Mental Health Matters
February 2024
Sadness is an emotion experienced by everyone at some point, but how can you tell if your child is struggling with depression. Depression is different than sadness. Maybe a student is sad when they fail a test or when watching a sad movie; that short lived feeling is typical emotional response. However, if you notice that your child is sad for 2 or more weeks and it is affecting their daily functioning, they maybe experiencing depression.
According to Mental Health America’s 2023 data, 16.39% of youth (age 12-17) reported suffering from at least one major depressive episode in the last year. Symptoms of depression includes:
- Feeling sad, empty, or hopeless often or all the time
- Not wanting to do activities that used to be fun
- Weight gain or loss, or changes in appetite
- Trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, or sleeping too much
- Feeling irritable‚ easily frustrated‚ or restless
- Lack of energy or feeling tired
- Feeling worthless or overly guilty
- Trouble concentrating, remembering things, or making decisions
- Thinking about suicide or hurting yourself
If you think you or your child my have depression, schedule an appointment with your physician or a mental health specialist for an evaluation.
Alabaster City Schools is focused on meeting the needs of our students and families. We are excited to share that we now offer parenting classes to Alabaster City Schools' parents. Our next round of parenting classes will start in June. If you would like to attend these classes, please contact Marsha Roach at marsha.roach@acsboe.org
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