Understanding psychosis in teens, and possible solutions.
Beyond the Blues: Child and Youth Depression
- Description
- Reviews
- Citation
- Cataloging
- Transcript
Statistics reveal that depression in children and youth is on the rise. In fact, it has increased by one-third in the past 30 years. Untreated depression costs a teenager in many ways: lost eductional opportunities, lost social opportunities and lost time. Through the personal stories of three young people, this compelling documentary traces the journey of depression, from early signs and symptoms, to assessment, diagnosis and treatment. The documentary also helps shatter some stereotypes. Depressed kids don't just have a bad attitude--they have an illness. And the illness is treatable.
Citation
Main credits
LeRose, Maria (film producer)
LeRose, Maria (narrator)
Bartlett, Sharon (film producer)
Palmer, Maureen (film director)
Palmer, Maureen (screenwriter)
Slinger, Helen (screenwriter)
Other credits
Camera, Chester Ptasinski, John Dowell, Max Lindenthaler, George Colmer; editor, Tony Hrkac; original music, Lesley Sutherland, Fresh Air Studios.
Distributor subjects
Children and Youth; Psychology and Psychiatry; Depression in children; Depression in adolescence; Manic-depressive illness in adolescence; Cognitive therapyKeywords
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Funding for this program is provided by the mental health evaluation and community consultation unit of UBC, through a
grand by then ministry of children and family development, as part of the preventional child and youth mental health plan.
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Yeah, I’ll take that in two, I
just keep you 200 for (inaudible).
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16 year old Kari is being treated
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for a major depressive disorder.
To me depression
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is just the feeling of hopelessness
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and just, like it’s combination
of so many different feelings
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like umm… being numb to the world. Well, when
your manic you don’t really want to hear,
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because you are think, you know, I’m fine. But, it’s
like somebody is telling you when you’re happy,
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you’re too happy.
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17 year old Moira endured four
years with serve bipolar disorder,
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before she was even diagnosed. I
was doing a lot of drugs like
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I was drinking to the point where I
really should be died now pretty much.
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I don’t like to draw eyes. I don’t know,
I think maybe it kind of represents
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emptiness and stuff like that. 19 year
old Angus, suffers from depression
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and calls himself a recovering alcoholic.
Dave climbed out of the depths of despair,
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prove most teens will survive depression.
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The key is recognizing that depression
is a real treatable illness.
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[music]
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Unfortunately there’s no blood test for depression. 30 years ago,
we thought that there was going to be one and it didn’t work out.
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Uh… So, we’re basing it
on a pattern of symptoms,
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which are very consistently
present in depression.
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[music]
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Of course, this is my boy friend
right here. 16 year old Kari
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has the usual Hollywood hunk posters
hanging on her bed room walls.
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But she’s also got much more.
Be strong, be smart, be vocal
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and uh… you know, take care of themselves.
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Colet Kari’s self esteem corner, her reminder
to stay on top of her mental health,
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behind the pictures a reminder of her darker time.
Actually there’s a big hole behind those pictures
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where I kicked it in, when I was
really mad. So, I was just frustrated
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and I was just kind of going nuts.
So, I just had to hit something and…
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Kari was in the midst of a major depressive episode.
I had totally given up dreams when I was depressed.
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I didn’t really find the…
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I guess the world to live
or any reason to for
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and I didn’t understand I felt
that way and I didn’t understand
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why it had happen to me.
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Depression can look in number of different ways in young people.
The commonest thing is that the young person really does look sad,
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they look unhappy. Umm…
They’re often withdrawn,
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they don’t enjoy things. In most cases, there’s
quite significant disturbances in sleep
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and eating patterns. So, there are some
very physical symptoms of depression.
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Depression ranges from chronic
low mood called Dysthymia
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to major depression which is debilitating
and can be life threatening.
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Kari had all the symptoms
of clinical depression.
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Not wanting to get out of bed in the morning, not
wanting to eat, umm… you know, go to school.
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When someone is clinically depressed, they
can’t concentrate. And as a result of that,
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it’s hard for them to read and
they’re school grades really drop.
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By grade aid,
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Kari’s grades were plummeting.
She missed 24 days of school
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too down to get out of bed.
Kari remembers her depression,
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starting much earlier. Probably
when I was about in grade six,
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I just started feeling unhappy, I would
think about suicide all the time,
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because I was grade six and I knew
absolutely nothing about depression.
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I thought that it was normal to have those kinds of thoughts. And I thought it was
normal to feel, negatively about things, I thought that everybody else did too.
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Depression is remarkably
common in teenagers,
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especially girls. One in four
between the ages of 12 and 19
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was suffered depressive episode. Yet, only about half
of depressed teenagers are diagnosed and treated.
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With younger children, they’re often not
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aware that they’re depressed. And then may not
express that. They may just see themselves
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as a bad person or they may be
just used to feeling quite down.
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Like so many children, Kari’s depression went
undetected and followed her in to her teens.
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I can remember where I was
sitting when I wrote this.
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When I walk around, I get dizzy and I can
feel my heart just pounding out of my chest
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and I’m yawning all the time. No matter what
and I always find hard to keep my eyes open.
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So, feelings as got so
much stronger and it just,
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I guess it’s sort of like, I feel like
I just like losing grip of everything
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and then just, I know it
sort of just scared me.
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Thoughts of suicide became all consuming. I feel,
I thought about like my funeral like thinking,
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who really cares about me, you
know, who would be there,
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you know, who would cry for
me, who would be upset,
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you know, because it… like it feels like nobody really cares
about you. Having suicidal thoughts and some self harm behavior
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is quite common and not all those
kids are clinically depressed.
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Umm… Fortunately completed
suicide is quite uncommon,
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maybe something like a 11 per 100,000
per young people per year not a common.
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But obviously, we see that
is a preventable death.
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So what do you want to know about (inaudible) sex
thoughts that you can role? Had to pick up guys.
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Trust me, they come to me.
Kari and her mom Gayanne,
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work easily together now. But there was a time,
when they couldn’t stand to be in the same room.
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My mom had asked me to help run the
house and I didn’t have the energy
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or she would ask me if I wanted to go
somewhere, and I didn’t want to go anywhere.
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It’s frustrating me that I could hurt somebody
that I love and it, I mean, I was so angry
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that I could let that happen. Could have… Sure, you
didn’t ask me if it was like, yeah, we’re going out, but…
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This screaming matches are something else,
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your first thing is to take it personally
and your feelings of being a bad mother
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of not having done the right thing.
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But parenting skill do a
lack that brought this on,
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is there some way that it could have been prevented. There’s
often quite intense conflict between parents and kids
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when they’re depressed. And part of it is
the children or the teens are irritable,
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they’re angry, they’re frustrated. Another
part of it is they’re not doing the things
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they’re supposed to be doing, they’re not succeeding
umm… and emotionally they’re very reactive.
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Uh… So, that the intensity of
that arguing is much greater.
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So, how do tell the difference between typical
adolescent mood swings and depression?
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The key thing in depression
is it there’s a consistent
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and persistent change from the
child’s normal functioning.
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It has to for a minimum of two weeks everyday a consistent
pattern and usually it’s much longer than two weeks.
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So, that’s the key. And you think
it’s okay to just get kicked up?
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Why you’re being (inaudible)such an asshole, Robert? Because
I’m concern of over… Bewildered parents often respond
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by mistakenly laying down the law.
Enhanced discipline and things like that
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matching aggression with the aggression,
these are all very natural,
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normal responses, they just don’t work
and they serve to make matters worse.
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The old thinking that
this child is a bad kid
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who is trying to push her buttons or who is
manipulative or who is trying to get attention,
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all of those stories are
becoming umm… uh… recognized,
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uh… are being recognized as being very
invalid, that isn’t just a bratty kid
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who is trying to get his way, that
this is child who is having struggles
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with their ability to function
for a reason and that reason
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is a biologically based mental illness.
