Sadness is a normal part of our emotional spectrum. Teens, unfortunately, often seem to exist on a rollercoaster of emotions. This is also completely normal, to an extent. Teens are experiencing dramatic hormonal changes, testing boundaries, taking on their first adult responsibilities, and struggling to gain adult freedoms — all at once. It’s a lot…

Teens often have a penchant for the dramatic, so when your adolescent child says “I’m so depressed,” you may not take them seriously. Once symptoms of depression start to show up, however, it’s time to sit down and have a talk with them about their feelings. These are some basic symptoms to look for if…

The sadness, a sense of helplessness, a belief that it was part of the personality, and a conviction that something was wrong. Once upon a time, no one knew anything about this condition. The medical community didn’t believe children, including teenagers, could suffer from depression. Fortunately, now things are different, to some extent. There still…

Misconceptions About Children and Depression One of the most common responses to hearing that a child has depression is, “But what does he/she have to be depressed about?” This statement reveals two major misconceptions. One is the lack of understanding about clinical depression. It is not the same as the “blues” or “down” moods that…

Women suffer from unipolar (as opposed to bipolar or manic) depression in greater numbers than men do; twice as much by most estimates. At one time it was theorized that women didn’t actually have depression more than men, but that they were more likely to seek help and therefore have their depression recorded. However, studies…

If five or more of the following symptoms have been present in either you or someone you know for more than two weeks, please talk to your doctor about the possibility of depression being present. Keep in mind that these symptoms could indicate a medical condition other than depression. Feelings of sadness and/or irritability Loss of…

It was not really alarming at first, since the change was subtle, but I did notice that my surroundings took on a different tone at certain times: the shadows of nightfall seemed more somber, my mornings were less buoyant, walks in the woods became less zestful, and there was a moment during my working hours…

“People who don’t know, who say it’s self-indulgence, sound callous, but it’s not callousness born of indifference; I think it’s callousness born of ignorance. That kind of ignorance we’ve got to get rid of, and little by little, I suppose, we will. You say to them, ‘It’s a pity you don’t know. I’m sure that…