Dealing with depression

"Depression rates rising fast for young U.S. teens":

It's enough to give you the blues: Depression is on the rise in the U.S., and young teens are most susceptible.

That's the eye-opening finding of a new Columbia University study, said to be the first to identify trends in depression by gender, income and education. Researchers analyzed depression rates of Americans age 12 and up over a 10-year period ending in 2015.

In general, the rate rose from 6.6% to 7.3%. The rise among those ages 12 to 17 increased from 8.7% in 2005 to 12.7% in 2015.

The study is led by mental health expert Renee Goodwin of the Department of Epidemiology at Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia and based on findings from 607,520 respondents to the annual National Survey on Drug Use and Health. The survey includes people ages 12 and up.

New York Daily News, 30 October 2017

The nature of the beast

Elizabeth Wurtzel

That's the thing about depression: A human being can survive almost anything, as long as she sees the end in sight. But depression is so insidious, and it compounds daily, that it's impossible to ever see the end.

I get depressed because I feel depressed.

That is a double-dose of sadness!

I think that when I try to fight depression in the sense of just striving to make the darkness go away, the darkness gains strength.

When I simply accept the fact that I feel depressed, without adding an additional layer of shame or guilt or anxiety or despair, then I have more energy and freedom to decide what to do with my day.

I may just have to live with the fact that I will feel miserable for a while and just do the right thing anyway.

Maxims and Mantras

The way out is through.

It'll all work out.

All-righty, then!

If I can change my thoughts, I can change my world.

Reframing works.

New interpretation, new mood.

New pictures, new feelings.

It doesn't have to be perfect to be good.

What they think of me is none of my business.

Perfectionism breeds depression; action erodes depression.

This, too, shall pass.

It is just a description, not an indictment.

Kid's stuff. No malice, just misunderstanding.

Happiness is an inside job. It is my job to find out what will make me happy and then do it. No one else is responsible.

I have options.

Skills develop with practice. The more I practice making good decisions to take care of myself and to love others, the more options I will have.

Links

• "Depressed? Help Is Here.
• Aaron Kheriaty, M.D., with Father John Cihak, "The Catholic Guide to Depression: How the Saints, the Sacraments and Psychiatry Can Help You Break Its Grip and Find Happiness Again."
• Suicide is not an option.