Jacyntha Gloade

Dr.Cuddy

Eng 101

October 28,2020

Depression in Teens

Depression is a globally under recognized and neglected disorder that is nevertheless a serious

medical condition. Depression does not discriminate! Each year nearly 5,000 young people from

ages 15-24 kill themselves because of it. Teens need adult guidance more than ever to understand

all the emotional and physical changes they are experiencing. Our teens are embedded into a

culture driven by as to where success is defined by status, performance and appearance. In this

article Robert Sutcliffe gives us a snippet of Tom Batley a 16 year -old from the Colne Valley

Highschool suffering from depression that died in a train smash (Sutcliffe 7). Robert explained

how Tom was offered help but was reluctant to accept it. Tom’s parents, “Julia and Stephen

worked hard with his teachers” (Sutcliffe 7)! “After, offered to being an apprentice things

seemed to be getting better, at least that’s what Tom’s parents thought’’(Sutcliffe 7). Pushing

teens to be their best self is what all parents want, but not to the point where the child should be

stressed out or be scarred because they aren’t bringing home the perfect grades. Family

difficulties, academic struggles, relationships, and the unexpected loss of a loved one can lead to

negative feelings.

Robert Sutcliffe was more than qualified to write this article. “He has held the position of the

Yorkshire Post reporter for more than a decade”. He has also won several major awards over the

years. The author’s tone was very formal. However, I could not help but to ask as to why Tom
ended it all? As Robert and others mentioned "Tom was a lively, popular lad with lots of friends.

He was bright, outgoing and fun and was loved immensely by his family. He struggled with

depression but hid this from those around him and despite being offered support from his family,

school and the CAMHS (Child/Adolescent Mental Health Service), he refused to open up”

(Sutcliffe7). It confused me how someone that was so loved and cared for would be suffering

with depression. Hence, why I wished Robert had actually found out the reason as to why Tom

did it. However, as mentioned before he was having trouble at school. After, reading this article

it seemed as if Tom was hiding behind a mask, making sure he didn’t raise any concerns with the

people around him. Even though Robert did not show any kind of emotion in this article the

awareness he delivered was that no matter how great someone’s life may seem may not be so

behind close doors. "It's a tragedy that someone who was loved so much, who seemed to love life

so much and who had such potential made the decision to take his life when he was so young.

We loved him and we miss him (Sutcliffe 7)”

 Work cited

ROBERT SUTCLIFFE robert.sutcliffe@trinitymirror.com @MRRSUTCLIFFE, 'Secret pain of

Tom, 16, who died in train smash - T EEN BAT T LED WITH DEPRESSION - BUT DIDN'T

WANT TO LET HIS PARENT S KNOW', Huddersfield Daily Examiner (online), 15 Oct 2020 7

‹https://libweb3.hamptonu.edu:2084/apps/news/document-view?

p=AWNB&docref=news/17E1FB29A0D6A978›

www.examinerlive.co.uk -Robert Sutcliffe