Teen Talk: Read up: Ecstasy has its bad side effects

Research has shown it may cause confusion and memory loss, depression, anxiety, paranoia, mania, sleeplessness and psychotic episodes. This can occur weeks and even months after the drug has been used.

A term has been coined for post-Ecstasy use: the "Tuesday Blues" or "Suicide Tuesday." Not everyone gets it, but it's acknowledged among Ecstasy users that the days following an E-trip can bring on a mild and sometimes major bout of depression.

Anytime you take something to alter your brain chemistry, you are playing with fire. You have to ask yourself, "What am I ultimately putting in my body?"

How do you know where the drug came from, if it's given to you or you buy it off the street? Since this is a synthetic drug, Ecstasy can be altered with different chemicals or contaminants.

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Teen insomniacs at ‘increased depression, substance abuse risk’

Teenagers with insomnia are at an increased risk of developing depression and substance abuse problems in adolescence and young adulthood, a new study has found.

The study showed that adolescent insomniacs were also at an increase the risk of suicide ideation and attempts, and the use of alcohol, cannabis and other drugs such as cocaine.

The research involved 4,494 adolescents between 12 and 18 years of age at the beginning of the study, and 3,582 young adults between the ages of 18 and 25 years in a six-to-seven year follow up.

The findings revealed that adolescents who had symptoms of insomnia were 2.3 times more likely to develop depression in early adulthood than adolescents without symptoms of insomnia.


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So how much cash really is enough?

Abey, who was born in Sri Lanka, but spent most of his teen years in various schools around Australia, believes that money is as much emotional as it is legal tender, quoting research that found that the four words most associated with money are 'anxiety', 'depression', 'anger' and 'helplessness'.

"Money represents so many things about success and failure, and there's a whole range of hidden anxieties associated with it," he explains. "If you want to bring a dinner table conversation to a standstill, just ask someone how much they earn. It makes people incredibly uncomfortable.

"The research also shows that if children ask their parents what they earn, they'll either fob them off or lie to them. The result is that this younger generation have grown up with little or no understanding of the role of money in life, so parents should be aware of that."

The ideas discussed in How Much Is Enough? seem particularly relevant right now here in Ireland, where the country is experiencing its first recession since the Celtic Tiger boom

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'How Far Can You Bounce?' Shouts Push Suicidal Teen to Death Leap

Dykes was believed to have been suffering from depression and struggling to overcome a relationship breakdown.

Superintendent Andy Hough, of Derbyshire police, said he was disappointed and disturbed by the people heard encouraging Dykes to jump.

"I find it a disturbing and shocking reflection on society when people feel inclined to do that," Supt Hough told the MailOnline.

Click here to read more on this story from News.com.au.

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the hard-drinking teen who turned into a world-beater

The most compelling part of Sonia's story tells of the long, dark months that followed when she slipped into deep depression, convinced that people were spreading rumours about her personal life, and that the world judged her a failure.

"It was lonely, so lonely," she recalls.

On Christmas Day: "The highlight was when I went for a run. I just cooked myself dinner and that was it."

And then the redemption. She climbed out of the pit and won her Olympic medal.

On a personal level she found true love with Nic Bideau (after a triangular tussle involving runner Cathy Freeman), married, and had two beautiful daughters.

And with all that, the loneliness of this remarkable middle-distance runner comes to a happy end.

My Story by Sonia O'Sullivan, with Tom Humphries, is published by Penguin Ireland

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Parente: Saints, heroes and role models

My teen-age years, the austere depression's recovery years, were spent working in a downtown retail store to earn my spending money. I saved pennies, nickels and dimes to buy a blouse, a pair of shoes or to purchase tickets to the annual train classic, the Milford-Framingham football game special - A perfect segue into the real purpose of this week's column, the historical significance as well as the importance of completing the costly rehabilitation of the Jay DiAntonio Youth Center located in the Milford Armory.

I was purging old home files, news clippings and speeches and came across the comments I made on the opening day of the Jay DiAntonio Youth Center.

"I believe in sainthood, heroes and role models.

"On this grand opening day, we note that Jay DiAntonio, firefighter, community volunteer, cold water rescuer, youth counselor, came as near to the descriptions of saint, hero and role model, as anyone could."

The laudatory remarks continued, "Today, in this place and time, and due to some very special people, we are here to celebrate the opening of the Jay DiAntonio Youth Center."

It all began in 1992 when Jay DiAntonio inquired about the use of the decommissioned armory for a youth center.

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Watching With Kids in Mind

Lily makes friends with Zach (Tristan Wilds), a brainy teen who works for the sisters and aims to be a lawyer.

Eventually, a truth emerges about Lily's mother, for whom she still pines. Memories of her mother's violent death haunt her. What could be sickly sweet instead has enough tartness to stay interesting. The film is fine for teens, but it does include some violence, death, racial epithets, profanity, sexual innuendo, drinking and a depression theme.

Also Playing

8 and Older

"Beverly Hills Chihuahua" (PG). Stereotypical ethnic humor and trite doggie-poop jokes intermingle with genuinely funny bits in this uneven live-action (well, mostly) family comedy. Real dogs "talk" to one another, thanks to computer animation.

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Chastity advocate pulls no punches

Evert stressed that taking this route leads to greater happiness, noting that the potential for depression rises sharply among teen boys and girls who become sexually active. Lest young people fear losing their popularity, he pointed out that football's Philip Rivers, quarterback for the San Diego Chargers, was a virgin and so was his wife, Tiffany, when they got married.

Evert noted that chastity and abstinence are not the same things: Whereas abstinence means not having sex, chastity also includes pure thoughts and speech. He also pointed out the difference between infatuation and true love, declaring that "a lot of people think if the feeling goes down, love is disappearing. That's not true at all."

Evert asserted that true love is not really a feeling, but "an act of the will to do your best for someone else" that has a much greater permanence.

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Watching With Kids in Mind

Lily makes friends with Zach (Tristan Wilds), a brainy teen who works for the sisters and aims to be a lawyer.

Eventually, a truth emerges about Lily's mother, for whom she still pines. Memories of her mother's violent death haunt her. What could be sickly sweet instead has enough tartness to stay interesting. The film is fine for teens, but it does include some violence, death, racial epithets, profanity, sexual innuendo, drinking and a depression theme.

Also Playing

8 and Older

"Beverly Hills Chihuahua" (PG). Stereotypical ethnic humor and trite doggie-poop jokes intermingle with genuinely funny bits in this uneven live-action (well, mostly) family comedy. Real dogs "talk" to one another, thanks to computer animation.

Read More