If you're going through hell keep going
- Winston Churchill
"Depression symptoms can vary from mild to severe and can include:
Feeling sad or having a depressed mood
Loss of interest or pleasure in activities once enjoyed
Changes in appetite — weight loss or gain unrelated to dieting
Trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
Loss of energy or increased fatigue
Increase in purposeless physical activity (e.g., inability to sit still, pacing, hand-wringing) or slowed movements or speech (these actions must be severe enough to be observable by others)
Feeling worthless or guilty
Difficulty thinking, concentrating, or making decisions
Thoughts of death or suicide
Symptoms must last at least two weeks and must represent a change in your previous level of functioning for a diagnosis of depression." (APA, https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression)
6% of people aged 12-17 have been diagnosed with depression (diagnoses increase with age)
74% of children (age 3-17) diagnosed with depression also have a diagnosed behavioral problem and 47% also have anxiety
Diagnoses have been increasing over time- diagnoses for depression or anxiety in ages 6-17 have increased 3% from 2003-2012, not to mention the huge toll that COVID has taken on people, especially teens', mental health.
Luckily, 78% of children (3-17) diagnosed with depression have received treatment- let's try to keep that number high, and raise it even more!
Seasonal Affective Disorder (aka SAD or Seasonal Depression)
a type of depression characterized by its recurrent seasonal pattern, with symptoms lasting about 4 to 5 months per year
This means people with SAD will experience depressive symptoms, such as the ones listed above, but only during specific seasons.
Two types:
There is winter-pattern (late fall and early winter) SAD, and summer-pattern (spring and summer) SAD. Winter-pattern is significantly more common.
“For winter-pattern SAD, additional specific symptoms may include:
Oversleeping (hypersomnia)
Overeating, particularly with a craving for carbohydrates
Weight gain
Social withdrawal (feeling like “hibernating”)
Specific symptoms for summer-pattern SAD may include:
Trouble sleeping (insomnia)
Poor appetite, leading to weight loss
Restlessness and agitation
Anxiety
Episodes of violent behavior”
”To be diagnosed with SAD, a person must meet the following criteria:
They must have symptoms of major depression or the more specific symptoms listed above.
The depressive episodes must occur during specific seasons (i.e., only during the winter months or the summer months) for at least 2 consecutive years. However, not all people with SAD do experience symptoms every year.
The episodes must be much more frequent than other depressive episodes that the person may have had at other times of the year during their lifetime.” (NIMH, https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/seasonal-affective-disorder)
What to do if you're feeling these things
- DON'T self-diagnose (a.k.a. decide by yourself that these apply to you and you are therefore depressed);
Instead, seek help from the resources in our Mental Health Resources (Hotlines & Therapy) blog/packet
Momentary help:
- Check out our "Meditation" blog/packet
- “Emotion, which is suffering, ceases to be suffering as soon as we form a clear and precise picture of it.” (Frankl 74) - Use the emotion wheel, pictured below (we suggest printing it out if you'd like), whenever you're feeling a certain way. Instead of just saying "I feel sad", identify a specific adjective that describes how you're feeling, such as "empty" or "isolated". Research shown in this article shows that identifying emotions is also imperative to dealing with stress. Try to make this a habit every time you're feeling any intense emotion.
Lastly, we are here to remind you how important and indispensable your life is!!
"When the impossibility of replacing a person is realized, it allows the responsibility which a man has for his existence and its continuance to appear in all its magnitude." (Frankl 80)
In simpler terms, recognize the unique value of your life, and understand that your one and only responsibility on this Earth is to stay alive and make the most you possibly can of the one and only life you have. If you don't think you've been doing that thus far, that's okay! Start now.
If you'd like to print out this info packet, the easiest way is to print this google doc! FYI: It doesn't have all the links and related info that are on the online versions: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1lVRHhfkEYqxMb2ksJYRlpJxeCmXoHhaxYdhOXY1szHs/edit
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