What Is Depression?

via GIPHY

Depression is an illness with a biological basis.
​People who are depressed feel “down in the dumps” and are not interested in the activities they usually enjoy.

​Symptoms that a depressed teen may experience include:

• losing or gaining a significant amount of weight (not due to diet) or dramatic change in appetite
• having trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
​ physical feelings of either restlessness or being slow, sluggish
​​• not having any energy
• feeling worthless or guilty (with no clear cause)
• not being able to concentrate or make decisions
​• feeling more irritable or angry than usual
• thinking about wanting to end your life.

​If you experience at least five of these symptoms most of the day for at least two weeks, you may be depressed.

Depression is complex. 

Depression may affect many aspects of your life.

​Your ability to do well in school, to enjoy hanging out with friends, and to play sports and engage in extracurricular activities can all be negatively affected when you are depressed.

Drug & alcohol use make it worse

Alcohol or drug abuse is one of the key risk factors for suicide in adolescents. These substances enter the brain and affect its reward pathway, leading to the “high” feeling that teenagers often seek.
​
Over time, however, use of drugs and alcohol can dramatically change the chemistry of the brain. These brain changes place a person at greater risk of feeling intense sadness or depression.
​

Chronic drug or alcohol use — even with marijuana, which teenagers often believe is lower risk — can cause the body to physically crave the drug. This dependency frequently leads to feelings of helplessness or hopelessness. As the body comes down from a high, individuals often report feeling intense depression, irritability, or anxiety. All of these effects increase risk of suicide. ​

Often teens have a difficult time asking for help

1. "I don't know how talking about feeling so awful will make me feel better."
2. "I can't imagine what they'd tell me that would make me feel better."
3. "They will just reassure me or give me advice or solutions and I can't imagine how any of these will help me."

​4. "I will just scare one or both of my parents and make them more worried and anxious and then I'll feel guilty or feel like I have to reassure them I'm okay to make them feel better when I don't."
​5. "I will just cause one or both of my parents to give me advice or solutions and when I don't try any of them, they'll just get frustrated and I'll feel even more guilty." 
​6. "When I tell my parents how or what I am feeling, I will feel more exposed, ashamed and then when I see that they can't do anything, I'll feel even more alone and worse."

Feelings shouldn't be kept a secret

• A secret can be dangerous if it hurts your friend. It is important to tell someone who can help you and your friend stay safe. 

• Encourage your friend to seek help. It’s important that your friend actively gets help from a counselor, psychologist, teacher or doctor. If he or she doesn’t feel comfortable talking to someone in person, you can also suggest they call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255). ​

• Choose what to say. Timing can be an important part of talking with someone about sensitive stuff. And sometimes, you might not know what to say. If you’re not sure what to say, you might try saying “I’m worried about you” or “I’m here for you.” Whatever you decide, please be direct and don’t act shocked by what they say.​

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• Get informed. It might be helpful to have a general knowledge of suicide and depression. By doing research, you may be able to better understand what your friend is going through and what might help.

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Like many other illnesses,
depression usually doesn’t go away on its own
​BUT

Treatments are Available
​AND
​THEY WORK!

You are never alone

Need Immediate Help?  

Call 911

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 
800-273-TALK (8255)  
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is open 24 hours a day.

MY3

With MY3, you define your network and your plan to stay safe. With MY3 you can be prepared to help yourself and reach out to others when you are having thoughts of suicide.

1. Text 741741 when in crisis. Anywhere, anytime.
2. A live, trained crisis counselor receives the text and responds quickly.
3. The crisis counselor helps the teen move from a hot moment to a cool calm to stay safe and healthy using effective active listening and suggested referrals – all through text message using CTL’s secure platform.

Text

​Crisis Text Line – 741741

​According to Crisis Text Line’s web site, if you text 741741, you can receive a text from a trained crisis counselor within minutes.

​Although the text line is intended for teens, the website states that counselors do not ask for the texter’s age, and nobody is turned away.

Online Chat and Email

E-mail Samaritans  jo@samaritans.org
Note that the Samaritans international website states that people who send an email typically receive a response within 12 hours. The site also notes that names are immediately removed from emails, and emails are deleted after 30 days.

Lifeline Crisis Chat
The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline also has chat available, every day from 2 p.m. to 2 a.m. Eastern Standard Time.

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IMAlive Chat

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TeenLink Chat

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The Trevor Project 
866-488-7386 – a hotline supporting LGBTQ youth

Trans Lifeline
877-565-8860 – a hotline for transgender teens