Lisa Schab - Beyond the Blues. A Workbook to Help Teens Overcome Depression

Depression is a disturbance in someones mood. It usually involves a feeling of sadness, a lack of physical and emotional energy, and a loss of interest in things that used to bring pleasure. Depression is one of the most common emotional problems and also one of the most treatable.

Everyone has days when they feel more happy or more sad. You may feel great when your team wins the championship, when you get a good grade on a test, or when you are having fun at a party. You may feel really down when you have an argument with your best friend, when your parents wont let you go to a concert, or when you dont get a part in the school play. Normal sadness passes in a reasonable amount of time, and soon you are feeling better again.

Depression lasts longer and feels deeper than normal sadness. It may cause you to feel very bad about yourself or hopeless about your future. It may affect your thoughts, your behavior, your appetite, or your ability to sleep. Depression may cause you to see reality in a distorted way, as if everything is negative and difficult, and problems may appear to be bigger than you can bear.

People who feel depressed often feel very tired physically and emotionally. They may stop spending time with friends or doing other things that used to give them pleasure, because they just dont feel up to it. They may also start to complain of physical problems, such as headaches and stomachaches. At its worst, depression can make people feel as if they dont want to be alive.

The more you understand about depression and the more you learn about how to combat it, the easier it will be to either manage these feelings or eliminate them altogether. The exercises in this book can help you to do this.

In the space below, use line, color, texture, or form to show what your feelings of depression would look like if you could see them.

Look back at your picture and describe what you have drawn. Tell why you used the lines, colors, textures, and forms that you did.

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Describe how you feel when you look at your picture.

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Describe what you have already tried to do to relieve feelings of depression. Tell how well each of these things worked for you.

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Think about the fact that you can learn new ways to cope with and combat depression. Tell what you believe or how you feel about this fact.

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Write a statement that describes your commitment to learning how to deal with depression. Make a conscious decision to keep that commitment.

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