1. Depression and Suicide

2. Defining Depression
An illness when the feelings of sadness, hopelessness, and despair persist and interfere with a child or adolescents ability to function

3. Warning Signs Frequent sadness, tearfulness, crying Hopelessness
Decreased interest in activities; inability to enjoy previously favorite activities
Persistent boredom; low energy
Social isolation, poor communication
Low self-esteem and guilt
Extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure

4. More Warning Signs Increased irritability, anger, or hostility
Difficulty with relationships
Frequent complaints of physical illness such as headaches and stomachaches
Frequent absences from school or poor performance in school
Poor concentration
Major change in eating and/or sleeping

5. Even More Warning Signs
Talk of or efforts to run away from home
Self-injury
Alcohol and drug abuse

6. Drugs that Treat Depression
Prozac Zoloft
Paxil Luvox
Celexa Lexapro
Wellbutrin Effexor
Serzone Remeron

7. Depression Statistics
5% of children and adolescents are depressed
18.8 million American adults suffer from clinical depression which is 9.5% of the adult population
35 million Americans suffer from depression severe enough to warrant treatment at some time in their lives
In one given period, million experience the illness

8. Professional Help Select a therapist Acupuncture
Many types of therapies like behavioral and biomedical
Holistic medicine
Interpersonal Psychotherapy
Psychoanalysis
Relaxation Techniques
Self-Help

9. Ways to Help Someone who is Depressed
Listen
Take care of little tasks like doing laundry
Remember the depressed person is not being lazy
Learn everything you can about depression
Take it seriously if someone talks about suicide
Make sure the person is keeping doctor appointments and taking their medication

10. Manic-Depression
Alternating moods of abnormal highs (mania) and lows (depression). Called bipolar disease because of mood swings

11. Symptoms of Manic-Depression
Hallucinations
Most people with bipolar disorder can achieve substantial stabilization of their mood swings and related symptoms with proper treatment

12. Suicide Facts
Each year in the U.S. thousands of teenagers commit suicide
Suicide is the third leading cause of death for year-olds and sixth leading cause of death for 5-14 year-olds.

13. Suicide Risk Factors Previous suicide attempts
Close family member who has committed suicide
Past psychiatric hospitalization
Recent loss like a relative’s death or a family divorce
Social isolation
Drugs and alcohol abuse
Exposure to violence in the home and the social environment
Handguns in the home

14. What to do if you think someone is suicidal
Trust your instincts that a person is in trouble
Talk and listen to the person
Ask questions without judgment
Get professional help
Do not leave the person alone
Do not swear secrecy
Do not act shocked
Do not counsel the person yourself

15. Ways to Overcome Suicide
Deep breathing
Relaxation techniques
Call a friend, try not to be alone
Take a hot bath
Listen to music
Write in a journal
Allow yourself to cry

16. Self-Injury
The attempt to deliberately cause harm to one’s own body

17. Three Types of Self-Injury
Major Self-mutilation like limb amputation
Head banging, eyeball pressing, and biting
Cutting, burning, hair-pulling, and bone breaking

18. Why People Self-Injure
Lack of role models and invalidation
Biological disposition
Emotionally overwhelmed

19. People who are Likely to Self-Injure
All people are capable of self-injury
From early teens to early sixties
Usually not a failed suicide attempt
People who self-injure are not necessarily psychotic

20. Triggering Events for Self-Injury
Being rejected by someone who is important to you
Being blamed for something over which they had no control
Feeling inadequate
Being “wrong” in some way

21. Bipolar Disorder
A serious brain disease that causes extreme shifts in mood, energy, and function

22. Symptoms of Bipolar Disorder
Episodes of depression
Episodes of mania
Psychosis
Mixed state - Episodes of depression and mania at the same time

23. Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Characterized by 6 months or more of chronic, exaggerated worry and tension that is unfounded or much more severe than the normal anxiety most people experience

24. Anxiety Disorder Symptoms
Chronic fatigue
Depression
Irritability
Lack of focus
Sleep deprivation

25. What is stress?
The emotional changes our bodies experience as we adjust to the changing environment

26. Positive Effects of Stress
Can help compel us to action
Can result in a new awareness and an exciting new perspective

27. Negative Effects of Stress
Can result in feelings of distrust, rejection, anger, and depression
Can lead to health problems like headaches, upset stomach, rashes, insomnia, ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke

28. The best ways to manage stress
Become aware of your stressors and your emotional/physical reactions
Recognize what you can change
Reduce the intensity of you emotional reaction to stress
Maintain emotional and physical reactions