Bev Cobain Chat Tonight- Teen Depression

Q: For adults, teen depression is often difficult to acknowledge and understand, let alone diagnose. We’d rather chalk it up to typical teen angst. But, there’s nothing typical about a teen who is caught in the depths of pain, unbearable sadness, numbing helplessness, and even uncontrollable rage. For teens, depression is an added confusion to a turbulent time, with little available to help them sort it out. Until now.

A:WHEN NOTHING MATTERS ANYMORE: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR DEPRESSED TEENS, by Bev Cobain, R.N.,C., provides insight, advice and hope-from someone who knows. Bev Cobain knew the story behind the headlines when her young cousin Kurt completed suicide in 1994. She’s seen it before. Kurt was the third member of the Cobain family to kill themselves, and Bev, too, had struggled with alcohol, drugs, and depression before turning her life around. As a psychiatric nurse specializing in teen depression and suicide prevention, Bev knows the complexities of depression-especially when filtered through the adolescent experience. As an older cousin of the late Nirvana rock star, Kurt Cobain, she was drawn into the media circus surrounding his suicide and has spoken to hundreds of teens around the country. Determined to make a difference, she’s written a book for teens (and the parents and adults who care for them) that examines what happens, what hurts, what’s hidden, and what helps. Bev has the real information on teen depression, it’s causes, complication, and cures. She has a passion for young people and the determination to put her knowledge and experience to work on their behalf. Suicide is an unnecessary tragedy. If sharing the Cobain name helps to get the message out, so be it. The National Institute for Mental Health states that “major depression in teens and adolescents is more likely identified by the teens themselves than the parents.” Bev agrees and hopes kids will discover that: They are not alone Depression is treatable They can take steps to make their lives better and more livable You can order her book from Free Spirit Publishing, toll-free, 1-800-735-7323 or www.freespirit.com. Bev is in the midst of a national radio tour. She has done online chats for CNN and MSNBC, and her book has been featured in Teen People. She was recently presented with the first annual Green Ribbon Award from the National Mental Health Association for her efforts to generate awareness of childhood depression. Bev Cobain, R.N.,C.,

is an accredited psychiatric/mental health nurse who works with depressed, suicidal, and dually diagnosed patients ages 13 and older. Her own struggles with sexual abuse, panic disorder, alcoholism, addiction to prescription drugs, and a wish to die led her to discover her passion for art and healing. Bev is determined to help others heal, especially young people. She belongs to the American Association of Suicidology and the Washington State Youth Suicide Prevention Committee. She teaches suicide intervention workshops for the state of Washington. A single mother with two grown sons, Bev currently lives beside a lake near Seattle, W

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