Teen Depression Article 3

Teen Depression

Gathering Information- Notes

Bostic, Jeff Q., and Craig M. Miller. "When Should You Worry?" Periodicals. Newsweek. Web. 28 Sept. 2010. <http://periodicals.grolier.com/php/ebsco/ebsco-go2.php?product=go2-passport&editfield1=teen+AND+depression&StartRecNo=6&NoRec=1>.

·         About 1 out of 12 teens will suffer from depression before becoming 18.

·         Girls are twice likely to have depression then boys when they hit puberty.

·         “Approximately half of the teenagers with untreated depression may attempt suicide, which remains the third leading cause of death in this age group.”

·         Just because a teen is upset for a few days doesn’t mean that they are depressed, depression will last for weeks or months and can come out of no where

·         Depression isn’t always shown through sadness, if can be through stomach aches, headaches, easily irritated, and not from bad moods.

·         “Right after starting an anti-depressant, some kids do become more anxious or restless and a few may have an increase in suicidal thoughts. But depression itself carries greater risks”

·         Antidepressants don’t take the place of a doctor, the depressed teen should still see the doctor that prescribed the medication regularly, and should be closely watched.

·         Also, antidepressants only HELP depression; they don’t get rid of it completely.

·         Depressed teens should still go to the doctors, therapy, or anything else that helps them relax

·         Getting the depressed teen involved into something they love eases the mind and helps with their depression.

2nd Teen Depression Article

Teen Depression

Gathering Information- Notes

Docksai, Rick. "Youth Depression and Suicide." Futurist Vol. 43, No. 1. Jan/Feb 2009: 16-17. SIRS Researcher. Web. 24 Sep 2010.

·         “The study finds that suicides of Americans under 20 years old rose 18% between 2003 and 2004—the largest single-year increase in more than 15 years.”(pg.16-17)

·         The increase in suicide led the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to add a public warning label on all antidepressants that informed the public that the medications might trigger suicidality.

·         Even after the warning label was established, all drug companies were ordered to “black-box,” or state the risks and warn doctors to keep careful observation on their patients, while prescribed antidepressants

·         The agency that ordered the warning labels on the products simply said that cautions were used to, “fully inform doctors about the risks and benefits of antidepressants, not to discourage appropriate prescribing.”(pg. 16-17)

·         But, after the cautions went public, some doctors felt as if the people who were prescribe the antidepressants weren’t taking them due to the black – box label.

·         Due to the parents’ hesitation, children were not getting the correct help that they needed, which could lead to the risk of more suicide.

·         “According to FDA data, a young person suffering from depression is 15% more likely to commit suicide then peers not suffering from suicide.” (pg.16-17)

·         Doctors began to publicly speak to patients about the antidepressants and how they’re perfectly fine to take when prescribed the right amount.

·         After all the trouble doctors were receiving due to the warnings, the FDA still expanded the warning to all patients less than 24 years of age.

·         Doctors still supported the label even though they caused much panic to patients and parents throughout, they agreed that the label was to help patients, parents, and doctors alike.

1st article for social issue

Teen Depression

Gathering Information- Notes

"Youth Depression." Issues & Controversies On File: n. pag. Issues & Controversies. Facts On File News Services, 28 Apr.

2000. Web. 23 Sept. 2010. <http://www.2facts.com/article/i0500920>.

• Research and real life instances show that medications are necessarily effective on depressed teens.
• The suicide rate has nearly tripled since the 1960's.

• "Suicide is now the third- leading cause of death among people aged 14-19, claiming more young lives annually then AIDS, diabetes, and cancer combined." (pg. 1)
• Some health- care professionals feel as if some of the medications prescribed by physicians give a negative effect on young people with depression or mood disorders.
• Also, health-care professionals believe that these antidepressants give that negative effect because the young peoples' minds aren't fully developed.
• People also think that doctors are using medicine just to speed up the diagnoses process, instead of using counseling or parental bonding.
•   But, some doctors and even parents feel as if the medication has been a "lifesaver"(pg. 1) for their young adults.
• One of the reasons child depression wasn't studied as much before was because people believed that depression was caused by repressed childhood events, therefore children could not be depressed because they lacked the experiences.
• "The symptoms of childhood are often different then those of adults. As a result, childhood depression was- and continues to be- misdiagnosed." (pg. 2)
• About 6% of young people, ages nine to 17, suffer from some type of depression, and 4.9% of those people suffer from major depression.

