Читать книгу Emotionally Naked - Anne Moss Rogers - Страница 26

Major depressive disorder is a mood disorder affecting between 20% and 50% of youth that causes a persistent feeling of sadness, and loss of interest and motivation.¹⁷ It's important to recognize that in children and adolescents, the mood may be irritable rather than sad.¹⁸ Depression affects how an individual feels, thinks, and behaves, and can lead to a variety of emotional and physical problems. Normal day-to-day activities take considerable effort and can lead many to feel that life isn't worth living. Depression is more than just the blues; it isn't a weakness and can often require long-term treatment, including therapy and sometimes medication. These are often the kids who appear unmotivated or tired, fall asleep in class, and are frequently absent.

The total number of teenagers who reported experiencing depression increased 59% between 2007 and 2017.¹⁹ While we cannot pinpoint one single reason that mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety took such a significant jump in this age group, we do know the contributing factors. Adverse childhood experiences (trauma also called ACEs, acesconnection.com), increased digital screen time, grief, marginalization, less in-person face time, sexual orientation, bullying, poor sleep, poor diet, relational difficulties, family history, health history, genetics and more all play a part.