On ‘Radio Times’: Recognizing the warning signs of serious depression in teens

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Based on a bestselling young adult novel, the Netflix series, 13 Reasons Why, tackles topics of rape, bullying and teen suicide. The controversial series has been praised by some for its realistic depiction of teenage life, but others worry that it glamorizes trauma.
Earlier this morning, Guy Diamon, associate professor at Drexel University and chair of the Center for Family Intervention Science in the College of Nursing and Health Professions, Carolina Hausmann-Stabile, assistant professor at the School of Social Work at Temple University, and Matthew Wintersteen, associate professor at Thomas Jefferson University and co-chair of the Pennsylvania Youth Suicide Prevention Initiative spoke on Radio Times about how parents, educators and other mental health professionals can recognize kids at risk for serious depression and suicide, interventions that work, and the challenges of talking about suicide without influencing vulnerable adolescents to hurt themselves. They talked about how to recognize if a teen is contemplating suicide.
“So the first is obvious,” Wintersteen said. “Any kid who is talking about suicide. Any kid who is writing about it [and] sharing information with others on social media.”
“Second, is a sense of helplessness. Third, is a sense of overwhelming pain—the kid who might look like they’re angry, frustrated and sad all at the same time. And the last is a sort of cluster of behavior—being withdrawn from other people.”
Wintersteen also added that sleeping problems—either too little or too much sleep is a sign of depression.
Listen to the full conversation on Radio Times.
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