I made this in memory of my uncle.
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He passed away a couple of years ago. Kari’s
depression came to ahead after the death of an uncle.
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The day of his funeral,
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uh… we just gotten home to my
uncle’s apartment and I called home
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and they told me about a boy in my
school that had committed suicide.
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And uh… it just … and it hit away to hard.
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And like I… I was trying to
deal with all these losses
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in just the thought of, you know,
like my uncle Jay losing his life
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and the boy that his… it was just…
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it was just too much to handle.
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Like, it’s just… I couldn’t really bare it and
it just became a little too overwhelming for me
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I thought I got to do something about this.
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At 15, Kari finally told her
parents, just how bad she felt.
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Around that time we also heard about her wanting
to hurt herself and the suicidal thoughts.
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So, it was all around that same
time it was all coming out.
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I guess in some ways it was sort
of a relief because once you know
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that you have something like that then
you think okay, let’s get some help,
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it’s not my parenting totally.
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I’m not the bad mom that she is saying
and that I’m thinking and feeling.
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Kari’s mother immediately called their
family doctor and the family was lucky,
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although there is often a waiting list
to see a mental health professional,
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Kari got a psychiatrist appointment within the week.
She was prescribed a medication called Celexa,
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although anti-depressions are
by no means a magic bullet,
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especially in teenagers, for Kari it
helped. When I was first taking Celexa,
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I … it took about three and
half and months to four months
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until I look back and I was like, wow, I have
been doing so much better and I was good…
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but then after awhile I started you
know going out to more parties
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and you know getting into drinking
and all that kind of stuff
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and the Celexa didn’t like that. So,
it started making me really sick
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and so at that point it was choice,
go and party with my friends
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or stay on Celexa and, you
know, have as much fun.
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So, of course, you know I was like
grade nine, I choose the partying,
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yes, I did. One of the fascinating things
about teenagers is they’re so smart.
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I mean, their brains are growing so quickly and
they’re good thinkers, may understand lots of things,
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but the one area of their brain is not well wired up is the
area that has to do with judgment and decision making.
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So, we see someone who
knows what they should do
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and half an hour later we see them do the opposite.
So the implications for depression is they may know
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they should be taking medications, exercising,
sleeping and doing all these other things,
00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:14.999
but they just can’t follow through.
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Are you kidding me? No,
I’m in terms of your.
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That’s right Nun. When
her depression worsened,
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Kari tried again with the Meds. I’m still
working on getting the medication.
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I tried Effexor, taking
all (inaudible) in pills
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and all they did was making
me sick, I hate them.
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I tried Zoloft which just didn’t
do anything and then comes Celexa,
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but I think my promise that I just had such
a hard time to remembering to take them.
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One of the things it’s been a bit disappointing
about the medications is that they’re not
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as effective for depression in young people as we had
hoped. Studies have been that compare to depressed teens
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on antidepressant medication, was
depressed teens taking a placebo
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or a simple sugar pill? What we find
out really in the last six months
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is that 12 of 15 studies of antidepressants
in young people were negative,
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it didn’t help, there were only 3 out of 15
studies that should any evidence of benefit
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and we’re still digesting what that means.
Research also raised concerns about
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troubling side effects of some antidepressants
medications in people of all ages,
00:13:30.000 --> 00:13:34.999
but especially in teens prompting
Health Canada to issue a warning
00:13:35.000 --> 00:13:39.999
in spring 2004. There are number of behavioral
and emotional side effects which may occur
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with the standard medications used most commonly
the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors,
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but also other antidepressants. Some of
those emotional and behavioral effects
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include things like
agitation, disinhibition,
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worsening mood or emotions going
up and down unpredictably.
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It’s also included a slightly higher risk
of suicidal thinking and suicidal attempts
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then we’re seeing on the placebo medications in
the studies. We still don’t know what that means,
00:14:10.000 --> 00:14:14.999
but the data is such that Health Canada
felt the warning needed to be out there.
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Health Canada also warned not to stop taking
medications suddenly without consulting a physician.
00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.999
There can still be good reason to prescribe these
medications, the key is to closely monitor
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the Childs reaction. With these
emotional and behavioral side effects
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and important thing to know is that they’re usually seen in the first
of couple of weeks or the first couple of months of treatment.
00:14:35.000 --> 00:14:39.999
A child doesn’t suddenly wake up a year
later with suicidal thinking for example
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sif suddenly agitated due to the medication
usually. So this is something to look for early on
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and is not a reason to take a child off
medication who is doing well on the medication.
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In recent years, there has been a trend to prescribe
medications as a first line of treatment for depression,
00:14:55.000 --> 00:14:59.999
but new research indicates that
many young people with depression
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can be effectively treated
with talk therapy only.
00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:09.999
Kari’s psychiatrist recommended she stay on medication
and also start talk therapy through her local child
00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:14.999
and youth mental health facility. Mental
health clinician, Tamara Chapman,
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began working with Kari. So what are you
worrying about? Anything that I possibly can.
00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.999
Tamara uses cognitive behavioral therapy
00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:29.999
shown by research to be effective in
treating depression. Depressed teens
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tend to see themselves quiet negatively,
cognitive behavioral therapy teaches teens
00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:39.999
to think and act in the more positive manner,
at first the cognitive or the thinking part.
00:15:40.000 --> 00:15:44.999
And like if do then biology it’s..
It’s going to bring down my GPA
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and then I’m not able gonna be get in the
college. Mm-hmm, in favor of yourself?
00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:54.999
No, because, like I know that I don’t have to put
this on myself. In terms of the thinking piece,
00:15:55.000 --> 00:15:59.999
it’s working to acknowledge
those negative thoughts when
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they happen and then when we see them challenging
them to come up with something that’s more positive,
00:16:05.000 --> 00:16:09.999
more realistic. The, are you being
00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.999
fare to yourself? Am I exaggerating. So, what else
you did to challenge those negative thoughts?
00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:19.999
I’m, I just, I guess,
00:16:20.000 --> 00:16:24.999
I just I identify then I think
okay, is that actually true,
00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.999
you know, but as today I think of the
positives than so of the negatives.
00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:34.999
After all it start to come over more
easily like sometimes it happens
00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:39.999
then I don’t even know it, and it’s just like wow,
I did that, just taking one negative thought,
00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.999
identifying it and turning
it into a positive thought,
00:16:45.000 --> 00:16:49.999
sounds very simple, right.
It, wasn’t, it was so hard.
00:16:50.000 --> 00:16:54.999
Once the teen can identify the
negative thought and challenge
00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:59.999
it the cognitive piece, the therapist
teaches them to change their behavior.
00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:04.999
What are doing to look after yourself?
00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:09.999
Look, I’m letting the worries like take over my mind. In terms of the
behavioral piece, umm… really working and looking what are the actions,
00:17:10.000 --> 00:17:14.999
what are the things that you’re doing that are going to
contribute to your mood and help you to feel better?
00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:19.999
Yeah, like I’m not, like I’m not letting everything pile
up and I’m like I’m not trying to take on too much.
00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:24.999
It sounds like when you start to notice that
soft out piece happening that you’re able to
00:17:25.000 --> 00:17:29.999
identify it and acknowledge it.
00:17:30.000 --> 00:17:34.999
Yeah, yeah, like I really, if I let something like
stress me out or you know bring me down like,
00:17:35.000 --> 00:17:39.999
I have a vision of this downwards
fire that you showed me,
00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:44.999
it’s a lot easier to tackle it.
00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:49.999
Reducing negative thoughts allows Kari
to begin building a positive self image,
00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:54.999
one example her culinary arts classes. A little.
Too much. This is too much, just a pinch.
