Dear Precious Teens,

Please feel free to read my material about nutritional treatment for depression, but since your parents are legally responsible for your safety & welfare, and since they would probably have to buy your vitamins anyway, you might as well include them and let them help you with your depression.

I know that a lot of teens feel that their parents will just get angry and make things a lot worse, and I know it can be that way.

But in most cases, your parents probably love you and care about you about a hundred times more than you think they do.  No one in the world loves you more.  Sometimes they just don't know how to show it.  Most of the time, a parent's love for their child is about one of the strongest loves on earth.

Get your parents involved - it is your duty, it is their duty to care about you.

If your parents are not around or are not well themselves, there are people at your school, church (even if you don't attend), hospital or any doctor's office where you can call or go to get help for yourself and/or your depressed parent.

You can always call a suicide hotline and ask
where in your local area to go for help:
1-800-SUICIDE / 1-800-784-2433
1-800-273-TALK / 1-800-273-8255

Yes, my mother never knew I ever thought of suicide till my third attempt, and I knew she loved me but it just never occured to me to tell anyone !  I was 18, married and in another state and she was frantic.  She jumped in her car and drove across 2 states to get to me.

You will get your parents' attention if you print out one of these notes and be honest about how really depressed you have been and how often you think of suicide.

If you have parents that don't believe in the extent of your pain and suicidal thoughts...  Mail a note to the doctor.

Let your ink jet or laser printer prove to your parent(s) that lots of teens not only have serious depression, but die from it every two hours or so !

Print out pages from the internet, print some of my pages - this page, teen depression sites, statistics and bookstore pages for teens or smaller kids - and if necessary, pages from "suicide survivor" sites - that is, sites for those whose child has already committed suicide.

Don't lose your life just because your parents are innocently ignorant, or in denial.  Don't let your parents die a thousand deaths ! 

Show me, show them that  you care about yourself.  Get them involved and get treatment.  Getting nutritional treatment now might actually help your brain wiring grow better since your brain has not finished growing yet.  Brains don't finish growing until we are into our 20's.

Feed your feelings with good food and good nutritional supplements.  Cut the high fructose corn syrup and the hyrogenated oils - at least choose real sugars and real fats.  Help your brain grow better !

There are some special vitamin formulas for Teens, but you need to get a check-up and blood tests with the doctor to make sure you are "healthy" overall.

Even though vitamins are generally good for you, they can be a stress to an unhealthy organ like your liver or kidneys.  And if you have allergies, or asthma you have to be real careful not to cause allergic reactions and things like that.

And the doctor needs to diagnose the kind of depression you have.  I have "Unipolar" depression and don't know much about "Bipolar" - and some supplements have to be taken with extra caution for Bipolar or Manic Depression.

And finally, if you are still saying to yourself, "No, I can't tell..."

Even adults are ashamed to let others know they have depression and suicidal thoughts.  Even adults feel the shame and stigma, and often don't try to get help or treatment.

Then let me remind you that depression can be hereditary.  If you have depression, couldn't one of your parents also have depression and they don't want to burden you with it ?

Could one of your parents be thinking of suicide without telling you first - without giving  you a chance to help them?

Most likely, the feelings of anger and unworthiness you have, and the belief that your parents don't love you, are part of the symptoms of your depression.  Don't let them talk you into suicide and keep you from accepting a chance to be helped and loved.

Love and Hope,
Melody Clark