Depression & Self-Harm

and It’s Kind of a Funny

Story

Psychological Basis

Depression• Depression is defined as a mental condition

characterized by feelings of severe despondence and dejection, typically also with feelings of inadequacy and guilt, often accompanied by lack of energy and disturbance of appetite and sleep.Self-Harm• Self-harm is defined as the act of deliberately

harming your own body, such as cutting or burning yourself. It’s typically not meant as a suicide attempt. Rather, self-harm is an unhealthy way to cope with emotional pain, intense anger and frustration.

Depression• Major Depressive Disorder: when a person

suffers from severe depression for more than 2 weeks

• Dysthymia: chronic, less severe depression that lasts more than years

• Seasonal Affective Disorder: depression that takes place during certain times of the year

• Bipolar Disorder: alternating episodes of depression and mania

Self-Harm

Types:• Cutting• Burning• Scratching• Hair Pulling• Eating Disorders

Triggers:• Stress• Trauma• Anger• Guilt• Bad Relationships• Anxiety• Feeling Disconnected from

the World

Media

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

• It’s Kind of a Funny Story is a beautiful book written by Ned Vizzini in 2006 and turned into a feature film in 2010.

• It focuses on a depressed 16-year-old boy, Craig, who checks himself into a psychiatric hospital after considering suicide.

• While in the hospital, Craig makes friends with some of the other patients who help him to realize life isn’t as horrible as it seems.

It’s Kind of a Funny Story

• While in the hospital, Craig befriends a girl named Noelle, who struggles with depression and self-harm.

• She states to Craig that she used self-harm to cope with the trauma of being sexually abused throughout her life.

• She cut her face so that no one would think that she was beautiful and want to abuse her. It’s almost like her defense mechanism.

Connection

Connection-Craig:• Craig suffers from Major Depressive Disorder.

He has been depressed for many years and struggles with an eating disorder.

• Craig states that feels guilty about his problems and that his family shouldn’t have to put up with him.

• Craig has been in therapy for as long as he can remember. He has also been on a wide range of medications for a very long time.

• When Craig stopped taking his medication is when he began to feel suicidal.

• Major Depressive Disorder is described as lasting for more than two weeks.

• Symptoms include feelings of worthlessness and guilt, feelings of sadness, tearfulness, emptiness and hopelessness.

• A person suffering from MDD may also experience thoughts of death, suicidal thoughts and/or attempts.

• When Craig feels like there is no escape for what he is feeling, he considers climbing to the top of the Brooklyn Bridge and throwing himself into traffic.

Connection-Noelle:• Noelle struggles

with PTSD, depression, and self-harm.

• Noelle opens up to Craig and explains that she was sexually abused in her childhood and that cutting her face made people stay away from her.

• She states that she was admitted to the hospital because of her self-harm tendencies.

• PTSD is caused by a traumatic event in someone’s life.

• Self-harm can be the result of stress, trauma or guilt, or feeling disconnected from the world.

• Self-harm is described as a negative coping skill.

• Noelle turns to self-harm to help her cope with the trauma and depression that she deals with.

Connection/Validity • Craig is stated to have major depressive disorder. He

says that he feels out of control with his life. He says that all the stress and anxiety in his life keeps building up and he’s not sure how much more he can take. Craig also clearly states that he wants to kill himself.

• The Mayo Clinic describes MDD as experiencing feelings of hopelessness. Other symptoms include thoughts and actions of suicide.

Connection/Validity• Noelle is stated to deal with PTSD and uses self-harm as

her negative coping skill. She also struggles with depression, lasting more than two years of her life. Noelle states that her self-harm is a form of suicidal tendencies.

• The Mayo Clinic describes the triggers for self-harm to be stress, anxiety, and trauma, along with a long list of more. Symptoms of depression include feelings of worthlessness, hopelessness and thoughts of suicide.

My Take• The author of this book, Ned Vizzini, pulled from his

personal experiences and was able to create characters who truly embody what having a mental illness looks like. • Vizzini began writing this book while he was in a

psychiatric hospital for his struggle with depression. • Overall, this is a wonderful description of what

depression and self-harm look like in a teenage world.

Resources:• http://

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/depression/basics/definition/con-20032977• http://

www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/self-injury/basics/definition/con-20025897• It’s Kind of a Funny Story by Ned Vizzini