge about mental health issues go. I hope you've gotten some good help; lame to say better late than never, but better now than never, for sure. I wish you wellness.

ItchykooParker

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> This is sad, for lack of anything better to say. Talk therapy should be encouraged way more than it currently is being suggested.

bria

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I just want to clarify that when I said in my earlier post that I thought hormones were a huge part of teen depression, I didn't mean that ALL teen depression could be explained as such. For example, I definitely think my depression was worsened by severe PMDD, but that wasn't the only factor in play.

layladylan

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I've been having episodes of depression since I was 12, it just happened all of a sudden. It's been two years since, and I'm learning how to get myself out of feeling bad alot of the time. Thankfully it's starting to work, although there's things that will probably never be solved for me to fix alot of the depression.

I'm glad these studies are being made, even though everyone knows that during this age, you'll just have all these emotions hit you at once. But no one takes it seriously, that's sad. And then what happens? Sooner or later we got another Megan Meier-type story.

I think they should also look into how the parents think of their kid's behavier changes and depression, if they even see it as anything more than "oh, silly teenagers!"

TheGarlicSong

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> "two weeks or longer of depressed mood or loss of interest or pleasure, and at least four other symptoms such as problems with sleep, energy, concentration or self-image."

hmm, isn't that what happens to girls everytime they have a break up? Is that seriously considered real depression now? Because I've definitely had these short spurts but never considered it 'depression'.. I considered it 'I broke up with my boyfriend and I'll be alone forever' phases. Seeing it called actual depression almost makes me take people who claim to have depression less seriously... as even though I have experiences intense, life stopping feelings like this it's always been for only a couple weeks and i rebound to my usual happy self. I don't consider myself a sufferer of depression. I think they need to widen the definition...

Neon.Wonder

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> If I recall correctly, suicide statistics from the early 90's showed that it was boys who more frequently would kill themselves. Quite possibly related to the fact that most feel they could never tell anyone about their problems.

I also personally think that women have a somewhat better time dealing with emotional issues because of the cultural expectations we have. I.E., that women are supposed to be emotional, but men are not.

At any rate, as someone who was pretty much bi-polar from birth, I didn't even have the language to express what was wrong with me until I became an adult. Back then, there wasn't really common knowledge of what depression was, even.

Bitter Poor

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @chenier:

...at least get her a "word processor" or perhaps some white out...

Fauxhemian

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> This just confirms my scared-shitlessness about having kids. There is a long and varied history of mental issues on my mother's side (suicide, manic episodes, depression) and my mom's been on assorted SSRI's since I was 15. I was severely depressed in high school-- cutting, crying, bad poetry, convinced that I was completely without hope-- and while it's never gotten that bad again, I am always VERY aware of what it feels like when I start to cycle down. My husband's father's side is a spectacular patchwork of substance abuse and emotional issues as well, and when Mr. Ipomoea was in high school, he checked himself into Fairfax because he was so suicidal. While I was trying Prozac and Zoloft, he was taking lithium and such. There will be NO stigma in our household about depression-- it happens, the kid will be predisposed to it, and we'll roll with it as best we can. We both keep watch on each other for signs of cycling and try to catch it early so we can work on it together. It's not fun, but I'm pretty sure he's the only man in the world who wouldn't have attempted to smother me with a pillow (besides my dad) after dealing with me for seven years, and vice-versa.

Ipomoea

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Yeah I'd be depressed too if I had to use that typewriter.

Typewriter?! What is this...1985? Where the hell did they get that picture?

chenier

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @megnificent: Megnificent, I meant to say to you that I'm glad your mom was there for you, and that I hope you're well now. xo

ItchykooParker

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @emmabovary: Oh, that just broke my heart. Love to both of you.

Khrushchev

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @megnificent: @bigtittycommittee: Thank you so much. I was really surprised just now - when I read your well-wishes tears welled up in my eyes! I guess I didn't realize how welcome some sympathy would be. Thank you.

@emmabovary: Oh darling, it is SO hard, isn't it? You are definitely doing the right thing. Stay there by him, go from person to person to person until you find someone he can trust and clicks with, even a little. You will be glad you did everything you can when you look back. You're on the right road - love him all the time, and go for expert help. I'll pray you find people to help you like we did with my daughter. My son went through some of this stuff too, but not to the degree it sounds like yours is. I totally sympathise. Kisses and hugs to you. Give us updates from time to time if you feel up to it.

ItchykooParker

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Ok, that typewriter in the photo looks like my old Smith Corona which I got for Christmas in the third grade because I wanted to write a novel.

