Mental Health Basics:

MENTAL HEALTH/WELLNESS

• Emotional well-being
  • such as perceived life satisfaction, happiness, cheerfulness, peacefulness.
• Psychological well-being
  • such as self-acceptance, personal growth including openness to new experiences, optimism, hopefulness, purpose in life, control of one’s environment, spirituality, self-direction, and positive relationships.
• Social well-being
  • social acceptance, beliefs in the potential of people and society as a whole, personal self-worth and usefulness to society, sense of community.

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DEPRESSION

1. Depression begins in adolescence
    - Average age of onset: 14 years old
2. Teen depression is common
    - By the end of the teen years, 20% will have had depression
3. Depression is treatable
    - More than 70% of teens improve with a combination of medications and therapy
4. 80% of teens don't receive help
5. Untreated depression has serious consequences, leading to:
    - Substance abuse (24-50%)
    - Academic failure
    - Bullying (30% of those bullied, 19% of those doing the bullying)
    - Other disorders (ex: eating disorder)
    - Suicide (90% of suicides are result of mental illness, often depression).  Suicide is the 3rd leading cause of death among 10-24 year olds.

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Help Stop Teen Suicide

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