I'm 15. I was recently diagnosed with clinical depression. My shrink suggested putting me on medication and therapy. However, my mom doesn't want me "taking drugs," even though I feel it will help me. Just a few days ago she told me that playing sports helps create a chemical that balances out another chemical in your brain that causes depression. I'm not that active, so I think she's trying to get me to play sports, but I don't want to do that. How can I convince her that I need to take medication? I think that if I don't use something to make me happier, I will turn to drugs or drinking to make me feel better.

Megan

Exercise -- whether obtained through playing sports or some other means, such as walking, vigorous chores or dancing -- IS a good means of combating depression through the release of endorphins (the body's natural opiate) and the enhancement of oxygen metabolism. You might want to try some type of exercise or enjoyable movement, even if it's not sports-related, to enhance your mood in addition to any medication or therapy.

Drinking and drugs, however, are counterproductive when used to self-medicate mood. Alcohol, for instance, is a central nervous system depressant -- as are some other recreational drugs -- and as such can actually worsen depression. In addition, reliance upon recreational drugs or alcohol to manage emotional states is thought by some to arrest an individual's psychological and emotional growth at the age he or she was at the time the substance abuse began. People who get sober in their 30s or 40s after drinking or drugging since early adolescence may find themselves feeling and acting 13 (or 14 or whatever age they began the substance abuse), and have to relearn some of the normal tasks of living without the mediating effects of chemicals. So I wouldn't recommend using drugs or drinking to help yourself -- or anyone else -- feel better.

But I also wouldn't want you to continue feeling as bad as you apparently do. I'd definitely recommend that you follow through on the recommendation for psychotherapy, even if your mother holds firm in her stance against medication. Psychological therapy can be as effective as medication in alleviating depression. I'd definitely give it a chance.

As long as you're under 18, I don't think you'll be able to take medication without a parent's permission. But you CAN discuss with your "shrink" -- whether that's a psychiatrist, psychologist or other mental health professional -- your mother's stance against your taking medication. If your therapist feels strongly that medication -- in addition to therapy -- is in your best interest, perhaps he or she can, with your permission, talk with your mother and address this further with her. Good luck.