The Homeopathic Treatment of Depression, Anxiety, Bipolar Disorder and Other Mental and Emotional Problems: Homeopathic Alternatives to Conventional Drug Therapies by Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman & Robert Ullman

Author:Judyth Reichenberg-Ullman & Robert Ullman [Reichenberg-Ullman, Judyth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Picnic Point Press
Published: 2014-08-21T18:30:00+00:00

17 The Challenges of Growing Up

Melancholy and Despair in Children and Adolescents

The Carefree Years

Kids are supposed to be happy and full of fun, light-hearted, high-spirited and carefree. Unfortunately, this is not true in all cases. Although an average of 1% of children and 4% of adolescents suffer from depression, depressed adolescents have a 15 to 20% likelihood of suffering from major depression at some point during their adult lives. (Birmaher, et al., p. 1427) Kids tend to experience more separation anxiety, phobias, physical symptoms and behavioral problems, while depression, psychosis and suicide attempts increase with age. (Birmaher, et al., p. 1428) Many children suffering from depression have other problems such as anxiety, substance abuse and conduct problems. A surprisingly high percentage of depressed teenagers, ranging from 20 to 40%, go on to develop bipolar disorder.

A recent study revealed that adolescent girls are far more likely to suffer from depression than their male counterparts. The study, presented to a meeting of the American Psychological Association, attributed the sharply higher rate of depression in girls to rumination, which was defined as “passive repetitive focus on negative emotions.” Prior to the age of eleven, girls and boys apparently have fairly equal rates of depression, after which point the girls are much more affected by the doldrums. While both sexes reported about the same degree of concern about school, relationships with parents and future career plans, the girls reported many other worries that never even fazed the boys. These included appearance, personal problems, friends, romantic relationships, popularity and safety. The only topic that concerned the boys more than the girls was sports. (“Girls Are Depressed Because They Worry Too Much,” Seattle Times, p. A3)

An individual episode of depression generally lasts from seven to nine months in children and teenagers and about two-thirds of young people with major depression recover within a year. (Birmaher, et al., p. 1429) But even after the child feels happier, interpersonal difficulties often persist and the chance of a recurrence of depression is up to 80% within the next five years. (Kah and Michael, p. 60) We feel an urgency regarding treating depressed kids and teenagers. The longer they feel unhappy, the more their self-image will be affected and the more ingrained depression can become in their psyches. The more quickly we can help them feel better with homeopathy, the greater their chances of lifelong happiness and well-being.

Some kids become depressed with good reason, such as abuse, neglect, poverty, obesity, ridicule or physical illness. It is no surprise that depression tends to run in families. Overall, children of depressed parents are three times more likely to experience a major depression sometime during their lives. The risk is even greater when both parents have mood disorders (Birmaher, et al., p. 1431) The reverse is also true. Depressed kids have a 20 to 46% chance of having depressed parents or siblings. Life situations or events such as alcoholism, drug abuse, sexual or physical abuse, death of a close friend or family member,

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.