Depression

In the LifeTime original movie Odd Girl Out, an 8th grader named Vanessa is a usually happy and popular student. However, when she becomes the target of adolescent teasing, bullying, and emotional abuse, she falls into a state of depression which includes many self-destructive behaviors.

When Vanessa's best friend turns on her and ends their friendship, she becomes emotionally distressed and unstable. When the whole school begins picking on her and spreading nasty rumors, Vanessa turns her anger and sadness inwards. The betrayal of Vanessa's friends is a good example of a situational change that causes stress in her life, leading to her depression.

In a state of high emotions and sadness, Vanessa cuts off all of her hair. After another incident of bullying, she intentionally overdoses on her mother's sleeping pills. She also skips school, distances herself from her mother by keeping the situation from her, and develops an aggressive attitude. These are good examples of turning resentful, sad, or angry emotions inwards and punishing one's self.

After the bullies are confronted and taken care of by school officials, Vanessa is slowly able to come out of her depression and becomes the happy girl that she used to be, albeit a lot stronger than before. The fact that Vanessa's depression did not last a lengthy period of time, was caused by a situational change, and led her to attempt suicide leads me to conclude that she experienced Major Depression.