For the past two weeks I have been looking at depression within teens. I use Google News as my resource to articles about teen depression and depression prevention. When I started looking through the articles I was disappointed to see that almost half of them were about Mandy Moore. I was thinking “oh boo hoo for the pop star with fame and money. What does she have to be depressed about?” Finally, I decided to take a look at one of the articles about her.
My earlier thoughts honestly make me ashamed. This is how teachers in the classroom often view their students. They think, “Well, he is the star quarterback or she is the lead in the school play, what could they possibly be depressed about?” This is the kind of thinking that makes students ashamed to tell others that they are depressed.
I also like this article because if students see that it is okay for a famous woman to talk about her depression it is okay for them too. I applaud Mandy’s bravery in talking about her depression and I hope that her example will be followed by others as well. The youth of America often tries to be just like the movie or singing stars so hopefully this article and Mandy’s public confession about depression will be able to help out students going through the same feelings.
Another thing that attracted to me about this article is Mandy’s view on writing and depression.
“Moore, who is working on a new record at a studio in Woodstock, N.Y., says writing songs “away from friends in L.A. or New York” is good for the soul. “Writing has been really therapeutic,” she says of her music. “These little nuggets that have come up over the past eight months have made me look at things in a different way.”
I believe that writing is one great way for people to release their emotions. When a person can release their emotions on paper it becomes much easier to release their emotions with their actual words.
I keep a daily journal and have found it to be therapeutic within my own life. I get to shout at people when I am angry, I cry as I write when I am sad, I write large and fast and use many exclamation points when I am happy, etc. You get the point. No matter what I am feeling it gets put on paper which helps release the emotion from my head and body.
What if students were given ten minutes a day in their writing classes to keep a journal? What emotions would they be able to release within their writing? Would it be beneficial to them or would students just use it as a time to do nothing?
The way I see it journaling can help a lot of students and even those who do not feel like writing and just sit there-even that can be beneficial: a ten minute break to just relax in a day filled with activity.
Lets all take Mandy Moore’s example: Talk about our problems and write about them as therapy.
–”Mandy Moore: I Struggled With Depression.” The Showbuzz.CBS News. Jan. 23, 2007
tamiteshima said,
January 29, 2007 at 10:57 pm
I think a lot of people’s initial reactions would be the same as your’s (including myself). It’s hard to remember that everyone suffers in one way or another, and as future educators, it’s really important to take that into consideration.
I really like the idea of using writing as an emotional outlet. For some people, it doesn’t work, but just think about how great it would be for those kids that really need it! All the journaling I did in high school was more like busy work. Journaling in order to serve a purpose is genius!
Keep it up. I’m really interested to see what you can find with this topic.
Kristie said,
January 31, 2007 at 12:18 am
I’m also very interested in teens and depression, and I think a lot of people look at teens and think they have it so easy. What could they possibly be depressed about? The pressures are different now on teens than they were 20+ years ago when I was one (YIKES)! I was going to focus my blog on the same subject, but I had a very difficult time finding information about writing therapy for depression.
I am a small group leader for tenth grade girls in our church youth group. One of the girls talked to me last week and said she is clinically depressed. I was shocked because she is very outgoing, beautiful, and has tons of friends. She’s one of the “popular” kids at high school. I think it’s more difficult in some ways when a “bubbly” person gets depressed because it takes so much more effort to keep up appearances. Journaling is an excellent way to get out feelings. I should do more of it!
I’m anxious to read your future postings! Kristie
Lauren said,
January 31, 2007 at 4:03 pm
Honestly, I had the exact same reaction as you did at first. I’ve done that before. Then I remember that wherever you are in life, there are always struggles, so I can truly appreciate Mandy Moore’s problems.
I also would like to say that I agree with pretty much everything you said. I really like the idea of giving students a time to relax and think about the other things in their life that aren’t school. I’m sure that could be very beneficial to many students, although I have to admit, I would probably be one of the ones who didn’t write anything. I’ve never kept a journal myself, but I have often found that writing can be a really great way to release emotions. Keep up the great posting!
Lauren
mishlela1 said,
January 31, 2007 at 4:06 pm
Honestly, I had the exact same reaction as you did at first. I’ve done that before. Then I remember that wherever you are in life, there are always struggles, so I can truly appreciate Mandy Moore’s problems.
I also would like to say that I agree with pretty much everything you said. I really like the idea of giving students a time to relax and think about the other things in their life that aren’t school. I’m sure that could be very beneficial to many students, although I have to admit, I would probably be one of the ones who didn’t write anything. I’ve never kept a journal myself, but I have often found that writing can be a really great way to release emotions. Keep up the great posting!
