In It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzinni, Craig Kilner is a fifteen year old boy who resides in Brooklyn with his loving family and attends the prestigious Executive Pre-Professional High school. Despite a life of opportunity complete with a support system and an aptitude for academic success, the stress and of his high school overwhelms Craig to the point that he contemplates jumping off the Brooklyn Bridge. Instead, he calls a suicide hotline in the middle of a sleepless night and the operator directs him to admit himself to Six North, the psychiatric ward in his local hospital. During his five-day stay he befriends a quirky cast of characters and comes to terms with his depression, allowing him to leave the hospital ready to live. In Ned Vizzinni’s It’s Kind of a Funny Story, Craig Gilner learns to manage his acute depression during a five-day stay at Six North psychiatric ward.
Craig has acute depression. Merriam-Webster defines the word ‘acute’ as “characterized by sharpness or
…show more content…
“ Although stress exists at every stage of human development, adolescence can be especially stressful, due to the biological and social changes that accompany this developmental period” (Journal of Adolescence, 12 Nov. 2010). The teenage years are difficult for even the most stable-minded people, but in some situations the stress is overwhelming and demands medical attention. Craig’s stress develops into acute depression, and with the help of doctors and patients in Six North he learns to control it. He experiences what he calls a shift in his brain, a change in the way his mind works and feels. “It’s a huge thing, this Shift, just as big as I imagined. My brain doesn’t want to think anymore; all of a sudden it wants to do” (Vizzinni, 443). After five days at Six North, Craig’s depression is not cured, but it is managed, and he is ready to start
In the essay “What’s Wrong With the Teenage Mind?” psychologist Alison Gopnik explores the issues surrounding young minds in today’s society and why they’re hitting puberty sooner and adulthood later. Gopnik suggest poor diet and lack of exercise could be a potential issues, she also presents various studies blaming brain circuitry and even speculating that the cause of today’s youth problematic mentality could be a result of an “evolutionary feature” in which humans have a prolonged childhood. Gopnik’s main concern about today’s adolescent mind, is a neurological one, Gopnik speculates that there’s an inability to sync their “control system” and their “crucial system”. Gopnik proposes a few solutions to the problem, such as more hands-on experience
The concept of a happy childhood being a carefree, never-ending recess before the responsibilities of adulthood set in is just as realistic as the cartoons children watch on television. To the contrary, adolescents today feel less safe, less inspired and less hopeful than ever before. It is not surprising then that depression is a common concomitant to adolescent development (Tharper, Collishaw, & Pine, 2012). According to the National Institute of Mental Health, approximately one in five adolescents between the ages of nine and twenty four is clinically depressed and more than twenty percent of adolescents will have experienced a major depressive episode before reaching adulthood (“Suicide in the U.S.: Statistics and Prevention”, n.d.). Such episodes can affect developmental growth, interfere with educational achievement, and increase the risk of attempted and completed suicide as well as major depressive disorder prior to adulthood. Depression in adolescents has become an increasingly important mental epidemic and is thus a major risk factor for suicide, the third leading cause of death among this age group (Tharper et al., 2012). One hundred percent of those teens who suffer from depression can get help but less than thirty three percent of teens with depression are properly diagnosed and actually seek treatment (“Suicide in the U.S.: Statistics and Prevention”, n.d.). Therefore, the early recognition of and the development of effective treatments for adolescent depression clearly should be a high public health priority.
We are introduced to adolescence in the 5th stage of development. Adolescence begins for boys around the age of 14 and continues up until the age of 21 years of age. At this stage of development, there are many changes that occur emotionally, physically, sexually and spiritually (McGoldrick, Carter, & Garcia Preto, 2011). At this time, adolescent kids are going through changes in their body. They are dealing with coming into their own sexuality. Skills pertaining to social skills and social relationships are being developed through experience. Adolescents are also increasing their skills of physical and mental coordination, such as learning about the world and working on their own coordination. Adolescence is also characterized by learning their own identity and where they fit in the world, as well as learning their relationship with peers and those around them. Spiritual identity is also developed along with a deeper understanding of life. Independence is something that is also weighing on the mind of an adolescent. Overall changes in the family structure can also occur when a child of this age reaches this
Aristotle proclaimed the idea that those with tendencies towards brilliance also have tendencies towards mental illness. Geniuses, as we call them, see the world differently than average people. Sir Isaac Newton invented calculus on a dare about why the planets travel in ellipses, while “[suffering] from extreme paranoia.” Although brilliance and mental illness correlate, Gottfried Leibniz invented calculus independently from Newton, proving mental illness is not a requirement for brilliance and vice versa. One out of four people suffer from mental illnesses. Although only one in every five teenagers has a mental illness, suicide is the third leading cause of death amongst teenagers. NHS estimates that 90% of death by suicide cases correlate or caused by mental illnesses. In the novel, It’s Kind of a Funny Story, a youth checks himself into a mental-health clinic after dialing the Suicide Hotline and
Paul Thompson in the article Startling finds on Teenage Brains explains that Teenagers brains have a different look at the wrongs thing.Thompson supports his explan ation by first listing things that teenegers think different from adults.He then cites evidence on how teenegers think and give examples of teens with problems.Thompson's purpose is to inform others about thing teenegers brain works in order to show the world the problem.The author writes in an informal tone the teens out there.This work is significant because it showed how a teenegers mind works and what they could be capeple
Studies show that up to nine percent of teenagers meet criteria for depression at any one time, with as many as one in five teens having a history of depression at some point during adolescence (Cheung et al., 2007). Symptoms in adolescents can manifest differently than in adults due to the physical and social challenges that teenagers encounter. Some of the challenges that teenagers encounter that might lead to depression are peer pressure, changes due to developing bodies, changing hormone levels, peer pressure and sports among others. These challenges present in a teenager’s life can cause high levels of stress and anxiety that affect the teenager’s life in different areas such as school, work, family and their personal, social and family lives. Due to the challenges confronted when living with depression, it is completely necessary to seek professional help once symptoms
Being a teenager is not as easy as you think, as you grow older life becomes more complicated and frustrating. Sometimes, you get lost. You don’t know what do, you don’t know who to trust anymore and unsure of the path you wish to embark upon. You find it hard to enjoy the things you once found pleasure in. As time passes by the feeling doesn’t stop and then there will come a point that you’ll discover something terrifying. You’re depressed. The world doesn’t seem as beautiful anymore. You don’t want anybody else to help you. You have become an introvert now. You’ll feel as if you don’t have any worth in this world anymore for days or months at a time. Sometimes the pain feels lighter. It’s because time heals all wounds. I chose this topic because I know a few people with depression and honestly speaking, it’s not easy. I know that this research will be beneficial to many people.