Sorry for the OT, but I got excited.

blackbirdfly

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @jejune: I'm glad you're OK now and if you Jezzies will allow me this rant: When I confessed to some of my (liberal, educated, non-religious) friends in high school that I had been depressed for a while and was on the life saving nugget that some call Prozac, I got an unexpected shitstorm. Because the pharm companies have become anti-corporate types' favorite boogeyman, the pervading attitude among this group (I find) is a kneejerk "throw-out-the-baby with the bathwater" towards anti-depressants.
My dad is a pharm salesman and even he admits that he works for The Man and that unsafe and ineffective drugs are cynically put on the market for the cos to scrape up the initial windfall from the drugs' debut only to have to take it off the market when the FDA discovers that they lied/misrepresent the test results. However, anti-depressants have helped far more people (or done nothing at all) than they have hurt. A huge chunk of the negative press around psychotropic drugs neglect to mention that people often are sloppy about taking the pill everyday, fuck around with the dose, or stop taking it themselves without talking to a doctor which results in heinous side effects if you are on paxil or effexor or xanax.

Another problem is the unfortunate semantic slide of the word "depression" which can mean anything from "my boyfriend broke up with me, I'm depressed" (a temporary and situational sadness) to "I can't get out of bed in the morning, I want to die. I'm depressed" (serious, clinical, chemical depression, a neurotic disorder).

/end rant

roodles

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I was depressed in highschool, but it was the 90's, so no one noticed.

hatepaperdoll

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Ironically, my depression actually began to heal a bit in high school. My worst years were from ages 5 to 11. As important as it is to recognize depression within teens, I think it's also important to note that these things can begin at a much younger age.

HoboQueen

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Sophomore and junior years were the *worst.* I had serious problems, and I knew they were serious, but I really didn't know where to begin asking for help. The depression, I think, stemmed from my panic and anxiety disorders, which started to show around that time (I have a weird, ever-present phobia). My fucked-up relationship with my parents didn't help, either. I remember once hearing about some clinical trial on the radio for adolescents who were depressed, and my mom laughed at me when I asked to participate and said, "That's just being a teenager."

On the one hand, I'm proud of myself for "getting over it" on my own. I've been depressed since then, but *never* to that extent. Now that I have better coping methods for the anxiety, I feel much better.

@emmabovary: *hugs* That's got to be hard. You're absolutely doing the right thing, and I hope he thanks you for it later. I hope things get better for him, and for you.

touchmyshoe

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @cardboardbelt: why boarding school? if anything that would be worse, considering they would be completely out of reach for you.

ineffable.me

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @cardboardbelt: I mean high school is just generally bullshit, and was a relief to be free of it.

cardboardbelt

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @emmabovary:
Oh man. So familiar. I've been on both sides, and I can tell you it's tough. He might need to blame you for a while, but I hope you'll feel better for at least being proactive. Best wishes.

BillyPilgrimisnotmylover

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I'm glad they're shedding light on the fact that it's not just "hormones".

hippiechick

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @KathrynwithaY loves Joan Collins: Really, that's intresting. I've always agreed with Judd Apatow when he said that college is like the reward for surviving high school. There was angst, yes, but not that horrible, toxic high school strain.

Although I was never really miserable in high school, either. It's just bullshit, you know?

cardboardbelt

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> i think male teen depression is just underreported. I read somewhere that black men have the fastest rising suicide rate of any group and it never gets discussed.

roodles

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @ineffable.me: Yeah. When I have kids, I imagine boarding school is going to look mighty tempting around grade 8.

cardboardbelt

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> This is hitting home.
I'm getting ready to take my son to the doctor after school today. I spent last night sitting on the floor and talking to him while he was rolled up in carpet, his muffled voice telling me to give up on him and concentrate my affection on his brother because he's 'stupid'. This has been building up for a couple of months, slipping grades, different group of friends, irritable, sleeping all afternoon, not eating, self-violence.

The hardest part is that he begged me to do nothing for him. Right now he sees this trip to the doctor as a betrayal. *sigh*

emmabovary

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @Khrushchev: Dude, did you miss the whole "boys drink their woes away" study that was posted here yesterday?

SBJ

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @Khrushchev: It's a keeper.

katieb: in charge of the war on the poor.

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @Khrushchev: srsly! I would be much better prepared to kick high school's ass nowadays.

robyns

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Thank you for posting this, Jessica.

Every day I find myself wishing that my depression had been treated sooner -- it started when I was a freshman in high school. My parents don't really believe in therapy and definitely don't believe in antidepressants (as in, believe they don't work/cause more harm than good, not that they don't exist). Long story short, my dad put his foot down about my potential antidepressant prescription and I don't remember any of high school or college because I spent those years mired in untreated atypical depression. Thank god Wellbutrin came into my life eventually.

