MENTALHEALTHSECTION
DEPRESSIONIS NOTHINGTOJOKE ABOUT By Addy Hollow ay
The w ord depressi on has becom e so m i sused that teens often forget i ts true m eani ng i s seri ous and affects m i lli ons of Am eri cans dai ly. Depressi on i s a m ental health di sorder characteri zed by a persi stently depressed m ood or loss of i nterest i n acti vi ti es, causi ng i m pai rm ent i n dai ly li fe. ?Ki ds don't understand that there are gonna be sad days and bri ght days. It's easy to say I'm depressed rather than I'm havi ng a rough day, but i t's not alw ays used i n that w ay,? sai d the school counselor Farrah Hoek stra. It i s i m portant to recogni ze the m i suse of the term because usi ng the w ord 'depressed' i ncorrectly m i ght m i s-characteri ze how seri ous and debi li tati ng real depressi on can be for m any young teens. Mi susi ng i t can cause som e teens to not seek help, as they m i ght beli eve w hat they are deali ng
w i th i s not seri ous w hen i t i s a seri ous m atter. ?Many people throw i t around to easi ly i nstead of sayi ng I'm sad i t turns i nto I'm depressed. Real m edi cal depressi on i s m ore i m pai ri ng, they can't get out of bed for m onths. The i nternet [also] i s confusi ng depressi on for sadness,? sai d school psychologi st Andrea Opel. If you do feel sad and i t seem s to be affecti ng your li fe i n m ore seri ous w ays, please seek help. Start by talk i ng to your parents, a teacher, your school counselor or a fri end. Addi ti onal i nform ati on and help on a num ber of m ental health condi ti ons can be found at:
h t t ps:/ / w w w.cr isist ext lin e.or g/ or Text 741741 f r om an yw h er e in t h e USA t o t ext w it h a t r ain ed Cr isis Cou n selor .