00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:59.999
I never had a passion for anything before,
00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.999
but as soon I, as soon I walked in that
cafeteria the very first day I thought,
00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:09.999
oh, this is where I…
this is where I belong.
00:18:10.000 --> 00:18:14.999
And her school’s annual awards
night, Kari won a culinary award
00:18:15.000 --> 00:18:19.999
and a chef apprenticeship, only she knows
what it took to win over her depression.
00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:24.999
And the look on your face
was worth a million bucks.
00:18:25.000 --> 00:18:29.999
I was just so proud to see that look on your face and
so happy for you. Last night was really awesome for me
00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:34.999
because I was in a place that usually
wasn’t meant for people like me.
00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:39.999
You know, when I got there I
was like, just, like so proud
00:18:40.000 --> 00:18:44.999
you know like the way that I have been to turn
things around, look at, what I have done for myself,
00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:49.999
look at how I have turned
it all around, you know.
00:18:50.000 --> 00:18:54.999
You better hug her or kiss.
Kari feels good right now
00:18:55.000 --> 00:18:59.999
and to keep it that way, she stays
on medication and in counseling.
00:19:00.000 --> 00:19:04.999
Experts say half of teens who suffered
depressive episode will have another one,
00:19:05.000 --> 00:19:09.999
Kari plans to be ready. So like, I don’t think that it’s ever
going to go away. I think with, you know, with proper medication
00:19:10.000 --> 00:19:14.999
and, you know, doing things to take care
of myself, I can cope with it really well,
00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:19.999
I don’t think that all be cured and
I’m fine with that you know like
00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:24.999
some people deal with physical
disabilities all their life,
00:19:25.000 --> 00:19:30.000
you know, they learned to cope, I have
them mental disability, I’m coping.
00:19:35.000 --> 00:19:39.999
[music]
00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:44.999
Pretty much just not, not fun,
00:19:45.000 --> 00:19:49.999
pretty bad, you know, have no motivation
00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:54.999
and what, I realized
00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:59.999
I was just including myself more
00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:04.999
and I was really worried about myself sleeping
the long a day away. I was worried that
00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.999
I might be schizophrenic because I
was getting really super paranoid
00:20:10.000 --> 00:20:14.999
to the point of like craziness.
00:20:15.000 --> 00:20:19.999
Angus is suffering from depression.
It’s far less common in boys than girls
00:20:20.000 --> 00:20:24.999
between the ages of twelve and nineteen, one
in eight boys will suffer from the illness
00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.999
compared to one in four girls and
depression looks different in boys too.
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:34.999
For example girls may be more likely to talk with
her friends about it, to talk about their mood
00:20:35.000 --> 00:20:39.999
and communicate a bit more and the
guys are much less likely to do that.
00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.999
They may be more likely to be withdrawn
and irritable not share with the friends
00:20:45.000 --> 00:20:49.999
what’s happening because it’s not cool. Although,
there was a history of depression in her family,
00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:54.999
Angus mom, Holly, had no reason to
have suspected in her baby son.
00:20:55.000 --> 00:20:59.999
He was very happy go lucky, that young baby
still just laughed away and gave the best
00:21:00.000 --> 00:21:04.999
pictures that any little one could.
I guess about great seven
00:21:05.000 --> 00:21:09.999
he started to change and you
know he attributed to puberty
00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:14.999
and growing up, but he still
maintained a really happy attitude,
00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:19.999
but you could see the darker moments starting to come
into play. One of the important causes is genetic,
00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:24.999
depression runs in families. Some, some families
just have a very high rate of depression.
00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:29.999
Some of the other factors
can be chronic stresses.
00:21:30.000 --> 00:21:34.999
Another big source of umm… causes of
depression are things like losses,
00:21:35.000 --> 00:21:39.999
early loss of a parent for example.
About this time, Angus began having
00:21:40.000 --> 00:21:44.999
serious conflict with his father.
Angus’s father was explosive.
00:21:45.000 --> 00:21:49.999
When he wasn’t exploding
00:21:50.000 --> 00:21:54.999
I would like to think he was a decent father,
when he was calm, but when he would explode
00:21:55.000 --> 00:21:59.999
he would really blow. Well, yeah when
you’re like you’re fucking loser
00:22:00.000 --> 00:22:04.999
and you know you don’t do anything
and go out there and make money,
00:22:05.000 --> 00:22:09.999
so I can go on buy shit
and for himself right.
00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.999
We had issues of control.
The conflict at home
00:22:15.000 --> 00:22:19.999
made things worse at school. Angus has a tremor
in one hand and when he stressed it gets so bad,
00:22:20.000 --> 00:22:24.999
he can’t write. Then on top of it all,
00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:29.999
his parents decided to move the
family from Ontario to BC.
00:22:30.000 --> 00:22:34.999
I was just coming in my high school.
I had to leave all my friends
00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:39.999
and come to a new place that added stress, you
know I didn’t have a lot of friends at first
00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:44.999
and I don’t know, I don’t think I
was really so much doing drugs
00:22:45.000 --> 00:22:49.999
right at the beginning, but
I start to do lot of drugs
00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:54.999
later and near the end of the year.
By grade nine, Angus was
00:22:55.000 --> 00:22:59.999
one loud cry for help. I started a
fire in school, it was a little one
00:23:00.000 --> 00:23:04.999
like it was pretty much burning
paper and I stare away.
00:23:05.000 --> 00:23:09.999
By the time the principle phoned us and it turned
into Angus was trying to set the school on fire.
00:23:10.000 --> 00:23:14.999
Yeah, I was trying to burn down the
freaking school with the piece
00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:19.999
freaking paper and, you know, I wasn’t often there
you can really burn down big old cement school
00:23:20.000 --> 00:23:24.999
with a piece of paper but…
00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:29.999
But Angus was suspended for that.
For Angus that time is a blur
00:23:30.000 --> 00:23:34.999
including his father’s reaction.
Don’t really remembered,
00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:39.999
umm… I don’t know I have a lot of situations
that I’ve really kind of blacked out.
00:23:40.000 --> 00:23:44.999
In that great nine year,
00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:49.999
I turned him my husband near the end about April
and I said, “I think we need to get Angus
00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:54.999
into therapy” and his father
wouldn’t let us do it.
00:23:55.000 --> 00:23:59.999
And I know I should have been stronger
at the time and now I would be,
00:24:00.000 --> 00:24:04.999
but at time I wasn’t and
I did not pursue it.
00:24:05.000 --> 00:24:09.999
Angus became of obsessed with killing
himself and it came out in his heart.
00:24:10.000 --> 00:24:14.999
I was pretty heavy suicidal
00:24:15.000 --> 00:24:19.999
from grade nine to may be
or even eleven or twelve.
00:24:20.000 --> 00:24:24.999
I did lot of self mutilations, stuff like
that, and you get upset to the point
00:24:25.000 --> 00:24:29.999
where you just think there is no escape.
Holly, when you first saw these pictures?
00:24:30.000 --> 00:24:34.999
Which is right now?
00:24:35.000 --> 00:24:39.999
What’s your reaction?
00:24:40.000 --> 00:24:44.999
Well, I’m very sad but I’d
rather these the issues on paper
00:24:45.000 --> 00:24:49.999
and in the drawing then have sit
entrusted inside him and then come out
00:24:50.000 --> 00:24:54.999
in a way that will harm him
or someone around him.
00:24:55.000 --> 00:24:59.999
During this period, Angus
began drinking heavily.
00:25:00.000 --> 00:25:04.999
Well, at my heavier times,
I was drinking like
00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:09.999
two Mackie(ph) hot liquor and I would guzzle
it down in like less than five minutes.
00:25:10.000 --> 00:25:14.999
We see a lot of the adolescent males, well, they
just start to drink again self medicate with alcohol
00:25:15.000 --> 00:25:19.999
because it’s something they
can do that socially okay,
00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:24.999
or smoke pot for example. I was drinking to the point
where I really should be dead now pretty much.
