Note Card #2

- Depression is a serious mental condition that is characterized by extreme feelings of sadness, worthlessness or hopelessness, fatigue, irritability, loss of appetite, inability to concentrate, and insomnia or excessive sleeping.
- It may include physical or emotional causes and might require long-term treatment.
- Depending on the type of depression and how severe it is, treatment may include prescription antidepressant drugs, psychotherapy, or in some rare cases, electroconvulsive therapy (ECT).
- Depression lasting more than a few months or is recurring is known as “major depressive disorder” or “clinical depression.”
- Depression is sometimes accompanied by alcohol or drug abuse and in some severe cases may lead to suicide.
-Experts say that students with depression are more likely to have difficulty in school because they may lack the motivation to learn or may not have enough self.
- Some depressed students show no signs of academic failure because they try to hide their feelings by becoming perfectionists or overachievers.
-Statistics show that one out of every five children in the United States has a mental-health problem, and between 10 percent and 15 percent of young people exhibit symptoms of depression.

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