I definitely feel for any gal (or guy) who was "in a bad mood" for months or slept for 14 hours a day or wrote shitty poetry.

I don't know any teens right now, so I feel pretty impotent about the whole thing. Is there a program or charity that reaches out specifically to kids with mood disorders?

jejune - the giraffe hugger

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @AnnaXC09: Something very similar happened to me, except it was my sophomore year and my family was a LOT dysfunctional. I felt miserable and empty and completely unable to articulate that, shut everyone out, was doing horribly in school, and fought constantly with my parents. I was seriously considering running away. Reading over my comment now, it all sounds very angsty and teenagery, but depression is a serious problem. I definitely think it's tied to all the changes going on in adolescence, so I would imagine it happens to a great many more teens than surveys like this account for.

robyns

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Is it any wonder? Puberty, self-image problems, weight fluctuations, academic pressure, social pressure, unreasonable expectations from peers/family... that the number is that low is astounding.

NefariousNewt

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Not to mention the kids whose depression is not brought on by, but worsened by the pressures of high school.

I was 7 when I had my first battles with depression and suicide. I'm now 22 and still struggling with it. HIgh school didn't present me with anything new, it just intensified everything.

sableized (on the lookout for mawrters)

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @ItchykooParker: awesome story. so glad your daughter's feeling better and that you were able to find a good counselor.

bigtittycommittee

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @katieb: I could have used that rule, AND HOW.

Khrushchev

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @ItchykooParker: Parental involvement is so, so important. I honestly don't know where I'd be today if my mom hadn't forced me into a treatment center when I was 17 and at my lowest. I wish the best for you & your daughter.

megnificent

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> that's it? sheeeit. put any semi-intelligent fourteen year old girl into mind-numblingly boring and idiotic school system, add abercrombie, a few misguided romantic encounters, mix well, and consume accordingly. i was always angsty and forlorn as fuck and my mom scraped together funds to send me to a shrink, who recommended kiddie prozac post-haste. ma dukes snatched me out that office just as quick as you please. today i'm a generally happy, albeit occasionally very stabby, functional human being.

bigtittycommittee

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @KathrynwithaY loves Joan Collins: Tell me about it. I wanted to leave home SO badly.
Now I'm 600 miles away and cannot wait to go back. I totally took high school for granted. I had to be away from home for 7 weeks, and could barely get out of bed the first half of my second semester. My boyfriend was finally like "I don't care how much it costs, I'm visiting you for a week because you can't do this again."

misssgolightly

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @misssgolightly: In my junior year I created the six months rule, If x would still be a concern in 6 (or more) months then it gets my attention. If not: peace out, don't need the drama. It sounds silly, but it was totally revolutionary for me at the time. I still use it sometimes when I find myself getting all ferklempt over something.

katieb: in charge of the war on the poor.

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I have to think that the solution has to do with the circumstances under which most children learn and are socialized. Virtually everything that accompanies life as an adolescent is dictated by some hegemonic structure replete with connotations and stereotypes, often reinforces by institutions presumed to be charged with the successful development of children into adults (you know, schools).

Obviously there's a primary parental role in these matters, but that's less easily analyzed because each individual case is so different. But when it comes to schools, from top to bottom they serve more to socialize children with stereotypes, and have little to offer when it comes to genuine learning. Students are not in any way empowered in their work, nor given any kind of effective adult guidance.

Educational hierarchies play a huge part, in that they are constantly confirming themselves, and that becomes part and parcel of those who participate within them. Most of them have little interest in engaging themselves productively, socially or academically, and why should they? Even though they're young, they understand certain critical concepts that we do - that engaging in activities in which you cannot respect yourself, whether in work or in school, will inevitably lead to serious issues of esteem, image and depression. So in many ways, our failed educational system has conditioned many children to be depressed. Honestly, I'm surprised the number isn't higher.

expatriatedjerseyan

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @layladylan: Me as well, but bipolar. Very obvious manic and depressive episodes all throughout high school that I struggled to verbalize into "PLEASE HELP ME." I just kept cycling and cycling until I finally completely broke down in my 20s. (When I chat with teachers I'm still in touch with, they're like, Ohhhhh . . . now it makes sense why you were bouncing off the walls and talking so fast for a few weeks every so often . . .) And for bipolar in particular, the more it goes ignored and untreated, the worse it can get. I really hope that parents and teachers start paying more attention to signs as opposed to blaming it all on hormones and "normal high school drama."