00:25:25.000 --> 00:25:29.999
Males have a couple of concerns
00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:34.999
in terms of their risk taking behavior. One
is that in fact more males actually suicide
00:25:35.000 --> 00:25:39.999
even though the rate of depression is lower, so
they maybe more likely to have completed suicide,
00:25:40.000 --> 00:25:44.999
maybe not as many suicide attempts and that maybe
because they’re not sharing what’s going on,
00:25:45.000 --> 00:25:49.999
it may be because they’re
more impulse of risk taking,
00:25:50.000 --> 00:25:54.999
driving cars dangerously and you
doing other kinds of risk behaviors
00:25:55.000 --> 00:25:59.999
as an action oriented way of dealing with the
situation. Some of the evenings, I would wake up to
00:26:00.000 --> 00:26:04.999
smell the drugs, smell the vomit.
I mean, with the pot smoking
00:26:05.000 --> 00:26:09.999
I just pretty much enjoyed, it
was like a roller coaster ride.
00:26:10.000 --> 00:26:14.999
In reality, smoking pot quite likely
made Angus’s depression worse.
00:26:15.000 --> 00:26:19.999
There is some new research
indicating that marijuana itself
00:26:20.000 --> 00:26:24.999
seems to be linked with depression
uh… as a possible costive factor,
00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:29.999
umm… certainly what we do know is a many of the symptoms
of depression will be produced by daily marijuana use.
00:26:30.000 --> 00:26:34.999
By grade eleven, the situation in
Angus’s home reached a breaking point.
00:26:35.000 --> 00:26:39.999
My dad had a big blow up pretty much
00:26:40.000 --> 00:26:44.999
and yeah, I ended up uh… leaving
00:26:45.000 --> 00:26:49.999
that house and just pretty much
00:26:50.000 --> 00:26:54.999
leaving and going out.
00:26:55.000 --> 00:26:59.999
I’m driving back home and I find
my son walking through the streets
00:27:00.000 --> 00:27:04.999
with his head phones on
and he is just walking.
00:27:05.000 --> 00:27:09.999
So he was so lost and I knew at that point
00:27:10.000 --> 00:27:14.999
that he had nowhere to go,
he had no home to go to,
00:27:15.000 --> 00:27:19.999
he had nowhere to go and I
knew deep inside myself
00:27:20.000 --> 00:27:24.999
that it was time for me that I would have to
make that choice that I was going to lose him,
00:27:25.000 --> 00:27:29.999
that I was going to lose Hannah or I
was going to have to lose my husband.
00:27:30.000 --> 00:27:34.999
Am I no hippies’. Yes, you look just
like the hippies’ used to look,
00:27:35.000 --> 00:27:39.999
with the long hair and the long beard.
Holly made her choice.
00:27:40.000 --> 00:27:44.999
Angus begin a new life with his mother
and sister Hannah away from his father.
00:27:45.000 --> 00:27:49.999
Holly hoped Angus would get
better, but he didn’t.
00:27:50.000 --> 00:27:54.999
You know, life sucks and here I’m laying
on a couch, puking all over the place
00:27:55.000 --> 00:27:59.999
and my mom is downstairs
crying and yelling at me
00:28:00.000 --> 00:28:04.999
about what am I going to do, you
know, I’m putting extra strain
00:28:05.000 --> 00:28:09.999
and anguish on her so…
00:28:10.000 --> 00:28:14.999
Overcome by his mother distress, Angus finally
admitted he needed help, he told his mother
00:28:15.000 --> 00:28:19.999
he thought he was depressed.
Because of my past with depression
00:28:20.000 --> 00:28:24.999
and because of my own
00:28:25.000 --> 00:28:29.999
mixed up state at the time I was quiet, I
didn’t want to admit that Angus had depression
00:28:30.000 --> 00:28:34.999
by this point. I was frightened
of what depression meant.
00:28:35.000 --> 00:28:39.999
In spite of her fears, Holly took
Angus to their family doctor
00:28:40.000 --> 00:28:44.999
who confirmed that Angus was suffering from
depression and he prescribed an antidepressant.
00:28:45.000 --> 00:28:49.999
Holly next contacted the ministry of
children and family developments,
00:28:50.000 --> 00:28:54.999
child and youth mental health team.
00:28:55.000 --> 00:28:59.999
Psychologist Kym Dawson works
with kids up to age 21.
00:29:00.000 --> 00:29:04.999
Things better lately? Uh… Yeah, I say so.
00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:09.999
Angus presented with
symptoms of depression.
00:29:10.000 --> 00:29:14.999
An intellect that was a little bit
slow, his memory was horrible,
00:29:15.000 --> 00:29:19.999
he could remember his name address or telephone number when I asked
him. I’m wondering how you are doing on that scale of 1 to 10.
00:29:20.000 --> 00:29:24.999
Well, I would say today I
would probably be about
00:29:25.000 --> 00:29:29.999
a six.
00:29:30.000 --> 00:29:34.999
He was someone have went on
that doesn’t really hold
00:29:35.000 --> 00:29:39.999
any views up on you or anything like that
which is nice because if you’re talking to
00:29:40.000 --> 00:29:44.999
a parent or somebody who knows you they are
like you know through judgment on you or say,
00:29:45.000 --> 00:29:49.999
no you’re not really like that.
00:29:50.000 --> 00:29:54.999
Dr. Kym was there and he
would just listen and kind,
00:29:55.000 --> 00:29:59.999
I don’t know if it helped through things. So,
that would be as start as to kind of sit
00:30:00.000 --> 00:30:04.999
and listen and ask some probing questions
00:30:05.000 --> 00:30:09.999
about what’s going on. That probing led to Angus
admitting he had an alcohol and drug problem.
00:30:10.000 --> 00:30:14.999
Perhaps, half of our youth or more
00:30:15.000 --> 00:30:19.999
come in with a combination of mental illness
or some kind plus the substance issue
00:30:20.000 --> 00:30:24.999
or some sort to tease them apart,
00:30:25.000 --> 00:30:29.999
I ask question as well. When a teen is
depressed and has an alcohol problem
00:30:30.000 --> 00:30:34.999
there is more urgency to diagnose and treat.
Depression is often associated with suicide.
00:30:35.000 --> 00:30:39.999
People with mental illness who
are also drinking for example
00:30:40.000 --> 00:30:44.999
have been found to chose suicidality
as well more often than
00:30:45.000 --> 00:30:49.999
people with just the mental illness.
So I think what re-happening is
00:30:50.000 --> 00:30:54.999
the impulsivity that can come up with umm…
use of alcohol or some other substances
00:30:55.000 --> 00:30:59.999
umm… he adds to the risk, it simply
compounds the risk of the mental illness.
00:31:00.000 --> 00:31:04.999
In many cases it’s difficult to determine what
comes first, the alcohol abuse or the depression.
00:31:05.000 --> 00:31:09.999
In Angus’s case, I think
his umm… low mood state,
00:31:10.000 --> 00:31:14.999
his low sense of self-esteem in all
probability, he came before the substance abuse
00:31:15.000 --> 00:31:19.999
and he didn’t start using, I mean, he
experienced the family conflict the tremor,
00:31:20.000 --> 00:31:24.999
the writing disability which all and all
probability contributed to the low mood
00:31:25.000 --> 00:31:29.999
before he begin using alcohol or pot.
Dr. Dawson concluded
00:31:30.000 --> 00:31:34.999
Angus’s had been through a major
depression and currently had Dysthymia
00:31:35.000 --> 00:31:39.999
or chronic low mood. Honey, do
you walk the dogs this morning,
00:31:40.000 --> 00:31:44.999
you have to walk them? Yeah, I knew that as kinda… Dr.
