Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett

engaged socially very socially connected kid um who you know she did great in school and it's not like she had you know it's not like she was a perfect kid but she was pretty enthusiastic and pretty exuberant and had a lot of friends and and then you know By the time she was in 10th grade, she was withdrawn. She was getting D's in school. She couldn't concentrate. She wasn't sleeping.

engaged socially very socially connected kid um who you know she did great in school and it's not like she had you know it's not like she was a perfect kid but she was pretty enthusiastic and pretty exuberant and had a lot of friends and and then you know By the time she was in 10th grade, she was withdrawn. She was getting D's in school. She couldn't concentrate. She wasn't sleeping.

She was miserable. She was really suffering, but she was miserable to be around. And to be honest, at the beginning, we thought she was being lazy. We thought, you know, she didn't want to do anything. She wanted to spend all this time in her room. She didn't, you know, she wanted to get rid of all of her activities. And we thought, come on, man. Step up. Like, where are you?

She was miserable. She was really suffering, but she was miserable to be around. And to be honest, at the beginning, we thought she was being lazy. We thought, you know, she didn't want to do anything. She wanted to spend all this time in her room. She didn't, you know, she wanted to get rid of all of her activities. And we thought, come on, man. Step up. Like, where are you?

You know, we thought she was being lazy. I mean, really, it just never occurred to me in a million years because she had no mood symptoms as a kid, like none. And then all of a sudden she just, she appeared to have no energy to do anything. But to us, it looked like she was being lazy and she didn't want to do her homework and she seemed really disengaged.

You know, we thought she was being lazy. I mean, really, it just never occurred to me in a million years because she had no mood symptoms as a kid, like none. And then all of a sudden she just, she appeared to have no energy to do anything. But to us, it looked like she was being lazy and she didn't want to do her homework and she seemed really disengaged.

And it took me a while to realize, oh no, this is something else. she was having trouble remembering conversations that we had. And at first I thought, oh, you're not paying attention to me. But then it seemed really clear that even in day-to-day conversation, she couldn't tell me what was happening in her day. She just had no details.

And it took me a while to realize, oh no, this is something else. she was having trouble remembering conversations that we had. And at first I thought, oh, you're not paying attention to me. But then it seemed really clear that even in day-to-day conversation, she couldn't tell me what was happening in her day. She just had no details.

That's also a sign of depression where you lose the episodic memory of details of the day. You can only talk in gists. You can't give specifics about times and places and events. You just lose, you don't retain that information long enough to be able to remember it later. There's no consolidation of that information. And when she was in 10th grade,

That's also a sign of depression where you lose the episodic memory of details of the day. You can only talk in gists. You can't give specifics about times and places and events. You just lose, you don't retain that information long enough to be able to remember it later. There's no consolidation of that information. And when she was in 10th grade,

You know, she came home with D's in school, D's in mathematics. And this is a kid who was doing fun, you know, she was doing rudimentary algebra when she was eight. And we told her that we, she had to be, we had to have her assessed because we just didn't know what was going on. And that's when we realized that she was clinically depressed.

You know, she came home with D's in school, D's in mathematics. And this is a kid who was doing fun, you know, she was doing rudimentary algebra when she was eight. And we told her that we, she had to be, we had to have her assessed because we just didn't know what was going on. And that's when we realized that she was clinically depressed.

The other thing I should say is that, you know, she had very bad menstrual cramps and And so a lot of one treatment for bad menstrual cramps is to put girls on birth control pills because it evens out the hormonal fluctuations of the month and it does actually improve menstrual cramps.

The other thing I should say is that, you know, she had very bad menstrual cramps and And so a lot of one treatment for bad menstrual cramps is to put girls on birth control pills because it evens out the hormonal fluctuations of the month and it does actually improve menstrual cramps.

But it's pretty well known now, it wasn't so much known then, that there is somewhere between a 40 and 70% increase in the likelihood of major depressive episode in young women who use birth control pills. if it's a combination estrogen progesterone pill, it's more like 40%.

But it's pretty well known now, it wasn't so much known then, that there is somewhere between a 40 and 70% increase in the likelihood of major depressive episode in young women who use birth control pills. if it's a combination estrogen progesterone pill, it's more like 40%.

If it's a progesterone only pill, which a lot of young women take because it has fewer side effects, you have a 70% increase in major depressive episode. And this is in, this first study that I read about this was in a million women. And when I read that study, I remember exactly where I was. It was like a flashbulb moment. I read the study. I called her pediatrician, my daughter's pediatrician.

If it's a progesterone only pill, which a lot of young women take because it has fewer side effects, you have a 70% increase in major depressive episode. And this is in, this first study that I read about this was in a million women. And when I read that study, I remember exactly where I was. It was like a flashbulb moment. I read the study. I called her pediatrician, my daughter's pediatrician.

And I said, she's coming off pill today. Today. So tell me if there's anything, are there any side effects or can we just stop it? And he's like, well, in my opinion, and I'm like, I don't give a shit about your opinion. I have just read a study that is like, you know, it's a large scale epidemiological study of a million women today. She's coming off today.

And I said, she's coming off pill today. Today. So tell me if there's anything, are there any side effects or can we just stop it? And he's like, well, in my opinion, and I'm like, I don't give a shit about your opinion. I have just read a study that is like, you know, it's a large scale epidemiological study of a million women today. She's coming off today.