Lauren
tesslynn said,
February 1, 2007 at 1:22 am
I know personally, writing is the biggest release I know. It wasn’t until my junior year of high school (an incredibly difficult year for me emotionally) that I began to write as therapy. In my English class that year, we had a semester-long project where we would spend one hour of class time a week and between 1 and 3 hours a week at home freewriting. Sometimes the teacher gave us direction, an example being listen to a random song and write down how it makes you feel or what you picture when you listen to it, but other times he would just let us go and see what would happen.
I was given a lot of encouragement by him to continue writing, and so I did. I was able to let go of so much of the anger and confusion that we all experience from time to time. I never had anything to turn to before because I’ve never been one to express emotions verbally. Being able to write what I felt literally changed me, and it all started in English class.
It’s really exciting to know that you are doing your blog on this subject. I chose my subject (technology in the classroom) mostly because I’m curious to find out how posting students’ writing online will effect them and their writing style/voice. I haven’t been able to find much just yet, but I’m sure there’s a lot out there! Happy hunting; looking forward to seeing what you find!
–Tess
moonshot said,
February 1, 2007 at 4:59 am
Marie – I think that you chose a fascinating topic to write about. I’m sure that most of us would think that bright, popular people like Mandy Moore have nothing to worry about, and a lot of us probably envy her. The grass is always greener on the other side. I agree that she was very brave to open up about her experiences with depression and what helped her to get through rough times. The idea of an in-class 10 min journal session each day has great possibilities. The students would have to be assured that it was only for their own use – what they write is private. When students have a writing assignment, they could be encouraged to look back in their journal for inspiration.
Do you think that, since the students would be writing during school, an issue of student privacy could come up? I’m exploring students’ freedom of speech and the restrictions placed on it. For example, if a student was suspected of planning harm, should the student be forced to produce the journal for examination? I am not sure, but I would lean towards respecting rights to privacy (unless the notebook was left somewhere public) … but then, isn’t school safety more important? It’s a tough dilemma. Tell me what you think.
stephcj said,
February 2, 2007 at 2:49 am
I’m very proud of Mandy Moore for coming forward with the fact that she suffers from depression. Just because Mandy is a celebrity, or someone is at the top of their profession or a student does well in school, doesn’t mean that he/she can’t suffer from depression.
The reaction that you had to the articles is the same reaction that I think most people would have to someone who seems to have the perfect life complaining about depression. They think: “What does she have to be unhappy about? I don’t do as well as her and I’m happy.” The one thing that I think people don’t seem to understand is that depression is not just being unhappy – it goes far beyond happiness and unhappiness. I hope more people can come to understand it as you have.
I like your idea of having students write in journals for 10 minutes a day to help them sort their thoughts out. Maybe it would make them less stressed out. To tell the truth, I’m kind of jealous of your future students, I wish my teachers would have let me write in a journal about anything I wanted during class time and get credit for it!
Comments « The only thing to do is jump over the moon… said,
April 14, 2007 at 9:33 pm
[...] Uncategorized Comment 1 Comment 2 Comment 3 Comment 4 Comment 5 Comment 6 Comment 7 Comment 8 Comment 9 Comment 10 [...]
My little nuggets of wisdom - or insanity « and still you wonder at it all … said,
April 17, 2007 at 12:12 am
[...] Comment 8 [...]
Those lucky enough to receive my opinions: ;) « “Colorless green ideas sleep furiously.” ~Noam Chomsky said,
April 17, 2007 at 2:28 am
[...] Comment to Marie’s post “Pop Stars Suffer? No Way!” [...]
tamiteshima said,
April 17, 2007 at 4:04 am
Hey Marie…if you could be so kind as to pretend that I wrote this comment instead of the one above, I’d be forever grateful.
I think a lot of people’s initial reactions would be the same as your’s (including myself). It’s hard to remember that everyone suffers in one way or another, and as future educators, it’s really important to take that into consideration. I know it seems like a lot of high schoolers over dramatize what is happening in their lives, but what they are experiencing is dramatic to them (albeit usually only them). I have a hard time remembering that and often downplay students’ anguish when I’m mentoring. Now I feel kind of bad…
Anyway, I really like the idea of using writing as an emotional outlet. For some people, it doesn’t work, but just think about how great it would be for those kids that really need it! All the journaling I did in high school was more like busy work. I never felt like what I was doing meant anything. The stupid prompts didn’t help either (“If you were a crayon, what would you be?”). Journaling in order to serve a purpose is genius, though. Effective writing can only come when things are meaningful, and allowing students to write as an emotional outlet has real meaning!
Keep it up. I’m really interested to see what you can find with this topic.
My Comments throughout the semester « Thoughts Opinions and Reality said,
April 17, 2007 at 12:42 pm
[...] Comment 1 Comment 2 Comment 3 Comment 4 Comment 5 Comment 6 Comment 7 [...]
Comments « The Flip Side said,
April 17, 2007 at 4:40 pm
[...] Marie [...]