Children and Teenagers prescribed antidepressants, WHY?

[teenybash]

Why are so many of our young people being given antidepressants?
What do you think causes our youngsters to feel so unhappy, confused and out of control with their feelings and thoughts.

What are your feelings or experiences on the situation.

[emszxr]

i dont know of any kids being on a/d's but know of a couple on ritalin. one of the children i know on it did not need to be on it. on one hand his parents were ginving him ritalin to calm him down and the next he was filling his face with sweets and fizzy juice.

are kids these days having their heads stuck in screens too much

[Cedric Farthsbottom III]

My experiences of the situation are problems in life made my Mum go on anti-depressants.We saw what it did to her,as children and teenagers.My Mum is now off them and doing well and her kids are doing alright.
I think it comes down to the individual,some folk can cope well others can't.I think for kids to be on anti-depressants must be a major problem.I've experienced folk who had the same problem,yet took different methods to deal with it.With blethers I've had with Mum since I think its an individual thing depression.For her she couldn't cope and needed help.It was my sister who told her that she had brought three kids up with no outside help,this was when she came off the anti-depressants.
My Mum told me at 12 that she had electric shock treatment.I told her later at 27,she had gave me more growing up skills than the school did.Yet again,that comes down to individual circumstances.

[Anne x]

I have no real experience of this but from what I see going around me they have every possible latest bit of games x boxes wii thingies televisions and dvds and laptops or PCS in the bedroom goodness knows what they
are up to or watching some of them are very influenced by all these things

Maybe going to school is the only mixing with other people they have
what happened to outdoor in the fresh air games hardly ever see that now even kids playing on bikes is getting rare
one thing I do think is great is the kids outside on Trampolines excercise and fresh air

I also think that Teenagers have a lot of pressure put on them with Exams and getting good results etc

dont know really but its so sad a topic

[Stefan]

Kids these days don't know how to amuse themselves.
I remember being practically on my knees at 8:30 when it was time to come in, begging to stay out just 15 minutes longer...
Boredom? I did not even know what that word meant!

Boredom leads to depression and when that xbox game has been completed and they have no more money to buy another one they don't know what to do with themselves and can get depressed. Staying in bed until late afternoon is another reason.....

My son came home the other day telling me that he was depressed because he had learned at his college course that one of the reasons of depression was boredom. And he is bored a lot because he can't motivate himself to do anything other than attending his E2E course 2 days a week.
Actually he is still in bed as I type this, which is appalling, but he has to learn to motivate himself.

I certainly won't take him to the doctors. I tell him to get up and if he doesn't then he can feel sorry for himself in his bed....

I never had a TV of my own until I was 27 and spent many years living on my own without one. I have an xbox these days but only play on it once a week, if I have time, sometimes don't turn it on for months...

I truly believe that kids would not be depressed if they didn't have video gaming. They would be out and about, getting fresh air, helping others or pursue active hobbies, just like we did 30 years ago... no depressed kids then.

[Cedric Farthsbottom III]

Video games lead to depression.Why?I'm sitting on the sofa the now,typing away on here.My oldest is having a laugh on the X-Box,my youngest is making his own video on his labtop.Their both laughing their heads off.BUMP.Hold on a minute............................................ ..................................just reattached my youngests head to his shoulders.

[ranny_20]

http://forum.caithness.org/images/icons/icon9.gif Children and Teenagers prescribed antidepressants, WHY?



Mabey it has something to with them being DEPRESSED!!!!!!!:roll:

[Gronnuck]

Could it be that life is much 'busier' and 'target driven' that ever before?
Compared to the 60s and 70s it seems children today have to compete in an increasingly materialistic world to retain any sort of credability with their peers. They have to have the latest fashion, the latest gadget and be involved in the latest music/DVD/games etc. At the same time parents want so much for their offspring that they become party to an education system that is target driven and constantly testing them. I did read somewhere that children in the UK are the most tested in the western world.
The way children live isn't helped by the need, particularly in these difficult times, for both parents to be working to make ends meet with little room for just spending time together. There are a lot of parents who work long hours just to hold everything together.
Wouldn't life be so much better if parents could enjoy their children's life with them?

[Cedric Farthsbottom III]

http://forum.caithness.org/images/icons/icon9.gif Children and Teenagers prescribed antidepressants, WHY?



Mabey it has something to with them being DEPRESSED!!!!!!!:roll:
Ye don't take anti-depressants if yer just depressed.I was depressed on Saturday night after the Scotland and Holland game.I didnae reach for the tablets.I'm looking forward to the night.Ye take anti-depressants,hopefully when a doctor tells you too.In a kid though,that is not a great start in life.

