Teen Girls: Is Depression the Manifestation of Anger and Powerlessness?
We read a very interesting piece by Soraya Chemaly in the Huffington Post Parents Blog the other day. Here at Hardy Girls, we’ve been working alongside girls for over 10 years. We know that as Soriya says, “girls have the right to be angry.”
“Anger externalized can turn into violence and aggression; anger internalized can cause depression, health problems and communication difficulties.”
“New data from a national survey conducted between 2008 and 2010 reveals that between the ages of 12-15, the number of girls experiencing depression triples. This happens at a rate of three times that of boys.”
What can we do? Hardy Girls offers strength based programs and curricular materials that address these issues–all designed to give girls more power and control, by offering ways to translate their justified anger into activism and social change work.
One Response
1.19.2013
I think everyone has the right to be angry and if our society doesn’t let people vent, anger starts to build. Most of the time when we get angry and are allowed to vent we either feel better or realize that it was the wrong thing to do and feel bad. This allows reflection on our actions and also allows us to build and learn from our experiences. Young girls have the hardest time being young and I think it is even harder these days.
Thanks for the other reading material.