With the holiday season among us, it’s important to recognize the upcoming occurrence of seasonal affective disorder, especially when it comes to foster children.

According to Mission West Virginia, suicide awareness within the foster care system is crucial for families. Signs to look out for include sucide threats, acts of depression, such as change in hygiene habits and withdrawing from friends and family.

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, or the CDC, in youth ages 10-24, suicide is now the second leading cause of death.

As discussed in my previous post, holidays can be extremely difficult for foster care children, however this difficulty would only increase with those suffering with seasonal affective disorder.

It’s important that as a community, we continue to tear down the stigma attached to mental health and depression so that we can better improve how we deal with the issue at hand.