Combo Therapy Not Always Best for Teen Depression

Considered to be a leader in suicide prevention Matthew Dovel, the author of a new book entitled My Last Breath contends that suicide prevention starts at home and not in a bottle. Even though Mr. Dovel does not advocate the prolonged usage of antidepressants he does see a need for short-term treatment in extreme cases.

(PRWEB) August 21, 2004 -- Mr. Dovel is quoted as saying he believes in most cases, as a young adult, teenagers are making the emotional transition from a childs mind to that of an adult. This period of a young adults life will set the stage for the rest of their life and how they will handle the hardships, joys and pain that life has to offer. By escaping to a bottle every time there is an emotion or, feeling that a person cannot handle is a disturbing trend. Emotions and feelings are the growing pains of the mind and subduing them will lead to retarded maturity. Ultimately leading to an unhappy and unfulfilled life, which are the very things that antidepressants promise us".

Mr. Dovel says that some teenagers handle this extreme stress differently and better then others. This is because of we need to get back to the basics in child raising techniques. First, we must be involved in our childrens life by talking with them about what is going on in their life and how they are feeling. Once they verbalize the different and strange emotions that they are experiencing the pain of that emotion, they are feeling, will leave them. The power of communication is amazing and just as it is hard for a child to make the transition from a child to a adult it is in most cases just as hard for a parent to view their child as a adult. By talking to our children on a daily bases we will also make the transition needed to accept them being able to live their life without us.

Of course we cannot forget that we are what we eat and the food that is put into our bodies ultimately affects our thoughts. Over the last fifty years the suicide rate among our youth has nearly tripled. In the same time period we have also seen the fast food industry come into existence with food that lacks nutrition vital to the growth of young minds. With fast food the only real growth we have seen, as a nation, has been our waste line. We need to get back to having a balanced diet and sitting down at the dinner table as a family. Nothing is stronger then the love and support of a healthy family.

Mr. Dovel knows the tragedy of suicide first hand as he himself attempted suicide at the age of twenty-five, outlined in his new book My Last Breath. His book is available at Barnes and Noble for $19.95 (ISBN: 1413701949).