nuttycakes

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Last year when my daughter was 13, she was very depressed, and finally told me she sometimes wished she could just end it all. I asked her if she thought that meant she sometimes felt suicidal, and she nodded. I shattered inside.
Of course, we instantly went to get help (just therapy, no drugs were determined to be needed, which I was happy about - I didn't want to go down that road if she didn't have to).
One of the scary things is how incredibly difficult it is to find a competent mental health pro when you need one. Another almost scarier thing is to be able to afford it when you're 'working poor' - we barely meet the bills each month; there isn't any left over for treatments. We were so fortunate to find a superb counselor who got my daughter back to health and happiness. And waived her fee. I bless her every day.
Yay!! A happy ending. I wish the same for every teen struggling, and for their families.

ItchykooParker

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @megnificent: That's basically what I told my kids when they were in high school. Seemed to work out fine. It seems that they are more college people than high school people.

@smallymcpocket: Me too -- I would not have been surprised to see a 3 in 10 or even 5 in 10.

Inflatable

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I found out in college that I had been depressed since sophomore year of high school. I had no idea during the time, but it was so horrible. I wish someone had recognized it earlier, maybe I could've started treatment earlier. But luckily here I am, age 24, and I feel pretty damn good these days.

If you think someone may be depressed, DO SOMETHING! Often they need to find it in themselves to get help, but some people, like teen girls, need someone to step in.

PoorMansMarilyn

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @megnificent: The mythology is the worst part. That also made the transition from high school to college so much harder--because I was depressed at the beginning of college, I assumed it would all be downhill from there. Wrong!

Khrushchev

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I started contemplating suicide at about age 13. I certainly never told anyone about any of my most disturbing thoughts and feelings. I don't think I developed more serious depression and anxiety until later, because the extreme lows were always balanced by the hope and belief in my potential that I have seemed to have lost over the next 10+ years.

treecut...will cut a beech

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Grrr... one child with mental health problems gets put on an adult ward every week in the UK. I will never not be angry about that. Letter writing doesn't seem to do any good, because so much more funding would be needed to stop the problem completely.

ilikenoise

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I'm surprised the figure isn't higher.

smallymcpocket

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @ineffable.me: That's the problem with the teenage years. If you tell anyone, even a friend, about something like depression, it can be used against you. Then you get tormented about it, which makes you more depressed.

Maybe if we stopped the mythology that high school is supposed to be the best years of our lives, it would help. Lower the expectations a little. My son is going to be told, "Look, it's 4 years. It will suck for at least part of it. Get through it, go to college, and you'll never see those people again."

megnificent

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I think this article falls under the 'no shit survey' moniker. and JUST one in ten?

I don't have a link, but I read an article that stated the stress level the average American has today could have you labeled as mentally unstable in the 1950's. No wonder there are so many bouts of teen depression/suicides.

voltaireonfire

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @megnificent: Yeah, I agree. Two weeks does not seem long enough to be a 'major depresseive episode'. Maybe that is because I have been depressed for years, but still. I think perhaps girls are more willing to admit they're depressed because they think that makes them special, or especially deserving of attention, but boys just view it as being weak.

kierabs

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Hello girl in photograph. You look just like me throughout my whole junior year.

Roomba

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @meaghan2k: Why can't I be in high school now that I am emotionally stable and prettier? It would be so much fun.

Khrushchev

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I had a hard time adjusting from high school to college...So much drama and crying. Ugh.

KathrynwithaY loves Joan Collins

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I never told anyone about it either.

ineffable.me

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I've never dealt with depression personally, but teenage depression should be handled with more care. In high school one of my best friends had a breakdown and she was sent away to a rehab. I couldn't for the life of me understand why she was depressed because she never let on any clues, she was seemingly a content girl. When she got back from rehab, she opened up and told me her brother had molested her when she was in 4th grade and her parents had blamed her for the molestation. So if my friends parent's didn't take her depression seriously, I can't even begin to fathom her desperation.

jezehell

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> My toughest time was between 8th grade and 10th grade. Ridiculous shit. I've taken informal polls amongst my friends and we all sort of agreed that thats the craziest time.

ineffable.me

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> God almighty, if a "major depressive episode" is 2 weeks or more, what would they define my 5 year depression as? Thanks for the genes, Dad!

megnificent

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> When I went through my worst bout (between freshman and soph years of college), my mom asked me--TWICE--if I was on drugs.

I was not.

I wanted to be...but I was not.

catastrophe

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> This is interesting ... according to the sports article, girls under-report physical injuries. But according to this study, girls are reporting emotional issues at a much higher rate than boys.