Social Issue Paragraph

Book: “The Story Of A Girl” By: Sara Zarr

Topic: Teen Depression

Search Terms:

1.      “Teenagers”

2.      “Signs of Depression”

3.      “Aches and Pains”

4.      “Symptoms of Depression”

5.      “Psychotherapy”

6.      “Teen Depression Self Help”

7.      “Antidepressants”

Teen Depression

In the book, The Story of a Girl, Deanna Lambert suffers from teen depression due to her father practically hating her and most of her friends disowning her. Teen depression is an extremely serious problem in today’s world. Sometimes, depression leads to teens hurting themselves or even committing suicide. Others, usually isolate themselves from everyone else or are easily irritated. Some people feel as if medicines help these troubled teens, but some people feel as if the medicine either doesn’t work or takes too long to be affective compared to other treatments. (http://www.depression-guide.com/teen-depression.htm). In my opinion, antidepressants aren’t necessary for teenagers. Many medications used for depression increase weight which I, personally, think could be more depressing. I believe that psychiatric help would be best for the teens suffering from depression. As it is stated in the article, many people don’t know if the medications are truly affective on depressed teens. That is how I think teen depression should be handled in today’s world.

(http://blog.timesunion.com/breakfastclub/rip-crcs-senior/4166/)

3 research questions about teen depression:

1.       What are some ways you can prevent teen depression?

2.       How is teen depression diagnosed?

3.       What gender is generally more affected by teen depression? Why?

Pen Pal Letter

Dear Deanna Lambert,

            My name is Kelly, and I had a crazy summer. I spent my summer days at my new farm in Jarrettsville trying to prepare the barn for my horse. Also, I worked at a local horse farm in Kingsville, called Hawk’s Hollow. I’ve been working there for 2 years and love spending time with the horses. Besides the horse business, I took 2 trips to Ocean City and 1 trip to North Carolina. I love the beach just as much as I love the farm work.

While enjoying my summer vacation, I read the novel “Story of A Girl,” by Sara Zarr. Your role in the novel really made me rethink the way I handle things in life and the decisions I make. At first, you just absorbed everything everyone, especially your father, was saying and thinking about you and held it all in. Then, you finally confronted the issue to your father, who then began to slightly think different of you. Being the person that I am, I could never let everyone say things about me behind my back AND in front of my face, and just let it go. I give you major credit for the way you kept yourself together during that rough period of time.

            I believe that Sara Zarr told your story extremely well. I felt as if I were walking in your shoes while reading the book. The way Sara placed the events and described your life truly brings the story to life and gives the story meaning to 13-16 year old girls. Sara writes to the reader as if they were the character’s best friend, and I really appreciated that.

            When you kissed Lee’s boyfriend, did you feel like you did the right thing by telling her? It takes a major amount of courage to tell your best friend you kissed her boyfriend, so I can only imagine how hard it was for you. Also, when you started working with Tommy, did you think it was the start of something new or the end of an old problem? When I try to place myself in your position, I feel like it was the start of a new life for you and the end to the rumors about you being crazy. Obviously, anyone who can work within 2 ft. of someone that ruined their life is definitely the opposite of crazy.

            Strained family life seems to be a popular issue in today’s world. Since so many families have become dysfunctional and divorced, I feel that we could start an organization that could help kids understand that their family problems aren’t their entire fault. Many kids feel as if their parent’s divorces are all their fault and they’re the reason their parents don’t get along. These kids need our help to show them they can live a perfect and healthy life even if their families don’t work out.

            Thank you for taking your time reading this letter and I hope it meant something to you. Just remember: Other people in the world have done extremely worse things then you did in the novel. There is always time for forgiveness.

                                                                                Love,

                                                                                        Kelly

My Unique Profile

            I’m probably the most unpredictable and complicated person you will ever meet. Some days I’ll care about what my hair looks like, but not what I’m wearing. Other days it’s the complete opposite- I won’t care about what my hair looks like, but my outfit has to be PERFECT. Believe it or not, I’m not really girly at all. I don’t have a normal label, such as: Preppy, Goth, Punk, etc. I consider myself the Surfer-Cowgirl. I could spend all day at the beach with my friends, or spend all day at my farm with my pony in the barn. I love John Deere, and I could wear Roxy clothes anywhere. Horse competitions are how I usually spend my weekends. I’m very excited to be a part of the John Carroll Equestrian team this year, too. I’m easily amused. I’ll laugh at almost anything and I appreciate the little things in life the most. My friends are what keep me going in life. I’ll miss all of them from my old school, St. Michael the Archangel, but I’m ready to branch out and meet new people. I’m extremely outgoing and I can never be the quiet one in the group no matter how hard I try.  I love to have a good time, but I also know when it’s time to be serious. I’m proud of the family I’m from and they mean the world to me and they always will, no matter where life takes me. I’m Kelly, and that’s my life.