Depression Suicide What is Depression Clinical depression is

Depression / Suicide

What is Depression? • Clinical depression is defined as being sad or feeling down every day for 2 consecutive weeks.

Reasons for depression • Loss of a family member • victim of bullying • Low self-esteem

Signs and Symptoms of Depression • Not being able to sleep / sleeping too much • Not being able to concentrate or find simple tasks difficult • Feelings hopeless / helpless • Can’t control negative thoughts • Loss of appetite and weight loss or Can’t stop eating and weight gain

Signs & Symptoms continued • Much more irritable, short tempered, or aggressive • Having thoughts that life is not worth living (Seek help immediately)

Class Question • How many people in the United States of America are Depressed every day? • 1, 000 • 5, 000 • 1 Million • 19 Million

Answer • 19 Million people in the United States suffer from Depression.

How Many People in the World Suffer from Depression? • 20 Million • 100 Million • 350 million • 500 million

Answer • 350 Million people in the world suffer from depression

Suicide warning signs • Expressing strong feelings of hopelessness • Acting recklessly, as if they have a death wish • Giving away prized possessions • Saying things like “Everyone would be better off without me”

Warning signs continued • A sudden switch from being extremely depressed to acting calm and happy

Facts • On average one suicide occurs EVERY 17 minutes • Suicide is the 3 rd leading cause of death for young people aged 15 -24 (only behind accidents and homicide) • 4: 1 male to female ratio of successful suicides

Facts • 3: 1 female to male ratio of suicide attempts • Alaska Ranks Number 1 in the country for the number of suicides per year at 23. 6% • Connecticut Ranks 45 th in the country for the number of suicides per year at 8. 4%

Hotline numbers • Depression: 800 -273 -TALK (8255) • Suicide: 800 -SUICIDE (784 -2433)