[Cedric Farthsbottom III]

Could it be that life is much 'busier' and 'target driven' that ever before?
Compared to the 60s and 70s it seems children today have to compete in an increasingly materialistic world to retain any sort of credability with their peers. They have to have the latest fashion, the latest gadget and be involved in the latest music/DVD/games etc. At the same time parents want so much for their offspring that they become party to an education system that is target driven and constantly testing them. I did read somewhere that children in the UK are the most tested in the western world.
The way children live isn't helped by the need, particularly in these difficult times, for both parents to be working to make ends meet with little room for just spending time together. There are a lot of parents who work long hours just to hold everything together.
Wouldn't life be so much better if parents could enjoy their children's life with them?
Well said Gronnuck.A kid won't become so depressed as he/she needs to take anti-depressants in the first place.Enjoy yer kids life and outgoings and have a wee bit of patience.

[Fran]

I dont beleive in medication for depression. I dont like taking pills, but I have to take some to keep alive. I am a strong believer
that if you know why you are depressed you need to sort it out yourself without pills. It will take time but i'm sure it works. I became very depressed after himself died, and being in hospital with phemonia just after the funeral and other things in my life at that time. ..I was offered anti depressant tablets which I refused. I was offered counselling at hospital but found I was just being told what i already knew. I worked hard to motivate myself, though i am a busy person, and was finding it hard to get out of bed.I felt there was nothing to get up for...but my lovely dog kept me going!!
I feel i am doing very well now though some days /i still cry a lot all of a sudden. I get very lonely .I have been told it takes 2 years to get over. There could be lots of reasons why kids are depressed...homelife, jealousy, feeling of rejection, not doing so well at school.and lonliness, no friends.
, If half the kids could talk to someone about their worries/problems they would not need pills. sometimes all that is needed is an understanding person to listen to them.
In some cases, if kids are depressed it could be due to an illness such as thyroid problems , diabetes or anemia.

[Gronnuck]

If half the kids could talk to someone about their worries/problems they would not need pills. sometimes all that is needed is an understanding person to listen to them.

So very true Fran. It can be often be difficult for parents to be both supportive and non-judgemental when dealing with their own kids but this is where the wider extended family can be so useful.
We should all care about our children after all they are the ones who are going to choose the high-security-twilight-home we might end up in!

[ShelleyCowie]

Fran you are right. Kids to need to speak more. But kids are more secrative than ever nowadays. How many parents can say that their kids come to them and talk about safe sex, worries about school, friend problems.

Who is their ears if they cant get over the embarrasment to speak to us? :confused

[Cedric Farthsbottom III]

Fran you are right. Kids to need to speak more. But kids are more secrative than ever nowadays. How many parents can say that their kids come to them and talk about safe sex, worries about school, friend problems.

Who is their ears if they cant get over the embarrasment to speak to us? :confused
Kids need to speak more?I thought a parent and child relationship was 50/50.If there is a problem it has to be dealt with before it gets out of hand.I know this too well.Trust its a two way thing."Who is their ears?"....I find its the two parents,maybe its not both.One will get the story and the other will tell the other.

[balto]

kids cans suffer from depression as badly as an adult can, i mind when the doc gave my daughter a medicine to help her sleepand help depression, must say it helped, its not a long term cure i understand that, but if it helps for a while them im sorry but im for it, along with counselling it can help. the one thing that made my mind up was the fact she was speaking about god being able to look after her, and with all the teenage suicides that happens i wasnt prepared to let it go that far. can i add circumstances caused her to feel like this.

[ShelleyCowie]

Kids need to speak more?I thought a parent and child relationship was 50/50.If there is a problem it has to be dealt with before it gets out of hand.I know this too well.Trust its a two way thing."Who is their ears?"....I find its the two parents,maybe its not both.One will get the story and the other will tell the other.

It is a 50/50 thing of course. But i know myself i get someone ask me "do you need to speak about anything?" or "is there something wrong?"

I will 99% of the time say "no". And just carry on with things in my head instead of sharing because i get the impression its not worth saying. Im not depressed, but i still dont speak about anything.

[Cedric Farthsbottom III]

It is a 50/50 thing of course. But i know myself i get someone ask me "do you need to speak about anything?" or "is there something wrong?"

I will 99% of the time say "no". And just carry on with things in my head instead of sharing because i get the impression its not worth saying. Im not depressed, but i still dont speak about anything.
I agree with ye that when yer depressed ye might not want to talk and share.When anti-depressants are required though,the person is beyond responding,they seem to be inside a shell.They are hearing you,but their not.They look at ye as though yer speakin in a different language.As my Mum said,I saw you speaking as though ye were on the TV but the sound was turned down.For a child to need anti-depressants,thats unimaginable.To be majorly depressed before ye have even lived.

[ShelleyCowie]

I agree with ye that when yer depressed ye might not want to talk and share.When anti-depressants are required though,the person is beyond responding,they seem to be inside a shell.They are hearing you,but their not.They look at ye as though yer speakin in a different language.As my Mum said,I saw you speaking as though ye were on the TV but the sound was turned down.For a child to need anti-depressants,thats unimaginable.To be majorly depressed before ye have even lived.

