|
LETTER FROM SAM
Everyone knows what it's like to feel anxious.
Anxiety and fear are important–and normal–parts of our
lives. Anxiety can give us the kick we need to study late into the
night, stay alert in what could be a dangerous situation, and keep
us on our toes during a presentation. In short, it helps us cope.
But this normally helpful emotion can do the exact opposite for people
with an anxiety disorder. It can keep them from facing everyday problems
or situations and even paralyze them with fear.
If you have an anxiety disorder, or any other type of problem that
is making your life unmanageable, know that you are not alone. According
to a report by the United States Surgeon General, anxiety disorders
are the most common psychiatric illnesses–more than 19 million
American adults and more than one in ten American children and adolescents
have an anxiety disorder.
Unfortunately, many young people are not getting the help they need.
If you are having a hard time with anxiety, or anything else, you
don't need to be ashamed–you need to get help. Talk to a parent,
teacher, school counselor, or friend. There are countless resources
on the Internet, including information about “live” and
on-line support groups for people of all ages.
ANXIETY LINKS
For Teens:
Go
Ask Alice
A Q&A about health and well-being
Teens Health
Provides doctor-approved health information for teens created by The
Nemours Foundation's Center for Children's Health Media
gURL
An online community and content site for teenage girls
Girls
Health
Department of Health and Human Services website that provides girls
with reliable, useful information on health issues
For Adults:
Anxiety Disorders Association
of America
Promotes the prevention, treatment and cure of anxiety disorders and
seeks to improve the lives of all people who suffer from anxiety disorders
The National
Institute of Mental Health
Working to improve mental health through biomedical research on mind, brain, and behavior
Freedom
from Fear
A national not-for-profit mental health advocacy association
National Alliance
for the Mentally Ill (NAMI)
Dedicated to improving the lives of people living with serious mental
illness
BOOKLIST
This is my "People Have Problems...and So Do You" booklist
Teen Angst? Naaah...: A Quasi-Autobiography by Ned Vizzini
A collection of essays written by the author from age fifteen to seventeen in which he shares impressions of school, sports, cool people, boring people, friends, family, money, music, and obsessions.
It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini
Craig Gilner is a gifted 15-year-old boy who works hard to get into a fiercely competitive high school, then crumbles under the intense academic pressure. Blindsided by his inability to excel and terrified by thoughts of suicide, Craig checks into a psychiatric hospital where he finally gets the help he needs.
Luna by Julie Anne Peters
"This novel sensitively portrays the life of a transgender teen through the eyes of a sympathetic younger sister," wrote PW.
Skin by Adrienne Maria Vrettos
Fourteen-year-old Donnie's older sister, Karen, has always been the one person in his life on whom he could totally depend. But as Karen slowly slips away in the grip of an eating disorder, Donnie finds himself alone in facing the trauma of his parents' faltering marriage and his new life as an outcast at school.
Burn Journals by Brent Runyon
Runyon's first-person account of his close brush with death and his painful rehabilitation is reminiscent of Girl, Interrupted and Running with Scissors.
Talking in the Dark by Billy Merrell
Merrell lays open the journal of his life, taking readers with him through his parents' divorce, his awakening sexuality, and his quest to find love and acceptance while discovering himself in the process.
Perfect by Natasha Friend
Following the death of her father, a thirteen-year-old uses bulimia as a way to avoid her mother's and ten-year-old sister's grief, as well as her own.
Cut by Patricia McCormick
While confined to a mental hospital, thirteen-year-old Callie slowly comes to understand some of the reasons behind her self-mutilation, and gradually starts to get better.
Crank by Ellen Hopkins
This devastating story, told in poetry, is even more frightening because it is based on the author's own experiences with her addicted daughter.
Wild Roses by Deb Caletti
Seventeen-year-old Cassie Morgan has a secret: She's living with a time bomb (a.k.a. her stepfather, Dino Cavalli). To the public, Dino is a world-renowned violinist and composer. To Cassie, he's an erratic, self-centered bully.
Stop Pretending: What Happened when My Big Sister Went Crazy by Sonya Sones
A younger sister has a difficult time adjusting to life after her older sister has a mental breakdown.
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson
When Melinda Sordino's friends discover she called the police to quiet a party, they ostracize her, turning her into an outcast -- even among kids she barely knows. But even worse than the harsh conformity of high-school cliques is a secret that you have to hide.
Smack by Melvin Burgess
After running away from their troubled homes, two English teenagers move in with a group of squatters in the port city of Bristol and try to find ways to support their growing addiction to heroin.
Damage by Amanda M. Jenkins
Seventeen-year-old football hero Austin, trying to understand the inexplicable depression that has drained his interest in life, thinks that he has found relief in a girl who seems very special.
Shattering Glass by Gail Giles
When Rob, the charismatic leader of the senior class, turns the school nerd into Prince Charming, his actions lead to unexpected violence.
You Remind Me of You by Eireann Corrigan
Struggling for years with eating disorders, in and out of treatment facilities, Eireann Corrigan is teetering on the brink of no return when her high school boyfriend attempts suicide.
Detour: My Bipolar Road Trip in 4-D by Lizzie Simon
What is it like to be "bipolar"? Lizzie Simon, a 23-year-old afflicted with this form of mental ailment, goes on a road trip in search of others like her and tells all in this frank and surprising memoir.
Kissing Doorknobs by Terry Spencer Hesser, A. J. Allen (Afterword)
Fourteen-year-old Tara describes how her increasingly strange compulsions begin to take over her life and affect her relationships with her family and friends.
Just Checking by Emily Colas
A frank and funny first-person account of living with obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Good Grief by Lolly Winston
A brilliantly funny and heartwarming book about a young woman who stumbles, then fights to build a new life after the death of her husband.
The Year of Magical Thinking by Joan Didion
A moving record of the author’s effort to survive the death of her husband and the near-fatal illness of her only daughter. A really intense and amazing book.
|
|