Dawson decided he would use cognitive behavioral therapy
00:31:45.000 --> 00:31:49.999
to treat to both the depression
and the substance abuse problem.
00:31:50.000 --> 00:31:58.000
CBT would help the Angus reframe his though patterns from
negative to positive. I focus more on the, umm… the thoughts,
00:32:00.000 --> 00:32:04.999
the negative thoughts and the positive thoughts
and Angus was very willing to tell me,
00:32:05.000 --> 00:32:09.999
his anger and about various things in
his life that I have already mentioned.
00:32:10.000 --> 00:32:14.999
Umm… He was quiet willing to
identify some positive thoughts
00:32:15.000 --> 00:32:19.999
that he would rather positive believes
that he would rather have about himself.
00:32:20.000 --> 00:32:24.999
I just kind of had to really realize,
you know, read out fact from affection
00:32:25.000 --> 00:32:29.999
and that’s the only way you
know I could really stay,
00:32:30.000 --> 00:32:34.999
staying in the environment I was in.
Part of this saying,
00:32:35.000 --> 00:32:39.999
he is keeping on top of his substance abuse. That kind
of talking coming from your school and stuff like that
00:32:40.000 --> 00:32:44.999
and you showed up and… Dr. Dawson recommended Angus
attend an adolescence substance abuse treatment program
00:32:45.000 --> 00:32:49.999
called “IMPACT.” Now, we just can’t seem to
00:32:50.000 --> 00:32:54.999
get rid of that, you keep coming every day.
You know it went from
00:32:55.000 --> 00:32:59.999
me just coming because you know
my mom wanted me to get help
00:33:00.000 --> 00:33:04.999
and then to you know kind
of because I wanted to.
00:33:05.000 --> 00:33:09.999
[sil.]
00:33:10.000 --> 00:33:14.999
Besides group therapy,
IMPACT, runs activities
00:33:15.000 --> 00:33:19.999
which helped get kids connected to
a world beyond drugs and boose.
00:33:20.000 --> 00:33:24.999
[sil.]
00:33:25.000 --> 00:33:29.999
Getting someone here as
often is a quiet a journey
00:33:30.000 --> 00:33:34.999
you know by the time they get to our program
most people have really gone through
00:33:35.000 --> 00:33:39.999
a really long hard road and uh… so you know,
we definitely try and help them get clean
00:33:40.000 --> 00:33:44.999
and stay clean and also have uh… fun
00:33:45.000 --> 00:33:49.999
without getting high which is uh… you
know, quite foreign to some adolescents
00:33:50.000 --> 00:33:54.999
by the time that they gotten here.
Angus has made tremendous progress
00:33:55.000 --> 00:33:59.999
and now attends University
College of the Fraser Valley.
00:34:00.000 --> 00:34:04.999
I realized if you don’t have some
set boundaries and set goals,
00:34:05.000 --> 00:34:09.999
you really can get anywhere
if you go day by day
00:34:10.000 --> 00:34:14.999
because otherwise you’re just like laying on the couch all day
and I will fall back into this same thing I was in last time.
00:34:15.000 --> 00:34:19.999
Angus still occasionally
drinks and smokes pot.
00:34:20.000 --> 00:34:24.999
I still do dumb stuff every now and then.
I mean, everybody does.
00:34:25.000 --> 00:34:29.999
How the parents of pairs are
trying to cancel the video
00:34:30.000 --> 00:34:34.999
not because it was their daughter and it
because they thought it was like shot
00:34:35.000 --> 00:34:39.999
in the Holiday Inn that is why.
00:34:40.000 --> 00:34:44.999
He loves to make people laugh,
00:34:45.000 --> 00:34:49.999
he will come up to me and ask me, are you
feeling okay, so he is very sensitive
00:34:50.000 --> 00:34:54.999
to the other people feelings
umm… and then he will listen,
00:34:55.000 --> 00:35:00.000
he is gem.
00:35:05.000 --> 00:35:09.999
I had a horse he was like
the only friend that I had
00:35:10.000 --> 00:35:14.999
because with my Bipolar I
didn’t very well with people,
00:35:15.000 --> 00:35:19.999
so I just relayed on my horse as a friend.
At teenage girl on an afternoon ride
00:35:20.000 --> 00:35:24.999
for 17 year old Moira these
are precious moments
00:35:25.000 --> 00:35:29.999
precisely because they’re so normal. Moira
lost most of her adolescence to the pain
00:35:30.000 --> 00:35:34.999
and chaos of Bipolar disorder. She was
diagnosed and began treatment one year ago.
00:35:35.000 --> 00:35:39.999
In Bipolar disorder, you usually
have periods of depression,
00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:44.999
but what’s most distinctive about bipolar disorder is
you have clear period of what we would call a high mood
00:35:45.000 --> 00:35:49.999
or mania or hypomania which
means low grade mania,
00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:54.999
where the person is agitated,
energetic, often irritable,
00:35:55.000 --> 00:35:59.999
but often feeling somewhat grandiose like they
far more abilities then they have actually have.
00:36:00.000 --> 00:36:04.999
Well, Moira had Bipolar, I
couldn’t help, I start to cry,
00:36:05.000 --> 00:36:09.999
I was actually really happy
because for once people
00:36:10.000 --> 00:36:14.999
I could understand my daughter was sick.
I had a piece of paper saying
00:36:15.000 --> 00:36:19.999
my daughter is not spoiled, she is not
run away teenager, she is, you know,
00:36:20.000 --> 00:36:24.999
there is something wrong now please
help us. Clearly everybody has
00:36:25.000 --> 00:36:29.999
periods of being up and periods of being
down. It becomes Bipolar disorder
00:36:30.000 --> 00:36:34.999
when those up’s and down’s
are of greater severity
00:36:35.000 --> 00:36:39.999
than an average person would experience. Maniacs
when they start coming on you know you’re hyper,
00:36:40.000 --> 00:36:44.999
it’s a hyperactivity thing
00:36:45.000 --> 00:36:49.999
and, you know, you have no logic.
You don’t remember much,
00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:54.999
my mom would probably remember more when I’m
really mad at your strong, extremely like strong,
00:36:55.000 --> 00:36:59.999
strong well and strong and strength.
00:37:00.000 --> 00:37:04.999
You can do anything, you feel and you feel like you can
do anything too. When she would just be coming up a bit
00:37:05.000 --> 00:37:09.999
it was just like all of a sudden, I’m starting
to feel energetic. I would like do something.
00:37:10.000 --> 00:37:14.999
Now, I’m starting to get off the couch.
But, you know, she is going to escalate,
00:37:15.000 --> 00:37:19.999
which is not in the safe zone. So, you can’t
even at that point let her get too far from you,
00:37:20.000 --> 00:37:24.999
because as she is escalating the logic on this
side of the brain is totally disappearing.
00:37:25.000 --> 00:37:29.999
And then always you knew, what
went up what’s going to come down.
00:37:30.000 --> 00:37:34.999
From the manic high, Moira would plunge into
deep depression. It could happen weekly,
00:37:35.000 --> 00:37:39.999
daily, sometimes even more often.
It was like you are depressed
00:37:40.000 --> 00:37:44.999
and then it could be a minute later you’re manic and
then a minute later you’re depressed at my worse.
00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:49.999
Because, you can, you can cycle in minutes. We
don’t know exactly what causes Bipolar disorder,
00:37:50.000 --> 00:37:54.999
what we do know is that there seems to
be a very strong biological basis to it.
00:37:55.000 --> 00:37:59.999
Probably a genetic basis to it. That we
know that it tends to run in families.
00:38:00.000 --> 00:38:04.999
Moira is the youngest of six children.
Her father suffers from depression
00:38:05.000 --> 00:38:09.999
and her grandmother had Bipolar Disorder.
