Study Links Teen Depression with Sexual Experimentation, Drug Use

By Jim Brown
December 5, 200
(AgapePress) - A prominent mental health counselor says depression may be the new sexually transmitted disease. He points to a new study that finds sexual experimentation and drug use often precede adolescent depression.
What a way to say it- depression the new STD.
I believe it. Just thinking of friends' experiences, even many of my own, and it makes sense. I don't know anyone from this particular study, but the people I do know can also support this research.
Like Jim Brown wrote, "Teenagers simply don't have the financial [or] the emotional resources to handle those kinds of relationships," the educator says. "And yet there are many people who are in the Planned Parenthood camp ... and [agree with] Advocates for Youth and groups like that who essentially say that sex if fine as long as it's physically safe. Well, this study should wake everybody up that it isn't safe."
Aside from that, he also points out how the schools are not helping with their so-called sex ed. programs. He references to Dr. Warren Throckmorton, "...the findings expose some of the adverse effects of condom-based sex education in public schools, and should prompt parents and educators to discourage teen sexual relationships."
Dr. Throckmorton goes on to say, "there is no reason for policy makers to wait to encourage abstinence." He says every health-care professional, school counselor, teacher, and parent should be doing that.

Is society going to listen? Or are we going to carry on perfectly fine with the knowledge that teenagers are more and more depressed- largely in part to our lack of abstinence guidance?
This article and the research mentioned are key pointers- we need to go back to teaching morals and values!