Low Moods and Depression
There’s a club, if you’d like to go
You could meet someone who really loves you
So you go, and you stand on your own
And you leave on your own
And you go home
And you cry
And you want to die- How Soon Is Now by The Smiths (YouTube)
I wasn’t sure I wanted to put up that quote… it’s a little harsh, but it seemed apt for what I wanted to take on this week: Depression. Let’s start with what it is (and isn’t).
Depression covers a lot, frankly… it’s a low mood (one that often comes with feelings of hopelessness, sadness, emptiness, incompetence) and also lasts a long time, so you can probably see why it’s the most common mood disturbance around. The most important takeaway is that depressed people do get better and depression does end.
But figure we ALL get low moods every now and then, right? Maybe you just broke up with your bf/gf… maybe you’ve been feeling like you’re a failure because of your grades… maybe you haven’t been sleeping well and you just can’t seem to get the energy to do anything lately. If it’s only one of those things, you may feel sad but your low mood will probably go away in a week or two, especially if you start seeing someone new, or ace your next exam, or finally get a good night’s sleep. Having people to talk to about your feelings often helps too.
So what if it doesn’t go away?… what if weeks go by and you still can’t get out of this rut? You might notice other changes too: No appetite (or maybe you’re eating like crazy!)… insomnia (or sleeping 16+ hours a day!)… constantly feeling worthless, guilty, tired, empty, unmotivated or even suicidal. That might mean it’s not just a low mood, but it could be depression, and it might be an idea to check in with a health professional about it.
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If the depression is on the milder side, you can try:
- Talking to family and trusted friends about what you’ve been going through can be helpful. You can get a chance to vent, maybe work out some potential solutions or even just get that hug that you’ve been needing.
- Writing about what you’ve been going through can help you get a better grip on your thoughts and feelings, especially if they’ve all seemed pretty jumbled lately.
- Checking in with a health professional (a doctor, psychiatrist, psychologist, social worker, mental health counsellor/nurse), as we mentioned before, can help clear the air on how serious things are for you. They may be able to provide other options and solutions as well! Though antidepressant medication can sometimes be helpful in overcoming mild depression, you may be surprised to hear that for most adolescents, the answer doesn’t necessarily lie there.
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If the depression is getting on the major side, you could think about:
- Definitely checking in with a family physician, psychologist or psychiatrist. Major depression is serious business, but the sooner you can start getting help, usually the more effective treatment will be.
- Therapy or counselling might be an option for you as well. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT) is a “talking” therapy that teaches new skills for acting and thinking more effectively… Recent research supports that it’s among the more effective approaches to depression.
- For more serious cases of depression, antidepressent medication are often a little more helpful (than in milder cases) though they still aren’t quite shown to be as effective with adolescents as they are with adults. This is something you should talk over with your doctor.
- As with mild depression, talking to friends & family as well as talking out your thoughts and feelings can still be quite helpful.
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This week’s entry was heavily inspired by (by which I mean plagiarized from) “Dealing With Depression: Antidepressant Skills for Teens“, put out by the Ministry of Child and Family Development. If you’d like to see the whole thing, it covers that plus what they call “Antidepressant skills”, like realistic thinking, problem solving and goal-setting. Check it out (in PDF format) here.
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