Saturday, December 28, 2013

Play List for the Blues

secular parenting a difficult teen depression music humanist homeschool blog raising atheist skeptical freethinking humanist parenting
!<-- --="" addthis="" begin="" button="">

My 16 year old daughter has been struggling with depression for a few years now. It's impossible for me to pinpoint exactly when a thing we call depression started because she is a glass is half-empty kind of person. How can I know when everything switched from stuff is just always annoying, disappointing, boring, insufferable to I am miserable and my life has become unmanageable? The depression came on fairly slowly. But there is always that moment when we told her that we were moving her to the other side of the world, away from every known thing, away from every beloved thing. That might have been a turning point. (Ya think?) And those early months here in Brisbane were very tough on her.

The point is that at some point her propensity to view things from the negative side had made her life feel like a prison to her. She no longer felt able to enjoy life. She felt a victim to her own mood most of the time.

In addition to having a totally cool therapist for a mother, Elizabeth started taking antidepressants. They helped immediately. Not 100%. Not every day. But she did feel a lightening of the overwhelming blackness in her mind. She saw a therapist down here two times. She felt that seeing the therapist was a good move.

Additionally, she was doing some writing and some reading, working things through with me, and doing what she called music therapy. Elizabeth seems to have earbuds cemented to her ears. Using iTunes she created a playlist of songs that lifted her up, moved her, meant something to her, or that spoke truly to her. She has made this playlist into CDs for a couple of friends who are also struggling with their moods, their relationships, their connections and who have also felt some comfort or lifting up while listening to these songs.

Not all of the songs are familiar to me and may not be familiar to you.  But your teen knows most of them. Some songs on this list are Australian and may not be known in the States or in other parts of the world. I have made each song into a link from Youtube. You can also find most of them on iTunes, download them, and give them a listen. Maybe surprise your teen with two CDs of music selected just for them!

However you choose to use this list, Elizabeth is very proud to pass it along to you as another tool in the fight against depression in our beloved teenagers.


Count on Me - Bruno Mars 

Just The Way You Are - Bruno Mars 

Today my Life Begins - Bruno Mars 

Tonight I'm Getting Over You - Carly Rae Jepson 

Little Things - One Direction 

What Makes You Beautiful - One Direction 

Hero - Mariah Carey 

Let It Go - Idina Menzel

The Horses - I only know the Taylor Henderson version 

Affirmation - Savage Garden 

Alive - Dami Im 

Declaration - David Cook 

Heroes - David Cook 

Time of My Life - David Cook 

Lift Your Spirit - Harrison Craig 

You Raise Me Up - Harrison Craig or Josh Groban 

Gold - Owl City 

Shooting Star - Owl City 

Beautiful Soul - Jesse McCartney 

She's No You - Jesse McCartney 

Because You Live - Jesse McCartney 

I'll Be Your Strength - The Wanted 

Gold Forever - The Wanted 

Rocket - The Wanted 

Roar - Katy Perry 

Wings - Little Mix 

I'd Come For You - Nickelback 

Never Gonna Be Alone - Nickelback 

Lullaby - Nickelback 

Beautiful  - Christina Aguilera 

Happy  - Pharell Williams 

Drops Of Jupiter - Train 

Unwritten - Natasha Bedingfield 

It's a Beautiful Day - Michael Buble 

Hall of Fame - The Script (feat. will.i.am) 

Diana - One Direction 

Through The Dark - One Direction


Most importantly, if your child listens to it, you listen to it too. Become familiar with the songs that your child is living inside of. Listen to the music together.  Elizabeth and I have songs on this list that are specific to our relationship; I'm thrilled to see them on the list. These teen years are SO intense and lonely for so many kids. I remember how important my music was to me and it's the same for our kids. Enter their world.


I'm Elizabeth and I approve of this post.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Just a quick reminder to visitors and readers, you can also find my writing on:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
May I also suggest this post: 
My Daughter is Fierce!
You might also enjoy:  Cuddling Cures the Meloncholy

2 comments:

  1. I don't know most of the songs, but I agree, music has a special power. I hope Elizabeth finds her way out of that hole. The fact that she has acknowledged it, that she has talked about it, sought help and also tried to find ways on her own to lift her up shows how mature she is. All the best to her and you all as a family!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Yep, music can really help heaps.That's a good list there :)

    ReplyDelete

Leave a comment!