We all have been saddened these past years by school shootings committed by youth. There has been discussion of the possible role of depression in the youths who committed these shootings. Unrecognized and/or undiagnosed depression is rampant. Estimates of depression co-occurring with medical complaints in primary care clinics range from 30-60% depending on the study. For youth, there are estimates of over 30-40% of adolescents reporting significant depression during the last year.
It probably will not be known whether or how prominent or not depression was as a factor in young shooters’ actions. It also will not be known soon how well connected socially the young shooters are. I certainly don’t mean through social media where the connections often are superficial, sometimes anonymous, and too often bullying. . Rather, my point is to highlight the often unrecognized role depression plays in the lives of many young persons and how important it is for all of us to recognize depression in ourselves and the young around us.
We all have down days periodically. That is not necessarily clinical depression Rather clinical depression occurs when we experience depressed mood frequently to the extent that it interferes with our social, educational, or vocational life.
More significant levels of depression include the following symptoms:
Depressed mood most of the day; feeling sad or empty, tearful
Significant loss of interest or pleasure in activities that used to be enjoyable
Significant weight loss (when not dieting) or weight gain; decrease or increase in appetite
Difficulty sleeping or sleeping too much
Agitation; or slowing down of thoughts and reduction of physical movements
Fatigue or loss of energy
Feelings of worthlessness or inappropriate guilt
Poor concentration or having difficulty making decisions
Thinking about death or suicide
Five or more of these symptoms occurring daily for two or more weeks may well constitute a major depressive episode and the need for treatment. Even lesser degrees of clinical severity warrant attention.
In the mental health field, it also has long been known that even the presence of one confidante buffers to some extent the onset/degree of clinical depression. The confidante is defined as someone with whom we can share our most closely held inner thoughts. This role of social support moderates the effect of life stresses for us.
So when will you attend to possible signs of depression in yourself and the young in your world? After all, there is help available. When would be a good time to examine your childrens’ social network and degree of social connectedness, both at school and in their personal lives? They affect your well being and health more than you might think. Unrecognized and/or poorly treated depression costs billions of dollars in lost productivity each year as well as lessened well being for all. Consider if your children hold possibly untrue and unhelpful thoughts that might be interfering with their life, e.g. "I'm not a good person", "No one likes me".
As always, change your thoughts, change your results. For additional information on stress as it contributes to depression, please see our book (I Can’t Take It Anymore: How to Manage Stress so It Doesn’t Manage You; Paul G. Longobardi, Ph.D., and Janice B. Longobardi, R.N., B.S.N., P.H.N.), available at Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542458056 . For additional information about the authors, book, and website, please visit our website at www.manageyourhealthandstress.com.
Good luck on your journey.
Dr. Longobardi
For additional information on this and other topics, please see my website at www.successandmindset.com