I came across what I would classify as a sad and frustrating scenario today.

A 12yr old patient was prescribed Zoloft.

I had to do a double-take when I read that piece of information.

Now, my opinion is very biased and I’m a tad stubborn when it comes to the tween survival years subject, so I apologize up front if I offend anyone with my thoughts.

Now, I don’t have any children. I do however have many children in our extended family and within my circles of friends. Also, in my prior career I  worked with the high school population as a full-time job. So in my humble opinion, I think I have a firm grasp on what the run-of-the-mill teenager represents.

Oh yeah, I also forgot. I once was a teenager myself.

Anti-depressant medications  and depression are not my cup of tea. In fact anything that has to do with the ‘mental health’ aspect of nursing, I’m rather weak with. (Meaning I don’t have the temperance or tolerance for it.)

Maybe I have faulty wiring. Maybe I’m uncaring? Maybe I’m cruel? I truly don’t know the answer. All I know is I become tone deaf whenever I hear or am exposed to these classifications of illnesses. Everything from depression, anxiety, personality disorders, etc.

I was raised in the school of ‘hard-knocks’ as a teenager and I guess maybe I’ll just never understand.

I know being a teenager is tough. I know blending and fitting in is a must. Self-identity during those years is what makes or breaks a tween. I remember.

We all experienced that ‘jungle’ in one way, shape, or form as a teenager. We all had it in differing degrees and we all dealt with it in differing degrees. The teenage years came and left, just like the other ‘cycles’ of our lives.

The whole idea of being a teenager was to survive. That was the key. It didn’t matter how horrible you were at solving the problems, or how many problems you had in front of you. You simply had to figure out how to survive.

Now, maybe I’m just spit-balling here, but solving a teenager’s problem(s) with a pill… seems to me.. not to really solve anything at all. In fact it not only dodges the obstacle completely, but creates more obstacles for them to battle? Obstacles now and obstacles later in life?

Am I wrong?

Carpe Diem

Tags: anti-depressant, depression, teenager