{"id":6251,"date":"2014-05-27T07:00:54","date_gmt":"2014-05-27T11:00:54","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/?p=6251"},"modified":"2014-05-18T15:50:15","modified_gmt":"2014-05-18T19:50:15","slug":"is-frequent-tanning-a-marker-of-depression","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/05\/is-frequent-tanning-a-marker-of-depression.html","title":{"rendered":"Is Frequent Tanning a Marker of Depression?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"tan\"<\/a>I’ ve written several articles on the dangers of tanning to the skin, but now we may have additional concerns when it comes to mental health, especially the mental health of our teens.<\/p>\n

The teenage years are marked with insecurity and a desire to fit in and be noticed. When it comes to appearance, teens are under major pressure to have the perfect body. Those who don’t feel they measure up often struggle with depression. Tanning is one way to try and boost appearance and mood despite the possible dangers to the skin. So one group of researchers decided to study teens and frequent tanning to see if there was a correlation between tanning and mood.<\/p>\n

The conclusion of the study conducted on several high school students who excessively tan was that\u00a0excessive indoor tanning habits are associated with depression and suicide attempts among teens.<\/p>\n

Excessive tanning was defined as 40 or more sessions in a 12 month period. Specifically, the study noted that students who excessively tanned had more depressive symptoms and were more at risk for suicide attempt and ideations according to researchers at the\u00a0University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) in Little Rock. In other words, frequent tanning could be a marker of depression.<\/p>\n

The investigators of the study felt that because of the increased risk of depression and suicide attempt, depression screenings could be helpful for students who excessively tan.\u00a0\u00a0However, screening kids then needs to be followed up with treatment.<\/p>\n

So parents pay attention to your teen’s tanning behavior. Frequent tanning could be used as a way to improve mood or appearance, but may indicate depression. And suicide is the leading cause of death among teens.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’ ve written several articles on the dangers of tanning to the skin, but now we may have additional concerns when it comes to mental health, especially the mental health of our teens. The teenage years are marked with insecurity and a desire to fit in and be noticed. When it comes to appearance, teens…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":419,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[914],"tags":[2895,2894,772,182,1196,1198],"class_list":["post-6251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-family-relationships-2","tag-depression-and-tanning","tag-excessive-tanning","tag-parenting-teens","tag-tanning","tag-teen-depression","tag-teen-suicide"],"yoast_head":"\nIs Frequent Tanning a Marker of Depression?<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/doinglifetogether\/2014\/05\/is-frequent-tanning-a-marker-of-depression.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Is Frequent Tanning a Marker of Depression?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I’ ve written several articles on the dangers of tanning to the skin, but now we may have additional concerns when it comes to mental health, especially the mental health of our teens. 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Her media experience includes seven years as the resident expert for ABC Family\u2019s Living the Life television show and regular appearances on network television and radio. It is often said that being with Dr. Linda is like having coffee with a friend. She makes the complicated issues of relationships and mental health easy to understand and applicable to everyday living. The ease she has with people, coupled with her clinical training and experience makes her a sought-after speaker on college campuses, conferences and special events. Whether she is doing a TV skit with Tim Conway or discussing teen violence with Queen Latifa, Dr. Linda will entertain, educate and integrate faith and mental health in everyday living. 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