In my June 11 article, I talked about alternatives to anti-depressants. Here I will turn to what I believe is the bigger question: how can we prevent depression in the first place? In other words, how do we help healthy kids to enhance their well-being and flourish in life?
Optimism and Engagement are two ways individuals can buffer themselves against depression. But to have the greatest impact, we need system-level change so that teens develop in an environment that prevents depression-- and this means changing our approach to education.
Optimism
One of the best things we can do for our children is to teach them the thinking skills that build optimism and hope. The way we explain life events to ourselves falls into two styles: pessimistic and optimistic, according to Martin Seligman, in his book, “Learned Optimism.” The pessimistic style is associated with depression and the optimistic style prevents depression.
When a bad event happens, the key question is how I explain it to myself. Do I say, “It’s my fault; there’s something wrong with me; I failed?” Or, do I name multiple factors, beyond me, that contributed to the event? The first set of answers reflects a pessimistic style and the second answer reflects an optimistic style. When good events happen, I want to do just the opposite: focus on things I did to make the events happen.
Engagement
Engagement is the experience of being so absorbed in an activity that you lose your sense of self—and your sense of time. For example, playing tennis, planting a garden for your community center, meditating, and using your top strengths in new ways are all engaging activities. Each of these requires focus beyond the self – which is crucial to preventing depression, according to Seligman, in his latest book, “Authentic Happiness.”
Sadly, researcher Mike Csikszentmihalyi found that most teens are not engaged during much of the school day. Further, the two areas where teens are most engaged at school are the same areas where opportunities become more limited as kids get older: Sports and Arts. Increasing the amount of time spent in engaging activities, through participation in sports, arts, using one’s character strengths, meaningful service to others, and meditation are all ways to enhance well-being and buffer against depression.
Changing Our Approach to Education
In addition to individual skills, we also need to consider the system in which teens operate daily-- to be sure it enhances well-being. In a study last year, I found that our current system reinforces factors that cause depression (lack of control, defeat and pessimism, as well as focus on rank and status). For more detail, please see my study at www.positiveleaders.com/studyresults.html. If we want to systematically prevent depression in teens, we—parents, voters, and educators-- need to change our approach to education.
To begin with, three false myths affect the way we view and talk about education: (1) Not being a top student means you are not hardworking, motivated, or intelligent; (2) Being a top student leads to a great life; and (3) Our approach to education is best for our teens.
Students in the bottom of their classes have strengths and gifts that are well-suited to successful lives, but often these abilities are not amplified and enhanced in school. Nor are some strengths of the best students. While top students can thrive in school, they are also encouraged to focus on factors that correlate with anxiety and depression: rank, teacher opinion, being the best, or looking smart.*
World, corporate, and scientific leadership – as well as the future economy — depend on a far broader set of abilities than those we currently emphasize in school. Changing our approach, and actively engaging diverse gifts and strengths, not only leads to teen well-being, it also prepares the next generation for the world they will run.
* Jennifer Crocker at University of Michigan, Janice Templeton, at Fort Lewis College, and Barry Schwartz , author of “The Paradox of Choice,” have written about these factors.
For More Information:
Optimism and strengths tests: http://www.authentichappiness.com/
My Website: http://www.positiveleaders.com/
If you would like to be on our distribution list (we do not give your information to anyone else), please email julie@positiveleaders.com
"Learned Optimism" and "Authentic Happiness" are available on Amazon.
© Christine Duvivier 2007, 2008 All Rights Reserved
Wednesday, June 18, 2008
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Alternatives to Anti-depressants
Jeanne Mayell’s recent column in The Wellesley Townsman alerted parents to the teen suicide risks of anti-depressants. She said, “…they found that after being on the drug for many months, significantly more people became suicidal on the antidepressant than on the placebo.” This naturally leads to the question: are there alternatives? The short answer is: yes. Several alternatives exist for treating depression and I will discuss them below. Equally important, though, are the options for preventing depression-- and I will talk about these in the next article.
Before going further, you need to know that I am not a medical professional. I have a masters' in Positive Psychology and additional training in optimism and resilience. My intent here is to provide information for parents who want to research anti-depressant alternatives and particularly for those who want to prevent teen depression. Please talk with a physician or clinical psychologist before deciding upon the best approach for your teen.
Why It Matters
Depression is at an all-time high: incidences have increased 1000% in 50 years [note: for those who wonder if the increase is due to better reporting, it is not]. Sadly, depression now starts earlier: the average age of onset has gone from age 30 to age 14.5. It is estimated that 20% of high school students (240 in a school of 1200) will have a serious depressive episode.
While 20% --one in five teens-- is a high rate, this does not even include the students who have some symptoms of depression or anxiety. In 1988, researcher Jean Twenge found that “normal kids” showed more symptoms of anxiety than psychiatric patients in the 1950s. Data from the Penn Resiliency Program showed middle school students with depressive symptoms, who were not yet clinically depressed. These symptoms doubled in two years when left untreated.
Treating Depression
Clearly we need effective, low-risk treatments. Fortunately, there are three approaches, besides anti-depressants, that parents can consider: 1) Homeopathy, 2) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and 3) Positive Interventions.