So, there are several clues
00:38:10.000 --> 00:38:14.999
umm… not the least of which
is a response to medication
00:38:15.000 --> 00:38:19.999
for individuals with Bipolar Disorder, that
suggest that this is very much biologically based
00:38:20.000 --> 00:38:24.999
not something caused by
traumatic experiences,
00:38:25.000 --> 00:38:29.999
bad parenting et cetera.
00:38:30.000 --> 00:38:34.999
Show me what’s going. Awesome. Bipolar disorder is
the least common of all mood disorders in youth.
00:38:35.000 --> 00:38:39.999
It often appears in late
adolescence or early adulthood.
00:38:40.000 --> 00:38:44.999
Moira remembers like becoming
difficult as early as grade six.
00:38:45.000 --> 00:38:49.999
First, came the fears.
Then, Mindra Tron (ph)
00:38:50.000 --> 00:38:54.999
this girl she was kidnapped and she’s beaten
and… and dropped off in one of the parks.
00:38:55.000 --> 00:38:59.999
And I was around the same age as me
at that time and once I heard that,
00:39:00.000 --> 00:39:04.999
I was too scared to go anywhere, I didn’t
want to walk to school, I didn’t do anything,
00:39:05.000 --> 00:39:09.999
I would dwelled on it and then the next thing will come and
then I’ll dwell on that. Moira even became afraid of her horse.
00:39:10.000 --> 00:39:14.999
And then all of a sudden, this was like I was so scared, I couldn’t
even walk to the pen to get him to put his halter on and stuff,
00:39:15.000 --> 00:39:19.999
basically that was the end. My
Bipolar disorders went boom,
00:39:20.000 --> 00:39:24.999
you know, and it just kind of took
over my life in so many ways.
00:39:25.000 --> 00:39:29.999
Moira was also having difficulties in
school. She was tested and diagnosed
00:39:30.000 --> 00:39:34.999
with ADHD Attention Deficit
Hyperactivity Disorder.
00:39:35.000 --> 00:39:39.999
Well, people actually thought I was spoiled little brat umm…
at school and stuff, my teachers in grade six and seven.
00:39:40.000 --> 00:39:44.999
One of the teachers actually called my mom up
and was just like, what is wrong with her.
00:39:45.000 --> 00:39:49.999
She is bouncing all over the class.
Moira couldn’t concentrate
00:39:50.000 --> 00:39:54.999
and couldn’t retain what she did learn which frustrated
her teachers. You know, I’d ask them, like, what it is,
00:39:55.000 --> 00:39:59.999
we just, we knew that you knew you just,
you should have took this in grade seven,
00:40:00.000 --> 00:40:04.999
you know, why you don’t you know we just
did it. Moira ended up in a special class
00:40:05.000 --> 00:40:09.999
for children with learning and behavioral
problems. Many of these children
00:40:10.000 --> 00:40:14.999
who are struggling with mental illness are presenting
in a manner that we unfortunately misunderstand
00:40:15.000 --> 00:40:19.999
as just bratty bad behavior, when in
fact it is a reflection of the illness
00:40:20.000 --> 00:40:24.999
and that was very clear as
Moira’s illness fluctuated
00:40:25.000 --> 00:40:29.999
so did her presentation of brattiness if you
will. And they were putting her in a class room
00:40:30.000 --> 00:40:34.999
and for two weeks to isolate from the other
kids, as the kids are going by mocking her.
00:40:35.000 --> 00:40:39.999
Being punished for, being ill, I guess you
could say. I think people tried to blame me
00:40:40.000 --> 00:40:44.999
like when I went to the schools. I think they
actually looked at me like, oh, you know,
00:40:45.000 --> 00:40:49.999
I mean, you got a spoiled child here after all she is,
you know, your number six and we are very devoted family
00:40:50.000 --> 00:40:54.999
and but I had enough
confidence in myself that,
00:40:55.000 --> 00:40:59.999
no I have done well with my family,
I… umm… I know my daughter,
00:41:00.000 --> 00:41:04.999
I have a beautiful daughter. Yes, I’m
guilty of spoiling all six of my kids but,
00:41:05.000 --> 00:41:09.999
that isn’t the way this the spoiled ones
turn out there is something more to this.
00:41:10.000 --> 00:41:14.999
It would be years before
Marie, knew what this was.
00:41:15.000 --> 00:41:19.999
Bipolar disorder is a very difficult diagnosis to
make because it looks like so many other things
00:41:20.000 --> 00:41:24.999
by age 13, Moira was desperate.
00:41:25.000 --> 00:41:29.999
I was ready to say this is it, you
know, I’m done this life because,
00:41:30.000 --> 00:41:34.999
you know, I was probably like, what was I was
probably I think 13 ready to commit suicide.
00:41:35.000 --> 00:41:39.999
You know, and I mean, that’s not normal.
The next four years
00:41:40.000 --> 00:41:44.999
were a nightmare for her family unable
to cope with school Moira dropped out,
00:41:45.000 --> 00:41:49.999
admitted several times to the adult psychiatric
ward of Colonel General. She ran away.
00:41:50.000 --> 00:41:54.999
She was umm… quite aggressive
with those around her.
00:41:55.000 --> 00:41:59.999
She was verbally aggressive with those around
her and she was very unstable and unsettled
00:42:00.000 --> 00:42:04.999
and seriously struggling from what
was clearly some mental illness
00:42:05.000 --> 00:42:09.999
that we weren’t yet sure what it was. Then,
Moira took a turn for the worse much worse.
00:42:10.000 --> 00:42:14.999
She experienced a life
threatening manic episode.
00:42:15.000 --> 00:42:19.999
I just want to leave here, I she would
say… I’m just leaving, I’m just leaving
00:42:20.000 --> 00:42:24.999
and I said, No, I’d, you really can’t leave right
now.” And then I phoned the doctor and he said,
00:42:25.000 --> 00:42:29.999
you know, “you’re going to have to get her in.” And he
said, I want you to give her three pills of Ativan,
00:42:30.000 --> 00:42:34.999
three pills of Ativan would
knock me down uh… definitely.
00:42:35.000 --> 00:42:39.999
She was about 100 pounds and
it was not doing anything.
00:42:40.000 --> 00:42:44.999
So, I phoned the RCMP and said, I’m,
00:42:45.000 --> 00:42:49.999
I think I’m going to need some help so
this, she huge 300 pound RCMP walked in
00:42:50.000 --> 00:42:54.999
and he looked her like little hundred pound
little girl and she say I don’t need back up
00:42:55.000 --> 00:42:59.999
and he hung up the phone.
And, obviously he had never
00:43:00.000 --> 00:43:04.999
worked with a person with Bipolar before.
He had an awful time
00:43:05.000 --> 00:43:09.999
getting her to the car and when we got to
the hospital she was still trying to escape
00:43:10.000 --> 00:43:14.999
and she looked at me and she said
mom, why won’t you let me die?
00:43:15.000 --> 00:43:19.999
I knew my daughter was going manic and
she was going… trying to kill herself.
00:43:20.000 --> 00:43:24.999
I couldn’t let her go. I would not let her go. And
then, I told please, that you can’t let her go,
00:43:25.000 --> 00:43:29.999
you have to help me. And him, and her
and I took her to the second floor
00:43:30.000 --> 00:43:34.999
and he was so big and she even got him down
on the elevator floor, she held him down.
00:43:35.000 --> 00:43:39.999
Like, I kind of took down a
300 pound cop because of it.
00:43:40.000 --> 00:43:44.999
And they… the blue of her eyes a bright
blue had actually turned white and she,
00:43:45.000 --> 00:43:49.999
you could tell that her whole body was
in just terrible disarray like it
00:43:50.000 --> 00:43:54.999
was vibrating almost. It didn’t, it didn’t take much
to look at her and say that this young person body
00:43:55.000 --> 00:43:59.999
like I kept saying to myself, quite soon have a heart
attack. Because, her body was just going all out of,
00:44:00.000 --> 00:44:04.999
just so dramatic to have
that, to be that manic.
