That's so interesting, Clarity. I can definitely see it for my DS at times, though I think things are getting better (only 34 more days of school...). I believe he has been depressed this year because
1)school is boring, even honors classes have assignments that he thinks are busy work (not meaningful, in-depth study),
2)new big school environment (coming from small, sheltered middle school),
3)the "cool" factor (suddenly clothing is important)
4)juggling afterschool activities, missing lots of school due to sports tournaments, being unable to clearly communicate with teachers for make up work, too much going on.
Hopefully things are coming together. I try to be helpful, supportive, but sometimes the more I try, the more I annoy (or seem to alienate or something) DS. DH says Keep it Simple. He says stick to main point when talking to DS and give him time to digest and then let him come to me. That HAS worked better.
