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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1997-11-19, Page 22PAGE 22. THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 19, 1997. For Teens, By Teens Recognizing depression and treating it By Amy Crawford Citizen Co-op student Jamie* is a 17-year-old girl. She is athletic and holds places on many high school teams. Jamie woke up at 3 a.m. one morning, and couldn't get back to sleep. She thought maybe she was worried about the volleyball game that day, the qualifying round for the finals. She went downstairs and had a cup of coffee with breakfast, showered and got ready for school. The volleyball game went great, her team wort. By the end of the day she felt better and had forgot­ ten why she was so worried. The next morning Jamie woke at 3 a.m. and couldn't get back to sleep. She started to think about everything she did wrong in the game. This happened for over a week. She started skipping practices, had no energy and her friends com­ mented how quiet and sullen she was. Jamie began to lose weight, and what was once an athletic healthy looking teenage girl became a shadow of herself. Eventually, Jamie started hang­ ing out with a new crowd. She got high every morning, which seemed to get her through. But feelings of sadness and inadequacy followed her into the afternoon so she began to get high in the afternoons too. Jamie lost total interest in all her school activities. Her coaches 0 FF TH IE IDR 1 1L L 1 TV can open society’s mind Blyth 523-9681 asked why. All Jamie said was that she was too busy. With everyone bugging her about what's wrong, combined with feelings of disgust she felt that her life wasn't worth it and started to plan her death. "But Mom is soon due with the baby. Maybe I should wait," she thought. Finally one Saturday evening Jamie went out with her new friends and got high. By the time she got home she was a total mess. Jamie stumbled, hit her head and- was knocked unconscious. Her mother woke up and finding her laying on the floor, rushed her to the hospital. The doctor, knowing that Jamie was under the influence asked her why. He also asked her a few other questions and came to the conclu­ sion that she was suffering from depression. Jamie began to see a psychiatrist, and her family was encouraged to come also. She was also put on an anti-depressant. After three years Jamie still gets those old feelings of disgust with life and a lack of interest in work, but with a little increase in dosage she is back on track. Jamie realizes she will never totally recover from her depression but she has the means to cope with things and keep on living. Depression is a disease that no one can ever truly overcome. There are signs and symptoms which differ between normal depression and the blues. Many suffer from insomnia. Most times when they wake up they have a feeling of foreboding about the day. Other signs and symptoms of depression include loss of interest in things that used to make you happy. Many depressed people experi­ ence a major weight loss, but some also gain weight significantly . Also many who suffer from depression look to drugs and alco­ hol as a way of coping. When depression becomes severe the person's thoughts turn to death. Many plan their deaths and many commit suicide. People suffering from depression could also be grieving a death. Many who have lost someone they cared about go through many signs and symptoms of depression. It may last only weeks or up to months, but if within six months things haven't changed they should go to the doctor. Some of the treatments used for those suffering from depression consist of seeing a psychiatrist. This helps the person to talk about how they feel and understand what's going on with them. Perscription drugs are also used often in conjunction with therapy. These help convince the brain that everything is OK and keeps what's called seretonine and norepinen- phrine moving so they don't have time to settle. These are the most common treatments and are proven to help considerably. One of the major things to remember with depressed people is that it will never totally go away. They will suffer those same signs and symp­ toms, but by knowing the treatment they have and using it, it will keep them from falling back into that deep pit inside themselves where it all began. If you know someone is depressed, encourage the person to seek professional help, because just like heart disease, and other illness­ es, depression can be diagnosed and treated. Understand the nature of depres­ sion. Because depressed people have a negative outlook on life you can't talk the person out of depres­ sion. Let the person know that you know how bad they are feeling and that you are willing to listen if they are willing to talk. If possible, talk with the person's doctor or psychiatrist about how SOLAR • Booster Pac w/Charger ES-2500KE Regular $208.07 •155“ 1 RADFORD AUTO j FARM AND INDUSTRIAL PARTS Brussels 887-9661 1 you can best support your loved one. Encourage the person to stick with the treatment. Things will be rough for the first little while, they will feel slightly dazed or that they have no control. Anti-depressants take two to six weeks to produce positive results. If there are any side affects, they should be reported to a doctor who may decide to change the dosage or drug. *name has been changed MDL iDOORS 887-6974 noi ‘Keep the (Doors to the future Open Beautiful Styles to Make your House a Home Available through your local MDL Dealer By Erin Roulston A couple of weeks ago I was watching Murphy Brown. Murphy now has breast cancer and in this particular episode she was beginning her chemotherapy. The whole show revolved around the fact that the treatments made her very sick and nothing relieved the pain except for saltine crackers (and marijuana). This was shortly after I read a story in a magazine about the side effects of chemotherapy and the misery that it can cause. I can only imagine how a person who has just discovered they had cancer would feel after researching for their treatment. They don’t want the cancer to kill them, but they are scared to death of the cure. I realize that Murphy Brown is trying to bring public awareness to the very serious topic of cancer. The writers have nothing but the best of intentions, and believe that they are doing something for the greater good. I think that they could be doing more harm than good. Not all people suffer miserably from chemotherapy treatment. Some people have very little or no side effects. For those who experience side effects there are many medications that can help. Of course many people can't find anything to alleviate the pain; for them it is just a test of faith. Often the media, in an attempt to enlighten the public, will instead feed the misconceptions. Take Ellen for example. Before Ellen's character ever revealed her homosexuality, there was another gay character on that show. The purpose for this character was to create awareness of the homosexual community. Unfortunately the character is so stereotypically gay that the ignorant viewpoints just thrive on this particular portrayal. They begin to believe that all gay people act like that. A better example would be the character on Spin City. He is very strong and masculine. He doesn’t speak with a lisp or walk like a girl. He is still gay. This is the kind of example that will help open the minds of viewers. If there is anything our society needs is open minds and greater understanding. If TV can get the point across, great. I just hope the good intentions follow through. 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