00:44:05.000 --> 00:44:09.999
For Moira’s mom, the day Moira was committed
to the, Adult Psychod was so upsetting,
00:44:10.000 --> 00:44:14.999
it seared in her memory. But, Moira
remembers little. At the end I was done
00:44:15.000 --> 00:44:19.999
and yeah, so I’m just like
I need to go for a nap.
00:44:20.000 --> 00:44:24.999
So, I… they took me in ICU
and all of a sudden click
00:44:25.000 --> 00:44:29.999
and they shut the door because that’s what it kind of sounded me
so it shuts. My brother is like all scared this is the first time,
00:44:30.000 --> 00:44:34.999
he’s ever been in there. I’m like
yeah I just need a nap I went in
00:44:35.000 --> 00:44:39.999
and that was the end of that and I was in there
for another four weeks. So it was a big long nap.
00:44:40.000 --> 00:44:44.999
Because of the severity of Moira’s
illness, she was placed in a locked
00:44:45.000 --> 00:44:49.999
observation room where staff could ensure
her safety. Most children and teens
00:44:50.000 --> 00:44:54.999
who suffer from Bipolar Disorder
can be treated in a community.
00:44:55.000 --> 00:44:59.999
Only severe cases like Moira’s need hospitalization,
it was during these four weeks in hospital.
00:45:00.000 --> 00:45:04.999
Moira began taking medication
that stabilized her condition.
00:45:05.000 --> 00:45:09.999
There is a class of medication
called mood stabilizers
00:45:10.000 --> 00:45:14.999
that are used to assist the individual with reducing
those fluctuating moods very often to the point
00:45:15.000 --> 00:45:19.999
where they don’t experience fluctuating
moods outside of the normal range.
00:45:20.000 --> 00:45:24.999
Vitamins too. I do take my vitamins.
00:45:25.000 --> 00:45:29.999
Moira’s medications continue to be adjusted
and she hopes to begin talk therapy soon.
00:45:30.000 --> 00:45:34.999
Hi Moira. Hey, how is it going?
00:45:35.000 --> 00:45:39.999
Young people like Moira can benefit from cognitive
behavioral therapy or interpersonal cycle therapy
00:45:40.000 --> 00:45:44.999
that helps her deal with secondary
problems that arise from their illness.
00:45:45.000 --> 00:45:49.999
Low self esteem, difficulties
with school functioning,
00:45:50.000 --> 00:45:54.999
significantly disrupted family functioning these
things need to be addressed in addition to treating
00:45:55.000 --> 00:45:59.999
the core problem itself the
Bipolar disorder. In a mean time,
00:46:00.000 --> 00:46:04.999
Moira continues to rely on her mother who’s
been her life line throughout her illness
00:46:05.000 --> 00:46:09.999
and on the support of her family. I don’t really
hangout with friends and stuff like that.
00:46:10.000 --> 00:46:14.999
I only have my family like,
there is so many of us like,
00:46:15.000 --> 00:46:19.999
I have 19 people in my family and, you know,
there’s kids and stuff and they keep you so busy
00:46:20.000 --> 00:46:24.999
sometimes you think well
what’s the point of friends.
00:46:25.000 --> 00:46:29.999
Like many teens with mental illness. Moira’s
Bipolar disorder has cost her, years of her life.
00:46:30.000 --> 00:46:34.999
You lose a school year, you lose
your friends you’re off the team
00:46:35.000 --> 00:46:39.999
and you don’t have the normal development
you would’ve had during that time.
00:46:40.000 --> 00:46:44.999
If you are an adult and you’re off work for three
months with depression when you come back to work
00:46:45.000 --> 00:46:49.999
somebody has done your job and
you pick up and you carry on.
00:46:50.000 --> 00:46:54.999
If you are teenager and you’ve missed three months of
school and you come back they won’t last terms work.
00:46:55.000 --> 00:46:59.999
For the first time in four years,
Moira looks forward to her future.
00:47:00.000 --> 00:47:04.999
She is registered at Okanagan University
College to complete her grade 12.
00:47:05.000 --> 00:47:09.999
So, this is a Math class, that’s going on at
the moment which – Fiona Neil (ph) coordinates
00:47:10.000 --> 00:47:14.999
disability services at the college. Individual
attention from the instructors. My bipolar may…
00:47:15.000 --> 00:47:19.999
maybe one day, it might be too stressful.
00:47:20.000 --> 00:47:24.999
We can help elevate that stress
perhaps by assisting at exam time
00:47:25.000 --> 00:47:29.999
and maybe the use of a quiet distraction free
environment in which to take your exams.
00:47:30.000 --> 00:47:34.999
Now the challenge for Moira is to accept that
it’s safe to let Moira grow more independent.
00:47:35.000 --> 00:47:39.999
Do you remember when your babies were
sick and you pack them around all day
00:47:40.000 --> 00:47:44.999
and then they’d get better and you put the towel all
way, and the kid wants to be packed around all the time.
00:47:45.000 --> 00:47:49.999
And that’s what you have to be very careful
of with Bipolar. Because of the severity
00:47:50.000 --> 00:47:54.999
of her Bipolar Disorder her family knows there is a
chance Moira, will have to be hospitalized again.
00:47:55.000 --> 00:47:59.999
This is the worst place, you
don’t want to be in here.
00:48:00.000 --> 00:48:04.999
The room over there, it’s that one I
think that one the one over there,
00:48:05.000 --> 00:48:09.999
it’s got a toilet and everything like that in it so
once you are in there they shut the door and lock it.
00:48:10.000 --> 00:48:14.999
This is not something anybody else is for.
But when you get it and when you have it
00:48:15.000 --> 00:48:19.999
you must deal with it. Parents and …
Moira’s experience in the adult psychod
00:48:20.000 --> 00:48:24.999
was so traumatizing. She and her
mother are helping raise five million
00:48:25.000 --> 00:48:29.999
for a new adolescent friendly floor
at Colonel General hospital,
00:48:30.000 --> 00:48:34.999
exclusively for children and teen mental health.
Adolescents admitted to an inpatient unit,
00:48:35.000 --> 00:48:39.999
designed for adolescents are admitted into an
environment that is designed to be youth friendly,
00:48:40.000 --> 00:48:44.999
it is non-institutional. One of the neatest
things I think about this whole facility
00:48:45.000 --> 00:48:49.999
will be the new class room, which will be a smart
class room, it’d be wired, we’ll have the technology
00:48:50.000 --> 00:48:54.999
to link to other class rooms within the school
district. So, kids who are in for the 7 to 21 day,
00:48:55.000 --> 00:48:59.999
residential stay will be able to stay involved in their
studies, keep connected with their friends at school
00:49:00.000 --> 00:49:04.999
and their teachers. And then they won’t get
behind and stuff. And you have no idea
00:49:05.000 --> 00:49:09.999
what this does for a mother, who has been in
a situation where her daughter had nowhere
00:49:10.000 --> 00:49:14.999
and I had to bring her to that situation.
This is like a five star resort.
00:49:15.000 --> 00:49:19.999
You know, she has been saved. She really
has, she has been saved from death,
00:49:20.000 --> 00:49:24.999
she has been saved from so many things.
She is going to be somebody…
00:49:25.000 --> 00:49:29.999
she’s going to be a shining star. Not
all battles with depression offer
00:49:30.000 --> 00:49:34.999
as much hope as Moira’s.
00:49:35.000 --> 00:49:39.999
[music]
00:49:40.000 --> 00:49:44.999
Kerry and Ginny Dennehy Wissler
lost their son to depression.
00:49:45.000 --> 00:49:49.999
The Illness first appeared
00:49:50.000 --> 00:49:54.999
when the family was on a cruise
celebrating the millennium.
