Depression in Children – What Parents Can Do

Studies have shown that the onset of depression among children occurs earlier in life today than in past decades. Depression affects approximately 5% of children (age 12 and under), and the prevalence increases with age. Despite its increasing incidence and devastating effects on children and their families, depression among children remains under-diagnosed and under-treated.

Symptoms of Depression

Depression often goes undiagnosed, as it is likely to be dismissed as just a case of 'blues'. in children, the symptoms of depression vary with the developmental stages of the child. Common signs associated with depression in children include:

• Persistent feeling of sadness, worthlessness or guilt;
• Frequent physical complaints such as headaches, muscle aches, stomachaches, or tiredness;
• Talk of or efforts to run away from home;
• Outbursts of shouting, complaining, unexplained irritability, or crying;
• Boredom, listlessness, or loss of interest in activities;
• Social isolation and poor communication skills;
• Extreme sensitivity to rejection or failure;
• Increased irritably, anger, or hostility;
• Reckless behaviour;
• Significant change in appetite or body weight;
• Difficulty sleeping, or oversleeping;
• Difficulty concentrating; and
• Fear of death, or recurrent thoughts of death or suicide.

The Reasons Behind Depression

Depression is rarely due to a single event or condition. Rather, it is the result of a complicated matrix of family, social, genetic and biochemical influences.

1. Children who develop major depression are more likely to have a family history of the disorder. some research that suggests that depression my be biochemical.
2. Too much stress may lead to depression in children. They may feel inadequate and unable to meet the expectations of their parents or teachers.
3. The loss of a parent or loved one is very traumatic for a child. Confusion, grief and helplessness may bring on the symptoms of depression.
4. There is a higher incidence of the condition in children with attention, conduct or learning disorders. Feelings of frustration, despair and guilt can contribute to the development of the condition.
5. Children with chronic illnesses, such as diabetes, may be more likely to become depressed, because of feelings of hopelessness, inferiority and desolation.
6. Childhood abuse or neglect creates serious problems and much physical and psychological distress. all abused or neglected children grapple with issues about self-esteem, and are more prone to bouts of depression.

Depression - What Parents can Do

For various reasons, some adults find it hard to accept that children may experience unpleasant psychological states such as depression.

1. It is very important for parents to acknowledge that children, like adults, can experience powerful emotions that should not be dismissed.
2. If you suspect your child is depressed, talk to your doctor about your concerns. Alternatively, you can seek the advice of a mental health professional, who can ask the child in question to undergo a screening test specifically designed to help diagnose depression.
3. If a diagnosis of depression is made, treatment by a child psychiatrist or psychologist will follow.
4. It is common for parents to second guess and blame themselves when a child is depressed. Keep in mind that depression is caused by numerous and largely unknown factors.

Treatment for Depressed Children

The good news is, depression is highly treatable. Learning the facts about childhood depression can lead to early detection and treatment, plus a reduction in the duration and severity of the condition.

Treatment for depressive disorders in children often involves short-term psychotherapy, medication, or a combination of both. Targeted interventions involving the home or school environment are also recommended.

The purpose of therapy is to help the child understand and express their hurt, fears, and anger in safe and appropriate manner, as well as to help them and their families develop new ways of thinking about and reacting to stress and problems.

Depression in Children - What Parents Can Do

Tags: 101, abuse, Abused, Act, Acting, actor, Actors, adn, adult, Adults, Advice, Affect, Ally, Alternative, among, Anger, appetite, Apple, Arch, Attention, away, behind, blame, Blue, blues, body, Bored, boredom, Bouts, Bring, case, Cause, caused, chemical, child, childhood, Childhood Depression, Children, Chronic, Chronic Illness, Chronic Illnesses, Common, Communication, Complaint, concerns, Confusion, Contribute, cr, Current, death, Decade, Decades, depressed, Depressed Children, Depressio, Depression, depression in children, Depressive, Depressive Disorder, Depressive Disorders, Despair, detect, develop, Diabetes, diagnosed, diagnosis, dies, Difficulty Sleeping, Disorder, Disorders, doctor, early, Ears, Ease, Edge, effect, Effects, efforts, Emotion, Emotions, Environment, Era, Eva, Even, event, Ever, expect, Expectation, experience, explained, Extreme, extreme sensitivity, factor, Factors, Facts, fail, Failure, families, Family, Family History, Fear, Fears, feel, feeling, Feelings, find, Fort, Frequent, frustration, genetic, Grief, Guilt, Hard, head, Headache, Headaches, Heal, health, help, helplessness, High, higher, history, Home, Hope, Hopelessness, Host, hostility, Hot, Illness, Illnesses, Increases, ins, Intervention, Interventions, Iron, Irritability, Ism, Isolation, issue, Issues, just, Keep, kill, kills, King, Know, Knowledge, Lam, Largely, Lead, Learn, learning, Led, Less, Lies, Life, Like, list, loss, lt, made, Main, Major, Major Depression, Mate, Medication, Meet, Mental, Mental Health, Mind, Missed, much, Muscle Ache, Nation, Ncr, neglect, News, Nfl, nose, occur, Od, Often, Order, orders, ot, OVER, oversleeping, Owl, parent, Parents, past, Physical, physical complaints, plea, Poor, pose, power, ppl, press, prevalence, prevalence increases, Problem, problems, Prone, Psychiatrist, Psychological State, psychologist, psychotherapy, react, Reason, Reasons, recommend, reduction, Rejection, Rents, rita, Rt, Sad, Sadness, Safe, School, screen, Sec, second, Self, Sens, serious, Severity, should, Show, shown, Significant, Signs, Sit, Sleep, Social, Sol, sons, spite, State, States, stomach, Story, stress, Studies, Such, Suicide, suspect, Symptoms, Talk, Target, targeted, teacher, teachers, Ted, Tent, Test, than, their, them, Therapy, there, They, Thin, Think, Thinking, Ties, tired, tiredness, today, trauma, Treat, treated, Treatment, Tribute, Under, Unders, understand, Urs, Usc, used, vice, ways, Weight, well, worthlessness