Beating depression, one day at a time

Depression is not your fault, and you didn’t do anything to cause it. However, you do have some control over feeling better. Staying connected to friends and family, making healthy lifestyle decisions, and keeping stress under control can all have a positive impact on your mood.

When you’re depressed, you may not feel like seeing anybody or doing anything. Just getting out of bed in the morning can be difficult, but isolating yourself only makes depression worse. Make it a point to stay social; even if that’s the last thing you want to do. As you get out into the world, you may find yourself feeling better.

Spend time with friends, especially those who are active, upbeat, and make you feel good about yourself. Making healthy lifestyle choices can do wonders for your mood. Things like diet and exercise have been shown to help depression. You actually get a rush of endorphins from exercising, which makes you feel instantly happier. Physical activity can be as effective as medications or therapy for depression, so get involved in sports, ride your bike, or take a dance class. Any activity helps! Even a short walk can be beneficial.

If you’re dealing with relationship, friendship, or family problems, talk to an adult you trust. Your school may have a counselor you can go to for help, or you may want to ask your parents to make an appointment for you to see a therapist.

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A Message for Parents of School-Age Children Who Stutter

As children who stutter grow older, and as they learn to deal with their stuttering, they may face a number of new challenges. School-age children are old enough to realize that they did not “grow out of” their early stuttering. With this realization comes a growing awareness of the fact that stuttering may not simply “go away,” as the child may have hoped when he was younger. As the child begins to recognize that stuttering is something that may stay with him throughout his life, he may experience increased frustration and concern about his speech. For this reason, school-age children in particular need the full support of their parents and clinicians, as well as the other people in their environment, to help them understand what they are experiencing.

It is important for children to understand that they will not always stutter in the same way as they do now, and that their stuttering will not always be severe. Indeed, all children who stutter can learn to improve their speech fluency and enhance their ability to communicate effectively, and it is critical that children who stutter maintain a sense of hope and optimism as they learn to effectively cope with stuttering in their lives.

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