Teenage Depression and Its Warning Signs

This post is solely dedicated to TEENAGERS or to those who are heartbroken or their FIRST LOVE RELATIONSHIPS and or problems at school, drug abuse, and worse, violence toward themselves and others. To their respective families who don't stop giving moral support to their kids, and to make you aware how would it be like if we would have stopped and listen to our fuming heart instead.

Teenage depression is more than just bad moods or broken hearts; it is a very serious clinical illness that will affect approximately 20% of teens before they reach adulthood. Left untreated, depression can lead to difficult home situations.

Certain young teens suffer from depression as result of situations surrounding their social or family life, but many are susceptible to the disease regardless of race, gender, income level or education. It is very important for parents to keep a watch on their teens - and to maintain a strong level of communication. Understanding the causes and warning signs of the illness can help parents prevent their teens from falling in to depression.

I understand how difficult it can be dealing with a troubled teenager because I have been there! I work with parents like you every day, looking for help and answers in desperation. You are not alone!

Depression Warning Signs

Common warning signs/symptoms of teenage depression (we need to be aware of):

• Changes in eating and sleeping habits (eating and sleeping too much or too little)
• Significant change in weight (loss or gain)
• Often misses school and/or shows bad school performance
• Reclusive, withdrawing from friends or family members
• Quick to show anger/rage
• General restlessness or anxiety
• Overreacts to criticism, even constructive
• Seems very self conscious, guilty
• Unusual problems with authority
• No longer partakes in or enjoys activities and events they once loved
• Indecision, lack of concentration, or forgetfulness
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt
• Frequent health complaints despite being healthy
• Lack of motivation and enthusiasm for every day life
• Drug/alcohol abuse
• Mentions or thoughts of suicide

10 Spiritual Tools In Coping With Chronic Pains

This is in connection with my sister who is still in pain at the moment, still dealing with heartaches and frustrations in life, though we have been giving her moral support but we never know what's insider her mind as she doesn't want to speak up, to say what she wanted to do! She knows that whatever happens, we'd still be here for her to nurse back to bring her life and laugh, that the whole family is fighting for her too!

For those who haven't got any idea what I am talking about, please click here to read the whole story. Sad and very devastating, yet we don't loose our hope that one day God would mend her broken heart, allow her to suffer emotionally only to realize His plan or the reason behind all of these things....

Source: Beliefnet by Maureen Pratt

Chronic pain can make us feel isolated and helpless, especially if its cause is an illness or physical condition for which there's no cure or effective medical treatment, and even heart or emotional problems! At times of deepest despair, finding ways to nurture our spirits can help us not only cope with the pain, but also discover nuggets of grace, comfort, and productivity that can move us through and beyond the helplessness and hopelessness we feel.

Here are ten spiritual tools that can help you get started toward peace in spite of and in the midst of pain.

FIND QUITE
When we are in great pain, finding true peace and comfort is not easy. But it is possible, if we first try to still our worries and fears, both external and internal. Finding a place where there are no noisy distractions is a great start. Enjoying the outward quiet, we can then calm our inner selves and nurture peace within.

JUST BREATHE
The act of breathing is not only a physical process, but it can also be a tool to move our pain, negative thoughts, and worry out of our bodies and hearts, replacing these with a better sense of self. In a quiet place, breathe in slowly and deeply, then let the breath out, expelling stress and pain with it. Feel the sharpness of pain subside as relaxation and calm take its place.

LISTEN TO MUSIC
A beautiful piece of music can inspire our spirits and soothe our pain like no other sound. It can also help us get in touch with the absolute joy of living, even if we live with severe pain. Put on your favorite piece of music - instrumental or vocal - sit back, and close your eyes. Let the music carry you away from your immediate pain to a place of calm.

LOSE YOURSELF IN PRAYER
So often when we pray, we ask for relief from our pain and leave it at that. Perhaps more effective when pain is oppressive is lifting up our pain and then resting quietly with the comfort that our concerns are being tended to by One greater that ourselves - and we do not have to take them back again.

REFLECT IN NATURE
Pain can isolate us and make us feel very much alone. But in reality, we are part of an amazing world. A walk in the outdoors, a glance outside at a garden, a quiet moment with a beloved pet - each of these things can renew our sense of belonging to the world, help us to feel less alone in our pain, and make us grateful for our lives among such wonder.

LAUGH MORE
Pain itself is no laughing matter, but the act of laughing can be physically and spiritually healing. It helps us breathe deeply, cleanses tense pain from our bodies, gives key muscles beneficial exercise, and lets us travel to an uplifting place of joy. Whether it's a joke, a cartoon, or the antics of a pet, find laughter and enjoy it often!

REACH OUR OTHERS
When we are in pain, it can be easy to feel as if no one cares. But there are many in the world who feel the same thing - and we can make a difference in our lives and in others' lives by reaching out in comfort and care. A phone call to a hurting friend, a visit to someone in need, even an email to an online support group - all of these can help us become less isolated, and help others in the process.

LIVE IN THE LIGHT
It's easy for our souls to be flooded with darkness when pain is sharp and overwhelming. We can combat this darkness by bringing on light. The flicker of a candle, the warm glow of one small lamp illuminating a dark room - light can help focus thoughts and bring comfort. Even in the darkness, be conscious of the light all around, and let it guide you to greater calm.

