Child Depression

Every child goes through periods in their life where things go wrong, where disappointments need to be faced, or when they need to deal with truly very sad things in their life. Eventually though even those feelings will go away and lessen with time.

But, when a child is in a depressive state for weeks on end, months on end, and even years on end, it is time for the parent to help guide the child to professional help. Just keep in mind that just as in adult depression, Child Depression is highlighted by the inability to function normally.

Child Depression may be exhibited by a persistent sad mood, accompanied by feelings of worthlessness and/or guilt. There may be a genuine inability to feel happiness or pleasure. A Child Depression will typically interfere with day-to-day functioning with things like sleeping and eating.

The Child Depression may be covering Dysthymia if the sadness or irritability is not truly severe but it continues for a year or even longer. Children who have dysthymia often feel very low, have low self-esteem, always feel hopeless, and perhaps have problems eating and sleeping.

Unlike those with a major depression, a child’s dysthymia will not severely interfere with the day-to-day functioning, however the "down mood" will have become a pervasive part of that child's world. It is a shame that at least 10% of those children who suffer with a dysthymic disorder will go on to develop a major depression.

Another type of Child Depression is called bipolar disorder. In this case the child will have a number of problems highlighted by periods of low-energy depression where they feel hopelessness and sadness and then later they will have high-energy mania punctuated by an explosive temper and tremendous irritability. Many children also will have attention deficit disorder, anxiety, and other personality disorders.

Genetics, stress and even medicine allergies have been known to create these types of Child Depression, as well as any significant life event, be this death, divorce, or even the breaking apart of the child’s emotional and social system rendering their life into turmoil. Diagnosis of a Child Depression is difficult, thus the child will need to visit a mental health professional, such as a psychologist, psychiatrist or psychotherapist to properly give a diagnosis.

It is very unfortunate that many children who are suffering with a Child Depression are often the first to turn to drug use. The child who does this may very well be trying to compensate the well-being feelings that the drugs give them as some sort of a “cure-all” when just the opposite is true. Children, unfortunately, do not realize that these drugs will actually make them and their depression feel even worse.

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