eparation from parents, serious illness, and/or divorce can lead to depression in adolescents. This in turn increases the risk of depression in adulthood (Hales, 49-50).When the physical body begins to feel stress, it goes through a series of stages, the first being worry or alarm. In this stage, one’s heart rate goes up, one’s blood pressure increases, and feelings of being overwhelmed are experienced. Next, the body becomes resistant or tries to fight the stress. After that, resistance occurs to the stress with attempts to bring it under control. Next, a person begins to worry more, which causes more stress. Finally, the body goes into a state of exhaustion. The person’s body is simply worn out. When the stress gets so bad, the body goes into the fight or flight response. This is when the body produces the hormone adrenaline. This chemical helps the person react under pressure. “Stress can and very often does lead to depression. When this happens, only a trained specialist using the proper therapy can help a depressed person to get well” (Ayer, 23). Left untreated, depression can become sever enough that suicide develops into an option of treatment. “Suicide is not about being dead, but about relieving the intense pain of depression’s symptoms” (Meyer, 1).“Depression is probably the most widespread, most extensively studied and best understood major psychiatric disorder,” notes psychiatrist Martin Keller, M.D., of Harvard Medical School. She continues, “Yet, according to the American Psychiatric Association, less than thirty-three percent of depressed people seek treatment.” There are five main reasons psychiatrists prescribe medications for patients:Those who are severely depressedHave physical symptoms such as loss of appetite and weight, sleep disturbances, and fatigueHave a family history of depressionReport cycles of mood or symptoms at specif...
