Depression may and frequently does occur when no member of a family has knowingly experienced a serious mental disorder. The underlying biological mechanisms and triggering events for illness in these instances have yet to be clearly understood. What can be said with surety is that in children no less than in adults, clinical depression is not a character weakness, normal sadness, or a passing phase. It is a real medical illness that can be accurately diagnosed and effectively treated. Indeed, a child s response to appropriate treatments is a valuable way of validating the presence of the disorder.
Suicide frequently is a direct and lethal outcome of depression.
When a teenager thinks or talks about suicide, the risk is real. Children should understand that if a sibling or friend discusses suicide, it should be called to the attention of an adult. A suicidal gesture should not be viewed as attention getting, but as an anguished cry for help. Each year in the U.S., almost twice as many adolescents commit suicide as die from all natural causes combined. Not even pre-teens are immune.