Tea at Trianon: Teen Depression

John Wilson Croker on Marie-Antoinette

"We have followed the history of Marie Antoinette with the greatest diligence and scrupulosity. We have lived in those times. We have talked with some of her friends and some of her enemies; we have read, certainly not all, but hundreds of the libels written against her; and we have, in short, examined her life with– if we may be allowed to say so of ourselves– something of the accuracy of contemporaries, the diligence of inquirers, and the impartiality of historians, all combined; and we feel it our duty to declare, in as a solemn a manner as literature admits of, our well-matured opinion that every reproach against the morals of the queen was a gross calumny– that she was, as we have said, one of the purest of human beings."

~from History of the Guillotine by John Wilson Croker, 1844

Edmund Burke on Marie-Antoinette

"It is now sixteen or seventeen years since I saw the queen of France, then dauphiness, at Versailles; and surely there never lighted on this orb, which she hardly seemed to touch, a more delightful vision. I saw her just above the horizon, decorating and cheering the elevated sphere she had just begun to move in, glittering like a morning star full of life and splendor and joy. Oh, what a revolution....Little did I dream that I should have lived to see such disasters fall upon her, in a nation of gallant men, in a nation of men of honor and of cavaliers! I thought ten thousand swords must have leaped from their scabbards, to avenge even a look which threatened her with insult. But the age of chivalry is gone; that of sophisters, economists, and calculators has succeeded...."

~Edmund Burke, October 1790

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Teen Depression

From Science News for Students:

People are diagnosed with depression when they experience at least five of nine main symptoms. These include depressed mood and loss of interest or enjoyment in activities. Altered sleep patterns and appetite. Overall low energy. Anxiety and trouble concentrating. Feelings of guilt or low self-worth and thoughts about death. Some are more common than others, but few people experience all of them.

The various mixes of these symptoms number in the hundreds, Gotlib says. And that can make depression tricky to treat. Treatment that works for a teen with one set of symptoms might not work for an adult with a different set. Depression researchers are learning that different changes in the brain may be tied to specific symptoms. When those changes happen during adolescence, they can lead to long-term mental-health issues. But there’s good news, too. The flexibility of the developing brain means teens may be able to prevent long-term problems if they seek help. (Read more.)