Homeopathy is a natural medical approach developed by a physician in the 1850s. It has not had the same level of study that pharmaceuticals have had, so parents need to understand it carefully before deciding on the approach they feel is best for their children. For parents seeking an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs, however, this may be an option. It works somewhat like a vaccine, using infinitesimal amounts of natural substances that trigger the individual’s system to heal itself (quantum physics principles can explain how it works). Homeopathy has been used to treat depression in teens. Two local homeopaths are Jerry Kantor in Wellesley and Mathilde Flores in Maynard, MA.
Another approach is CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), a psychotherapy approach that has been used for over 30 years. Psychiatrist Aaron Beck showed that it is our thoughts—specifically the way we explain events to ourselves—that causes depression. With CBT, an individual is guided to change their damaging thought patterns. Studies have shown that CBT is as effective as anti-depressants in many cases.
Positive Interventions are a third alternative and potentially the most powerful. In one study, 12 weeks of psychotherapy using Positive Interventions worked better than a combination of anti-depressants and traditional therapy. In a second study of college students with moderate depression, Positive Interventions-- used for six weeks-- reduced depressive symptoms significantly and increased life satisfaction. The effects lasted for the full year of follow-on testing, which is longer than typically expected. These studies were done by Marty Seligman, Tayyab Rashid, and Acacia Parks at the University of Pennsylvania (American Psychologist, 2006).
Treating depression effectively, without putting our children at increased risk, is critically important, but it is not enough. Far better is to prevent depression from occurring in the first place and I will discuss this in the next article.
Resources
For more information on the alternatives above, please click on the following links:
Homeopathy:
http://www.homeopathy-soh.org/about-homeopathy/what-is-homeopathy/sad.aspx
CBT:
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2007/12/12/get-healthier-and-happier.html?PageNr=2
Positive Interventions in Psychotherapy: http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/positivepsychotherapyarticle.pdf
My Website: www.positiveleaders.com
Before going further, you need to know that I am not a medical professional. I have a masters' in Positive Psychology and additional training in optimism and resilience. My intent here is to provide information for parents who want to research anti-depressant alternatives and particularly for those who want to prevent teen depression. Please talk with a physician or clinical psychologist before deciding upon the best approach for your teen.
Why It Matters
Depression is at an all-time high: incidences have increased 1000% in 50 years [note: for those who wonder if the increase is due to better reporting, it is not]. Sadly, depression now starts earlier: the average age of onset has gone from age 30 to age 14.5. It is estimated that 20% of high school students (240 in a school of 1200) will have a serious depressive episode.
While 20% --one in five teens-- is a high rate, this does not even include the students who have some symptoms of depression or anxiety. In 1988, researcher Jean Twenge found that “normal kids” showed more symptoms of anxiety than psychiatric patients in the 1950s. Data from the Penn Resiliency Program showed middle school students with depressive symptoms, who were not yet clinically depressed. These symptoms doubled in two years when left untreated.
Treating Depression
Clearly we need effective, low-risk treatments. Fortunately, there are three approaches, besides anti-depressants, that parents can consider: 1) Homeopathy, 2) Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and 3) Positive Interventions.
Homeopathy is a natural medical approach developed by a physician in the 1850s. It has not had the same level of study that pharmaceuticals have had, so parents need to understand it carefully before deciding on the approach they feel is best for their children. For parents seeking an alternative to pharmaceutical drugs, however, this may be an option. It works somewhat like a vaccine, using infinitesimal amounts of natural substances that trigger the individual’s system to heal itself (quantum physics principles can explain how it works). Homeopathy has been used to treat depression in teens. Two local homeopaths are Jerry Kantor in Wellesley and Mathilde Flores in Maynard, MA.
Another approach is CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy), a psychotherapy approach that has been used for over 30 years. Psychiatrist Aaron Beck showed that it is our thoughts—specifically the way we explain events to ourselves—that causes depression. With CBT, an individual is guided to change their damaging thought patterns. Studies have shown that CBT is as effective as anti-depressants in many cases.
Positive Interventions are a third alternative and potentially the most powerful. In one study, 12 weeks of psychotherapy using Positive Interventions worked better than a combination of anti-depressants and traditional therapy. In a second study of college students with moderate depression, Positive Interventions-- used for six weeks-- reduced depressive symptoms significantly and increased life satisfaction. The effects lasted for the full year of follow-on testing, which is longer than typically expected. These studies were done by Marty Seligman, Tayyab Rashid, and Acacia Parks at the University of Pennsylvania (American Psychologist, 2006).
Treating depression effectively, without putting our children at increased risk, is critically important, but it is not enough. Far better is to prevent depression from occurring in the first place and I will discuss this in the next article.
Resources
For more information on the alternatives above, please click on the following links:
Homeopathy:
http://www.homeopathy-soh.org/about-homeopathy/what-is-homeopathy/sad.aspx
CBT:
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/2007/12/12/get-healthier-and-happier.html?PageNr=2
Positive Interventions in Psychotherapy: http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/positivepsychotherapyarticle.pdf
My Website: www.positiveleaders.com
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