Peer Pressure And Depression In Teens

Teen peer pressure and depression often can leave emotional scars that can never heal. Sometimes we don’t even see them in the people we love most.

For example, Linda Martinez accomplished much more in 29 years than most people do in 80. It is hard to imagine parents raising a more successful child than Linda.

A child prodigy on the piano, she was trained at the prestigious Yamaha School from the age of 4. She went on to graduate from the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music. Donald Crockett, a professor of musical composition at USC, called Linda “one of the two or three most gifted young composers we’ve ever had.”

Then after graduation, Linda performed with such well-known jazz musicians such as Wynton Marsalis and Phil Woods. And in 2000, she toured as a keyboard player and arranger with the pop group Destiny’s Child. She composed several film scores, as well as music for History Channel programs. Linda performed her own compositions at the United Nations and Kennedy Center.

One of the most talented musicians and composers of her generation, Linda Martinez sadly committed suicide in Los Angeles in 2005. She was only 29. Professor Crockett expressed the shock of everyone who knew Linda: “It’s a big loss…she seemed like she was going to be a rocket.”

But what caused Linda to choose such a path? After all, Linda’s life to everyone seemed to be the stuff that fairy tales are made of-everything was going so well for her. So what went wrong? What was so awful that Linda felt like she had to take her own life?

Linda’s mother had reported on several occasions to the press that Linda often complained of both back pain and insomnia-two of the classic warning signs of depression.

After looking at Linda’s journals, Mrs. Martinez said: “Now we understand…this is not something that just came on.”

Linda wasn’t beautiful by Hollywood standards, not many people are. Yet a young girl as gifted as Linda surly should have been immune to the negative effects of peer pressure to which teens are often subjected to in both junior high and high school right? That is what the world would like us to think. After all, Linda was the best at everything she did. How could she have become a victim of depression?

Our society still teaches young girls that their worth as a person depends on their physical attractiveness. Teens see impossibly beautiful Victoria’s Secrets’ models every time they open their Yahoo e-mail accounts. Linda didn’t look like a Victoria’s Secrets’ model, or like the girls in Destiny’s Child. And although she played the piano like an angel, it wasn’t enough to give her life meaning.

The only way to counteract the deadly influence of peer pressure and depression on your children is by teaching them their value as God’s special creation. When your children discover who they are, they will be strong enough to withstand the storms that come in life.

Help your children discover their unique value as persons. You can give them no greater gift.

Author Bio: Amy Cainfield is a child safety advocate working in St.Louis. She recommends parental control software like PC Tattletale to help parents keep their kids safe online. Visit: http://www.pctattletale.com or http://www.pc-tattletale.com

Category: Family Concerns
Keywords: pctattletale,parental control software, internet monitoring software, internet safety

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