The CDC reported that three out of five teen girls experienced persistent feelings of hopelessness in 2021.

There are many things contributing to adolescent hopelessness, and while there are differences between the world of today and the world when Erin Kerry was diagnosed, the treatment options haven’t changed. The treatment options available in the 90s are the same being offered today, 30 years later: medication and therapy.

Unfortunately, those limited options are not treating the root of the issue, and in some cases, may make things worse.

Erin created a list of contributing root causes to her depression from the functional medicine lens, in hopes that it will help someone take a closer look at potential factor that are not being offered through traditional treatment.

This information is not meant to treat, diagnose, or cure, and does not take the place of medical advice given by a practitioner.

Key Topics:

- How the oral birth control pill may increase depression

- How antidepressants increase the risk of depression and suicidality in some teens and adults

- Toxic thoughts and the impact of low self-esteem on physical health

- The way antibiotics contribute to mental health issues

- Unresolved trauma and how talk therapy rarely makes a dent in healing it

- Overly processed foods and what they do to neurotransmitter function

- How exercise continues to be the most powerful tool for mental health in the research

Plus, other root causes and a call for parents and medical practitioners to fight for these teens!

For research articles that contributed to this episode, please see the condensed article version at sparkingwholeness.com.