[et_pb_section][et_pb_row make_fullwidth="off" use_custom_width="off" width_unit="on" use_custom_gutter="off" padding_mobile="off" allow_player_pause="off" parallax="off" parallax_method="off" make_equal="off" padding_top_1="40" padding_bottom_1="20"][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Title" background_layout="light" text_orientation="center" text_font_size="52" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid" custom_padding="10||10|" text_text_color="#666666"]<strong>Depression</strong>[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][et_pb_row][et_pb_column type="4_4"][et_pb_text admin_label="Content" background_layout="light" text_orientation="left" use_border_color="off" border_color="#ffffff" border_style="solid" custom_padding="20||20|"]<p>Depression is on the rise among adolescents.  Today about <strong>20 percent of adolescents</strong> will experience depression before they reach adulthood. (Mental Health: A Report of the Surgeon General).  Many more suffer some of the symptoms of depression.</p>

<p>In YTN’s research and coaching of parents and adolescents we have found that the lack of true understanding of depression on the part of parents can limit the ability of youth to escape depression. Having experienced depression, I know first hand how people’s attempts to help,who do not understand depression, can leave a depressed person feeling more down on themselves and thus more trapped within it.  Watch the video,My Encounter with Depression, in the Parent Portal to have a better understanding of what your child may be experiencing. Understanding and giving credence to their lack of motivation or desire to do anything is essential rather than pressuring them to get moving which will add to their sense of falling short and failure.  Listening, encouraging and sharing without telling them that the way they see themselves is not right or giving correction allows youth to hear themselves and begin to assess their thoughts.  When they ask, “What do you think?”give them positive feedback.</p>

<p>In many of the adolescents we have coachedwho struggle with significant depressionwe have found that one of the roots of their depression stemmed from a collapse of their internal belief in themselves and their abilities.  They had become so negative internally about themselves that it altered their perspective of everything around them.  Any youth who is encountering significant signs of depression (link to mayo clinic signs of depression) should seek the help of their physician and or psychiatrist who can prescribe medications to help.One question we like to ask when meeting with youth is if they feel a pressure or a physical ache in their chest.  Often depression will manifest with just such an ache.  At times it can be so significant that people have gone to the hospital believing they are having a heart attack.</p>

<p>As a parent you can do a great deal to help your youth address their depression. Ifyour focus changes from performance to what is really going on inside,you make a shift from external pressure to perform to targeting their internal beliefs and desires While this is something we recommend and encourage parents to do with every adolescent, it is critical with those who are depressed. This approach allows for more open and real communication and gives parents access to tap the discouragement that can build up within our kids often without any indication.  Watch Tapping the Discouragement from our Kid’s Hearts and some of the story videos related to this in the parent portal.</p>

<p>Tap discouragement by giving your adolescent a safe place to dump and evaluate it.Draw close through understanding.  Listen, encourage and help them process the things that have become an energy drain within.  This approach will greatly helpyour adolescent escape depression.   Depressed youth need to once again feel close and connected to their parents.  Every child wants to please their parents.When youth come to the conclusion that this is not possible, at times, depression can occur.</p>

<p>Today more than ever our adolescents need to feel heard, understood, believed in and trusted. Understanding this and targeting the internals rather than the behavior and performance is at the heart of the Secrets of Influential Parenting, which can bring about relationships that increase parents’ access and influence in their kids’ lives and result in more open, positive and motivated youth.</p>[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]