TAKE CARE OF YOURSELF
Often, there is no cure for what causes our pain. This can make us feel as if our lives are out of control. But the better we take care of ourselves, the more we will feel at least a little control over our circumstances - and our attitude toward pain. Taking time to follow a healthful regimen reflects on our spiritual health, too, and gives us a chance to rise above our pain and feel better - inside and out.

NEVER LOSE HOPE
Each day, there are new developments in medicine and in therapies to ease pain, inside and out. Hope is not just a feeling that things will be better - it is a tangible tool to motivate and guide us through the frustrations that accompany pain into positive actions that can make our lives better now and in the future. Without hope, our spirits wither. With hope, as with the Creator, all things are possible!

Emotional Torture My Sister Has Been Going Through

This is quite personal, please do understand me if I didn't manage to keep it myself. Though I didn't want to talk and share about it here, but I feel as though I needed you guys most this time.

This is all about my 4th sister, Mitch is her name, 21 years old... She is indeed a lovely young lady! (as you can see on her sweet pose, photo below)...She is a nursing student, and next year would be her last year in university, without knowing that along her path, she'll bump into this rocky road. I REALLY FEEL DEVASTATED AT THE MOMENT! Though on the other hand, I also wanted to give her hugs I wish I was in the Philippines, if I only could to stay beside her, and can give emotional and moral support which I think she needed it most this point in time. I don't think she deserves to go through this, she's still too young to understand what true love means.... But I know everything has a reason! Only God knows what's the final outcome after the heartaches she had to go through...

All my 3 sisters are spending their university courses in Manila (right after my other 2 older sisters finished theirs in Manila too). We are from Bohol (t'was a long story why I decided to have all of them to stay in Manila and spend their university there), while my both parents are in Bohol, they just visit them every now and then. She used to be a happy lady, every time I went home to spend my 1 month vacation, we used to go around, shopping and a real sisters bonding! I have really missed those times now that I go home to UK with hubby....

I was told by one of them that she had boyfriend, but they never saw him. The reason was, he was quite a shy guy, whether it was true or not then I don't really know. I only get second stories from them, the rest was always to put aside. When hubby and I decided to visit them in September, I've had noticed some changes on her, she was very quite which she never used to! In fact, I truly felt guilty of not spending much time with them, we had spent more in Bohol with my parents instead.

Sometime November, my sister's American hubby was going home to Philippines to see my sister and meet my family, and had given them our Christmas present to have had another wedding in the Philippines. Obviously, all of my sisters were their attendants so they had to go home.

However, just about 2 weeks before they had flown out, this mentioned sister above (Mitch), packed up from school and one night she left with a long letter saying that she was PREGNANT, that it was the biggest mistake she had ever done in her life, that she apologized to have disappoint us, that she didn't want to cause another problem, that's why she decided to leave. Otherwise, she would have committed suicide if not thinking about her family who continues giving her moral supports! I was devastated!! My sister tried her best to find her, which she did! She stayed with the boyfriend and jetted off to Palawan for a week to meet the boyfriend's family. I was happy in the long run that the boyfriend was responsible enough to face the odds.

My sister (who looked after them) managed to convince the two of them to meet up and talk about the incident. While he willingly decided to go to Bohol with them, to present himself as my sister's boyfriend, to be our future brother-in-law, and to be my parents' future son-in-law! They all celebrated the holiday season without tears, yet full of happiness instead, plus my sister's wedding too. In short, everybody have accepted what had happened, and we all gladly have accepted him as well wholeheartedly, without any hurt feelings.

THIS IS THE FACT... frightening!!!

Then all of a sudden, what had been long kept was inadvertently became known to everybody! There's no secret would remain secret forever! My sister and her boyfriend had a fight for some reason a night they were stranded in Bohol (Talibon port) due to typhoon, so they didn't manage to catch the flight they were supposed to be in! My sister was extremely upset and she started crying and mentioned everything what he's been doing, and what he is like in the whole period they were together! Whew... so the rest of my sisters heard everything, but before that fight, my other sister had already known all the secrets already... THAT THE BOYFRIEND HAS A SUGAR MOMMY (a 45 year old mother), whom he always brings to his boarding house in Manila with my sister. My poor and was helpless sister, nothing she can do except to CRY and CRY and CRY.... and I was told that there were couple of nights the boyfriend didn't stay with my sister in his boarding house, he stayed with his sugar mommy instead!! Sucks, I wanted to kill him!! SO IRRESPONSIBLE..... We've let her to stay with the boyfriend already since he said he was going to marry her, we trusted all he said... We all thought along the way, she's been happy with him...

....without realizing the agony she's been experiencing, the chronic pains he has been giving to her... my heart is in pain at the moment....

Luckily, they didn't manage to leave for Cebu that night, and the one who looks after my sisters had told everything to my father through text, they were so pissed off that they had to go back to Talibon to fetch her and stay away from him! So, they managed to leave back to Cebu without Mitch! They told me she was in tears... They arrived Cebu and went straight to the airport, but unfortunately, Cebu Pacific didn't seem want to let them fly without paying the whole amount per person. They've lost the flight, so THANK YOU VERY MUCH! Yea, well.. and now they are still in Cebu, only Wednesday was the cheapest they could get to fly back to Manila and there was 5 of them! They had to wait together with the boyfriend.. he was so angry and pissed off of what is happening to them, him and my sister had a rawl last night because he wanted to leave and go back to Manila ASAP!!!

Then without knowing that he's still be in contact with his sugar mommy, that he asked her to come and fetch him in Cebu, he asked her to send him money. Why on earth, we met this guy and blamed us in the end of bringing him to Bohol!!