Depression and Suicide

Depression and Suicide

Depression affects everyone's life at sometime or another. Depression comes in a wide variety of forms, from mild unhappiness to a chemical imbalance in the mind. There are many different symptoms that reveal a person's problem with depression. If left untreated, depression may continue to develop into a serious illness or even death.

Depression is a psychological illness, much like bulimia or anorexia. It affects the mind as much as it does the body. Depression is directly related to many other disabilities: eating disorders, low energy levels, and social difficulties. Scientists have found that depression is the result of imbalances in the way the brain metabolizes chemicals called neurotransmitters.

Neurotransmitters are substances that allow the brain cells to communicate with each other. Serotonin and norepinephrine are the two most common forms of neurotransmitters. Too little serotonin mat cause many symptoms of depression including irritability, sleep loss, and anxiety. Too little norepinephrine may be responsible for fatigue and a sense of hopelessness. A person's genetic structure, environment, and personality are all factors that affect the balance of these chemicals.

Depression, at one time or another, affects every living human being. It affects children from the age of six to the elderly. It affects the low class poor to the high-class rich. Everyone is vulnerable to the destruction of depression.

Five percent of all adolescents and young adults, ages fifteen to

twenty-four, experience a serious level of depression. Women are generally the most commonly affected among young people. A depressed teen is more likely to get into various forms of trouble such as rebellion, truancy...

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...cluded in the student's IEP.

Bibliography:

Bower, Bruce. "Depression Fails to Scar Personality." Science News 9 November 1996: p. 294.

Guetzloe, Eleanor C. "Suicide and the Exceptional Child." Council for Exceptional Children. Reston, VA.

Kist, Jay. "Dealing with Depression." Current Health 2 January 1997: p. 25.

Redfield Jamison, Kay. Interview. "Depression." Saturday Evening Post March/April 1996: p. 46-52.

Weinberg A. Warren, Harper R. Caryn, Emslie J. Graham, and Brumback A. Roger. " Depression and Other Affective Illnesses as a Cause of School Failure in Learning Disabled Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults." American Association of Suicidology. Washington, DC.

Zeiss Antonette M., Lewinsohn Peter M., Pohde Paul, and Seeley John R. "Relationship of Physical Disease and Functional Impairment to Depression." Psychology December 1996: p. 572.