The secrets our teens keep.

I was shocked when a friend of mine told me that a co/worker friend of his, just found out that his nephew committed suicide. The boy was only nineteen and no one had a clue that he was troubled and so all the adults are blaming themselves for not recognizing that the boy was suffering from depression.

When I think of my own sixteen year old daughter, I always clue in pretty quick when depression rears it's ugly head because she spends too much time in her room and doesn't seem to want to eat much. I could not understand how no one had a clue what was going on in this kids life? For one thing the toxicology report found that he was high on drugs and his family did not know he took drugs. They did know that he drank, but to the best of their knowledge, not to an excess. He seemed like a good kid, hard worker at his job, and no one was the wiser as to the inner torment this kid was actually going through.

Parents seem to be the last people to know what is going on in the lives of their teens. The signals are not always there and sometimes they may be so subtle that a busy parent may totally miss the signs of depression. Depression is insidious and can sneak up on a teen before they even know what is happening.

The signs of depression are there if you look carefully for them. It could be as simple as a teen sleeping more than usual or having trouble sleeping. His appetite may change where he seems to be eating more and gaining weight or not eating and losing weight. This is not a cookie cutter disease and just because one teen experiences depression one way, another teen may have totally different symptoms. The bottom line is depression is a disease and not something to take lightly. If you have a suspicion that your teen may be suffering with depression, get some help. If you can't get your teen to talk, talk to your family Dr. and get some advice before it gets out of hand.

Monicka