00:49:55.000 --> 00:49:59.999
We were actually down in the cabin in the bowls
of the ship and he told me he didn’t feel well
00:50:00.000 --> 00:50:04.999
and actually looked at me with a wild
glare in his eyes and told me that,
00:50:05.000 --> 00:50:09.999
he didn’t know what was wrong with him, he
was going to throw himself off the ship,
00:50:10.000 --> 00:50:14.999
I had to bar the door
after I barred the door
00:50:15.000 --> 00:50:19.999
he sat down in the bunk and he broke
down and told me if he’d being,
00:50:20.000 --> 00:50:24.999
I mean, attacked by what they refer to as the
black dog. Over the next year and a half
00:50:25.000 --> 00:50:29.999
Kelty was hounded by the black dog of depression.
He went from being an outgoing successful student
00:50:30.000 --> 00:50:34.999
at Saskatchewan’s renowned Notre
Dame College to a terrified recluse.
00:50:35.000 --> 00:50:39.999
And he says mom, he’s says I don’t just don’t
want to have these thoughts in my head.
00:50:40.000 --> 00:50:44.999
I want them all to go away. So, we
had to ask all of his friends to go
00:50:45.000 --> 00:50:49.999
and they all left and we just,
I just had Kelty and I.
00:50:50.000 --> 00:50:54.999
I lay with him in bed
and… I’m saying too alone
00:50:55.000 --> 00:50:59.999
I told him it would be okay and
we would take care of him.
00:51:00.000 --> 00:51:04.999
But Dennehy saw counselors and
doctors Kelty was put on medication,
00:51:05.000 --> 00:51:09.999
but nothing took away his pain. Don’t worry I
will be watching you from the heavens above.
00:51:10.000 --> 00:51:14.999
Heaven is a better place than Earth, since
I love you mom, dad, family and friends.
00:51:15.000 --> 00:51:19.999
Kelty wrote this note to his parents
00:51:20.000 --> 00:51:24.999
just before he killed himself. No research
will ever understand my depression,
00:51:25.000 --> 00:51:29.999
my depression was in my mind,
god bless you, love Kelty.
00:51:30.000 --> 00:51:34.999
In his note he said that, no research will understand
depression well that’s where Kelty was wrong
00:51:35.000 --> 00:51:39.999
and that we are putting money towards
research if we can save one child’s life
00:51:40.000 --> 00:51:44.999
it’s all worth it. The Dennehy’s
have formed the Kelty foundation
00:51:45.000 --> 00:51:49.999
in memory of their son. It’s one
of several foundations in BC
00:51:50.000 --> 00:51:54.999
dedicated to fighting depression, in two and
a half years, their foundation has raised
00:51:55.000 --> 00:51:59.999
three quarters of a million dollars.
The money is divided
00:52:00.000 --> 00:52:04.999
amongst treatment, research and education.
We knew nothing about this,
00:52:05.000 --> 00:52:09.999
we were parents who have never experienced this before.
Unfortunately, we know a lot more now about it
00:52:10.000 --> 00:52:14.999
and umm… we know a lot more now
00:52:15.000 --> 00:52:19.999
we want to try to help anybody else
not travel the same journey we did.
00:52:20.000 --> 00:52:24.999
A large part of their foundations work is educating
teens. The problem with teens and children
00:52:25.000 --> 00:52:29.999
is it that they do not have
the experience to know
00:52:30.000 --> 00:52:34.999
that the sun will come up tomorrow. Given that
40% of depressed kids will confide in a friend
00:52:35.000 --> 00:52:39.999
while only 5% will confide in a parent,
that Dennehy’s plan to fund a program
00:52:40.000 --> 00:52:44.999
called partners for life based upon
a successful program in Quebec.
00:52:45.000 --> 00:52:49.999
Teens are trained to help depressed friends
find the resources they need to get better.
00:52:50.000 --> 00:52:54.999
Research suggest teaching skills to
identify and cope with depression
00:52:55.000 --> 00:52:59.999
actually decreases the incidents of the
illness. These skills involve knowing yourself,
00:53:00.000 --> 00:53:04.999
assessing your level of stress, having good
stress coping abilities ranging from exercise
00:53:05.000 --> 00:53:09.999
to self talk, having good problem solving
skills when something isn’t working
00:53:10.000 --> 00:53:14.999
how do I tackle this, who
do I go to for help.
00:53:15.000 --> 00:53:19.999
The ministry of children
and family development
00:53:20.000 --> 00:53:24.999
is creating a web based self care
depression program for team.
00:53:25.000 --> 00:53:29.999
Dr. Dan Bilsker works with graphic artist
Christy Hill to create the website.
00:53:30.000 --> 00:53:34.999
Is one of the real strong messages we got back
from focus groups we did with teenagers was
00:53:35.000 --> 00:53:39.999
we don’t like looking at a great big block of text
that’s…. It’s modeled on his successful adult program
00:53:40.000 --> 00:53:44.999
that’s used worldwide. The self help tool
00:53:45.000 --> 00:53:49.999
uses the principles of
cognitive behavioral therapy.
00:53:50.000 --> 00:53:54.999
Through a series of written
activities and exercises.
00:53:55.000 --> 00:53:59.999
Teens will learn how to recognize negative
thoughts and replace them with positive thinking.
00:54:00.000 --> 00:54:04.999
So what we do here is take someone through a
structured problem solving that really shows them
00:54:05.000 --> 00:54:09.999
how to cope more effectively with the problems in their
life, how to generate different kinds of solutions,
00:54:10.000 --> 00:54:14.999
how to evaluate their solutions, how to distinguish
and assert of response from a passive one
00:54:15.000 --> 00:54:19.999
these are all really important aspects of
then planning what you are going to do,
00:54:20.000 --> 00:54:24.999
about the problems you are facing. The
program will be available on the internet
00:54:25.000 --> 00:54:29.999
as well as in hard copy
to anyone free of charge.
00:54:30.000 --> 00:54:34.999
When a child or teen is depressed,
the entire family suffers.
00:54:35.000 --> 00:54:39.999
To emerge from that cocoon of sadness
and pain takes tremendous effort.
00:54:40.000 --> 00:54:44.999
But for the most part, the
work pays off with treatment,
00:54:45.000 --> 00:54:49.999
children and teens can get better. Keep
strong, believe in yourself because,
00:54:50.000 --> 00:54:54.999
if you don’t believe in yourself, nobody else
will. There is no such thing as being cared.
00:54:55.000 --> 00:54:59.999
You know, you live with it
for the rest of your life,
00:55:00.000 --> 00:55:04.999
you may have it, so that
it’s easier to go to bed,
00:55:05.000 --> 00:55:09.999
it’s easier to put on clothes and get out
of house, it’s easier to calm yourself down
00:55:10.000 --> 00:55:14.999
but there’s no such things being cared. I don’t want
anything out of life, I just want to, just leave me alone.
00:55:15.000 --> 00:55:19.999
But now I really I got goals,
I want to go to college,
00:55:20.000 --> 00:55:24.999
I want to have a family,
I want to be happy,
00:55:25.000 --> 00:55:29.999
I just I want to, I want…
00:55:30.000 --> 00:55:34.999
whatever everybody else want
to live life, you know,
00:55:35.000 --> 00:55:39.999
all the normal things. For
more information about
00:55:40.000 --> 00:55:44.999
mental health resources mentioned in this
documentary or to access in depth articles,
00:55:45.000 --> 00:55:49.999
links, videos and more. Visit our
website at knowledgenetwork. ca
00:55:50.000 --> 00:55:55.000
and click on knowledge tools where you’ll find
taking care child and youth mental health.
Distributor: National Film Board of Canada
Length: 56 minutes
Date: 2004
Genre: Expository
Language: English
Closed Captioning: Available
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