Depression

“I felt like an outsider. I cried on the phone to anyone who would listen. My parents worried about me. I couldn’t shake the feeling of emptiness. When I was unable to get out of bed spring break of my junior year, I was ready to accept help.”

Courtney
Depression: True Stories

Mental disorders are the most important chronic conditions of youth in America, according to Harvard Medical School’s Ron Kessler. Nearly 10 percent of American adolescents may suffer from depression. Young people living with depression and other mental health disorders are often improperly diagnosed. They are viewed as troublemakers by teachers and shunned or teased by peers.

Sadly, Kessler says, these children often suffer until symptoms are very severe, including attempted suicide.1 Children with depression and other mental health problems often turn to alcohol and other drugs to handle their emotions.

Parents and young people who understand depression and other mental health disorders are more likely to speak openly about it. Then children who need care are more likely to receive it and live without feelings of shame because of their mental illness.

Remember: Suicide is the third leading cause of death among 15- to 24-year-olds.2

Read Issues and Answers at wordscanwork.com for more about this topic.

1. Adapted from the Boston Globe, June 2005
2. National Institute of Mental Health

© 2006 Blake Works, Inc.

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