Ashley and Katie are both young women, being ages eighteen and twenty. They both experienced sexual abuse from their fathers during their childhood, which put a strain on their mental state. They both had relationship issues, something that teenagers typically experience quite often. The analyses of their personal writings offers and insight into the minds of teenagers that is very valuable. Their thoughts and feelings are like those of teenagers, making their mental state and viewpoints comparable. In the Discussion section of Twitter Postings in the 24 Hours Prior to Suicide Lester references consistencies in the language used by both Katie and Ashley, as well as their feelings. While not statistically significant, these similarities show that these two girls had similar feelings that could possibly be related to teenagers in general, making these two chapters combined a fair educational resource for those studying adolescent
Adolescence is the stage in life when you are no longer a child, but not yet an adult. There are many things that still need to be explored, learned and conquered. In the film Thirteen, the main character, Tracy Freeland, is just entering adolescence. While trying to conquer Erikson’s theory of Identity vs. Role confusion, Tracy is affected by many influences, including family and friends that hinder her development. Many concepts from what we have learned in class can be applied to this character from identity development, to depression, to adolescent sexuality and more. In this film Tracy is a prime example of an adolescent and much of what I have learned this year can be applied to her character.
This article illustrates a couple of real-life stories of teenagers who faced depression and had to somehow deal with it. One of the teenagers, Brianne, described how she tried to kill herself because she was so depressed. She described her mental state by saying: “It was like a cloud that followed me everywhere. I couldn’t get away from it.” She started drinking and experimenting with drugs. At a certain point, Brianne could not take it anymore. Once, she was caught shoplifting at a store and after her mother brought her home, Brianne swallowed every single Tylenol and Advil that there was in the house. She was rushed to the hospital and survived. Brianne has been treated for her depression and is now in college and leads a very healthy lifestyle. She is one of the lucky kids that survived, but a lot of times, when depression in kids goes unnoticed, the outcomes are very tragic.
Keating, D. (1990): Adolescent thinking, in: S.S. Feldman and G.R. Elliott (eds.) At the threshold: The developing adolescent , Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 54-–89.
Adolescent despondency affects the way an individual sleeps, eats, the way they feel about themselves and those around them (“Side Effects of Untreated Depression”). This particular mental disease changes the outlook on a teenager’s view on themselves, loved ones, and their surroundings. Depression can be a responsive action to certain situations, such as emotional trauma, and stress. It can have devastating, and in some cases, life threatening, effects on younger members of society. Due to the fact that normal, unaffected teenagers naturally have fluctuating moods, it is much more difficult to diagnose depression at this age.
New Releases. (n.d.). The adolescent brain: Beyond raging hormones. Retrieved November 30, 2013, from http://www.health.harvard.edu/blog-extra/the-adolescent-brain-beyond-raging-hormones
Throughout our life, it can be marked by developmental changes in every domain of life: our physical, cognitive, social, personalities, and morals. Due to some important researchers such as Erickson, Freud, Piaget we are able to understand the development of each of these domains. Each stage of it’s life has it’s own difficulties and events that can determine a person’s life (Mogler, 2008). During the stages of adolescence, they are very vulnerable to a lot going on in their life such as fitting in, peers, family, school, activities, and society, and not to forget the ups and downs of puberty. Adolescence can be viewed as a huge part of many children’s lives where in this part of their life they try to find teenagers experience physical, cognitive,
Everyday teens are faced with problems in today’s society, yet they are not addressed to be resolved. The teens are faced with many issues, however the three main reasons are due to school bulling, teen pregnancy and expected to act like an adult, yet still treated like a child. They can’t control some of the issues, but still can resolve the problem before things get out of hand. By acknowledging the issue before hand many of the rates of teens facing anxiety and depression will soon decrease dramatically.