Very nicely worded. It is unimaginable to think children and teens may require anti-depressants. It is not a nice thing to think, but the sad reality of it is, it happens.

I hate talking about 'things'. I love to talk as most know already. But there are most definetely conversations i will go out of my way to avoid! Was the same when i was a wee teenager.

[balto]

I agree with ye that when yer depressed ye might not want to talk and share.When anti-depressants are required though,the person is beyond responding,they seem to be inside a shell.They are hearing you,but their not.They look at ye as though yer speakin in a different language.As my Mum said,I saw you speaking as though ye were on the TV but the sound was turned down.For a child to need anti-depressants,thats unimaginable.To be majorly depressed before ye have even lived.


Very nicely worded. It is unimaginable to think children and teens may require anti-depressants. It is not a nice thing to think, but the sad reality of it is, it happens.

I hate talking about 'things'. I love to talk as most know already. But there are most definetely conversations i will go out of my way to avoid! Was the same when i was a wee teenager.
unfortunatly things can happen to children to make them bottle it up and keep it inside for years, unto they cant take it anymore, and anti depressents are there to stop them going over the edge.

[ShelleyCowie]

unfortunatly things can happen to children to make them bottle it up and keep it inside for years, unto they cant take it anymore, and anti depressents are there to stop them going over the edge.

Balto you are completely right there! Anti Depressants can help some people as you say. Thats what they are there for.

[Cedric Farthsbottom III]

unfortunatly things can happen to children to make them bottle it up and keep it inside for years, unto they cant take it anymore, and anti depressents are there to stop them going over the edge.
Anti-depressants take the edge of depression,I agree.Listening is the other solution.To keep listening to what the person wants to say about how they're feeling.We listened for 10 years and our Mother came back to us.A 6,12 and 14 year old being the adults.Kids work in funny ways sometimes.

[gleeber]

It's very difficult being a teenager especiallly a teenager who hasnt had their true potential released before they get to about 40. :lol:
I remember being a teenager. There was lots of confusion about everything.
There are other ways of treating depression. Finding someone they can relate to and who perhaps understands them would give some of them an instant hit and not a valium in sight. Talking really does help.

[Murdina Bug]

Anti-depressants do have a place in the effective treatment of depression -however most often they are the ONLY tool that a GP has to give and they can tend to be handed out like sweeties. Mostly because the GP is time-poor and can't give counselling or therapy themselves and there is practically no-where to refer anyone to for these services. Someone I know was told that they could be referred to the mental health team but it was unlikely that they would be seen anytime soon unless they were actually an 'emergency case', e.g. attempted suicide.

I think those that have commented previously on the need for more communication and less isolation for teens are spot on. The lack of real, effective support within the parental, school and medical communities is quite tragic. Mental health is seen as an individual's problem and therefore can be ignored as it is not a visible epidemic.

[brandy]

at one time i could never understand why any one would need anti-depressants. after having tom, i still couldnt see it... 6mths down the road i still couldnt see it... even though i had reached the point all i wanted to do was lay in bed, i couldnt stand the sight of my children, i just wanted to be left alone and i felt like nothing on this earth mattered. when i started having chest pains and had to go to the drs. and having loads and loads of tests done.. to be told that i was depressed and under masses of stress. they recommended anti-depressents and counciling. i didnt want councilling... no ammount of talking would ever make things right.
i didnt want pills, what would they do give you a false high?
the dr. explained how they worked and how long they took to work.. and asked me to please just give them a try and if i wasnt happy with them we would try something else...
a couple of weeks later and i found myself downstairs, smiling and laughing with the boys.
not feeling guilty for being alive and happy.
able to even function and do just little things like clean house.
i was on them for just over a year, and it not only saved my marriage, my family but myself as well..
so yup, can understand why loads of people need them.
unfortunalty with children, there are cases where children are born depressed. and just worsen as they age.
brain chemistry and that sorrt of thing.
its not a cure all.. but if someone needs it... and the dr. thinks you do then by all means, be sensible.. and take the hand reaching out to you... theirs a reason they are phones with 800 numbers on bridges.

[jean]

roles have changed.. how many kids have 2 at home parents( work commitments breakups etc)and of the parents they have its very possible in this days climate they are both working,and that the teen is on his or her own a lot. this can impact on some children..
then take unemployment alcohol abuse and drugs into the mix .

[Dreamweaver]

Children nowadays are under so many more pressures than we were as kids. Many come from families where the parents don't think twice about bringing a series of different partners into their children's lives. The kids have no sense of identity - who are my parents? who are my grandparents? It's no wonder they're confused, which in turn can lead to mental illness.