Signs of Depression In Your Teen

The news lately has been full of heartbreaking stories of suicide among teens and college students. Most of the coverage has focused on the despicable bullying these young people experienced and the fact that several were gay. But parents of teens and young adults need to know this: While bullying may push a despairing youth over the edge, and while gay youths may be especially vulnerable, most who kill themselves have something else in common. They are depressed or have another mental illness. And, often, teens do their best to hide their pain, says [Columbia Psychiatry's] Laurie Flynn, executive director of TeenScreen, a non-profit group that promotes mental health screening and treatment. "Kids try so hard to put their game faces on," she says. Flynn knows: She was shocked when her own daughter attempted suicide in high school. The star student had been troubled for a while, but "I thought she was doing just fine," Flynn says. Since then, Flynn has spoken to many young people who've "thought about killing themselves for months and months…"
Read more at http://www.usatoday.com/yourlife/parenting-family/teen-ya/2010-10-26-parent26_ST_N.htm