Screening Quiz: Is your teen depressed?
Monday November 17, 2008
When your teen seems moody or sad, do you think its depression or it's just a phase? Believe it or not, depression is more common than we realize. According to a national study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control, 61 percent of 8th to 10th graders reported feeling sad and hopeless, 36 percent reported nothing to look forward to, and 34 percent expressed serious thoughts of committing suicide. Scary to think about!
It's important that parents not only think about it, but talk to our teens about it too. Talking to teens can make them feel less hopeless and help them understand or work through whatever problems they face. It will put you on your teen's side - which is right where you want to stay.
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Comments
As a parent of three teen boys, I have an advantage over other parents. I suffer from Bipolar Disorder (that’s NOT the advantage), so I can really tell
if my boys are depressed, manic, or just
“blue.” Depression “runs” in my family, so I guess I am “qualified” to suspect any kind of mood changes or if real clinical depression is affecting my
children.