I went through a several-month bout of what would be called depression now back when I was 15. I was setting up to commit suicide, thinking I had no friends in the world, when my phone rang and ... it was a friend, just calling up to b.s. a while and tell me about something that I'd said at school that day that she thought was hilarious. But this happened in the 70s, and being suicidal/depressed just wasn't something anyone acknowledged.

Inflatable

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> In my experience, a lot of my middle and high school sad-times (it wasn't clinical depression) was taking things so damn seriously. When you're that age, everything seems like such a big deal and the littlest things make you so stressed out and want to die.
We definitely have to address depression in teens. But we also have to distinguish between depression and being an emotional teenager.
Because the last thing we need is every over-protective mother running to get their kids Prozac and Zoloft to cure SAT stress.
But we also don't need girls who are clinically depressed being told to "get over it" either.

misssgolightly

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @Khrushchev: they were all about "mean boys" and 100000000000000 times overdramatic!

KIbbit

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Oh high school. Junior year was my bad year. I was in love with a boy I couldn't have, I was confused about who I was.

But compared to working in an office, I'd gladly go back to those days.

meaghan2k

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Ugh, I had terrible depression when I was in high school (and after). Set me on the path to cutting and a brief period of hospitalization. Looking back, I think I knew that I was depressed, but didn't want to say anything about it. Given my mom's history of depression, though, it's amazing she didn't pick up on it earlier. She tried to explain my behaviour away by positing that I might be a lesbian. No, not a lesbian, just an unhappy kid with a lot of scars on her arms.

R-Star

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I spent a lot of time being sad, but I don't know if I would have ever admitted to being depressed if I had been asked something like that in a survey.

@twobighands: I knew guys who probably could have counted as depressed, too. They, too, probably woudln't have said it, though, if someone had asked.

I've never struggled with actual depression but it alarms me how much it's stigmatized. People are made to feel bad--like they're weak, or otherwise somehow lacking--if they dare to admit that they'd like help. It's horrible.

tscheese

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @KIbbit: Why would you slap yourself silly for those poems? You probably needed those poems.

Khrushchev

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I went through a really tough time during the spring of my junior year in high school. I couldn't concentrate on school work and my grades slipped. My family has always been a little dysfunctional, but we loved eachother alot. However, I began shutting my parents and brother out. I would stay in my room for hours doing nothing of significance. I finally got over it when progress reports came and I was in danger of failing two classes. I think this may have been mild depression, so I can't imagine how terrible a more serious case could be.

AnnaXC09

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> @Khrushchev: I should add that I dismissed it at the time in OTHER GIRLS as well--for instance, is this a picture of Christina Ricci in Prozac Nation? Because I read that book in high school and scoffed throughout.

Khrushchev

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> That's 13% in the past year - I'd bet the percentage would be a LOT higher if you were to lengthen the time period.

CherriSpryte

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I suffered from a major bout of clinically-diagnosed depression in my late teens. My gran used to say, "Oh, teenagers just like being depressed," but it's really no picnic not being able to figure out why you feel like shit every day. I don't get why people wouldn't take teen depression seriously.

theladyvanishes

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I had anxiety and mild depression issues as a teen but it didn't actually develop into full-blown clinical depression until I was an adult. I definitely can look back and see the pattern developing, though. I do think a HUGE part of teen depression/angst is caused by hormones and your body changing. It can be really scary.

layladylan

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Since High School is a key building block during your formative years it is disturbing how this can imperil young women's potential. It affects their performance, grades and SAT scores and which leads to barriers in higher education.

NoDowdAboutIt

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I want to go back and slap myself silly for all the moping and crying and ANGST! I didn't journal a whole lot ( i had a very nosey mom) but I wrote poems... all day, any emo band would slit their wrists to get their mitts on THAT gold!

KIbbit

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> I find it interesting that we think of boys as being less likely to report their unhappiness. Like you say, thinking back now, I can pinpoint several periods of depression throughout my adolesence, times that I personally dismissed by thinking I was just being a "teenage girl."

Khrushchev

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> Being a teenager is so f'ing hard. I wouldn't have survived if there had been classmates on the internets saying mean things about me, on top of all the other normal high school issues I dealt with. These poor girls.

Rhody

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> that's pretty depressing news...

pepelicious

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> More than half of my close male friends struggled with moderate to serious bouts of depression in high school. Self-reporting does not yield accurate numbers, IMO.

twobighands

]]> <![CDATA[More Than One In Ten Teen Girls Will Suffer From Depression]]> ::raises hand::

TaraIncognita

]]>