Apr 29 2008
Depression in Children
A few weeks ago I came across a media report on the author JK Rowling who spoke openly about her own personal battle with depression and her own thoughts about committing suicide. My initial reaction was to come down hard on the author since she is a heroine to many children and from several articles, the impression that I got from those articles was that after success, her depression was gone. Thankfully, I did a bit more snooping and finally found an article that gave a bit more information than several that tried to portray the image that success was the cure of her depression, you can see a more accurate article here.
The reason why I am opening with this article about JK Rowling is that many newspapers failed to mention the following statement “Seeking to remove any stigma that might be attached to seeking counseling, Rowing now advises all those suffering from depression to “go and get help.”"(People)
This is basically the best advice that you can really give anyone that is suffering from depression, seek help, but what happens when the person who is suffering from depression is a teenager or a child. How do they seek help and where do they get it from.
As surprising as it may seem, children as young as 6 can suffer from depression. In fact, 1 in 10 children can have various levels of depression (Depression and Children, Canadian Mental Health Association Edmonton Region, 2005). Depression in children can be fairly difficult to determine and many people mistake it for disorders such as ADHD.
A child that is depressed usually exhibit the following symptoms:
- Change in appetite
- Irritability
- Fatigue
- Loss of Energy
- Loss of Interest in activities
- Change in sleep patterns
You may also notice that your child expresses a sense of hopelessness, guilt, low self esteem, worthlessness and may talk about death.
Child depression is a stigma and many people do not want to admit to the fact that it does occur. Like many unpleasant topics, it is easier to just brush off symptoms or to ignore the existence of problems since it is hard to fathom what any child between the ages of 6 and 12 could possibly be depressed about.
It is very important for your child that you understand the symptoms of depression and to take the time to discuss his or her feelings with him. It is also important to understand that how you react to depression and negative feelings will also affect how he or she reacts to their own depression. It is an ugly word that really should be brought to light since so many children express unhappiness or even darker thoughts.
The key to a happy childhood isn’t in ignoring the fact that sadness does happen but is in fact when parents understand and take the time to show that they care about how their children feel, even when those feelings are not the happy, silver lined feelings that we like to pretend are a staple of childhood. Remember that the very best parents are not the ones that shower presents on their kids and give them everything that they could ever want or need but they are the ones that take the time to simply stay quiet for a moment and listen.
If you would like to learn more about childhood depression, please visit:
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry or Canadian Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Sirena Van Schaik
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