How depression affests children?

 

Children with clinical depression are hard to engage and motivate. Their low mood may be constant. They may cry and whinge and be very difficult to soothe. The child may become irritable easily. Outbursts of anger may result in feelings of misery and guilt. Teaching staff may notice that the child looks sad and withdrawn or seems especially sensitive.

A child may be depressed if he or she:

• Is grumpy, sad, or bored most of the time.
• Does not take pleasure in things he or she used to enjoy.

A child who is depressed may also:

• Lose or gain weight.
• Sleep too much or too little.
• Feel hopeless, worthless, or guilty.
• Have trouble concentrating, thinking, or making decisions.
• Think about death or suicide a lot.

The symptoms of depression are often overlooked at first. It can be hard to see that symptoms are all part of the same problem.   Also, the symptoms may be different depending on how old the child is:

• Very young children may lack energy and become withdrawn. They may show little emotion, seem to feel hopeless, and have trouble sleeping.
• Grade-school children may have a lot of headaches or stomach aches. They may lose interest in friends and activities that they liked in the past.
• Teens may sleep a lot or move or speak more slowly than usual. 

Signs of depression in children

Children are often unable to explain how they are feeling, especially when depressed. In diagnosing depression mental health professionals look for key signs and symptoms in children’s behaviour. When several of the following signs or symptoms occur together and are out of character for the child, they indicate psychological distress and need attention.

 

When adults are depressed feelings of sadness are often very obvious. In children irritability may be more noticeable than sadness. Sleep changes in children are more likely to be a change to sleeping less rather than sleeping more. Loss of appetite and weight loss sometimes occur in children but are less common than in adults with depression.

As well as behaviours that can be observed, children with depression have thought of self-criticism and helplessness. For example, depressed children may think their parents or carers favour other children in the family or that they are useless and 'a waste of space'. Some children also have thoughts of suicide. It is important to take seriously any talk about wanting to die or hurt oneself from a child of any age. Whether such talk represents a clear intention of suicide or is a dramatic way of expressing feelings of depression, it indicates a high level of distress that requires attention.