Chapter 1

How to Recognize the Symptoms of Depression in Your Child

One afternoon, Michelle received a distressing call from her son’s first grade teacher. Her seven-year old son Alan was having problems. Whereas at the beginning of the year, Alan had been enthusiastic about school, now he was not wanting to be there. Instead of participating in classroom activities, he would sit in the corner and withdraw. He had become argumentative with other children and avoided his friends. In a conversation with a school counselor, Alan said that he didn’t want to be alive.”

Was Alan depressed? As early has thirty years ago the psychiatric profession would have said, “Not possible” Depression was considered an “adult disease” and when a child appeared overly sad, parents and clinicians considered this a normal part of growing up. Now we know that depression is not just a disease of middle age or the elderly. Childhood depression is a chronic, recurrent and serious illness

The first step in helping a child who suffers from depression is to recognize its signs and symptoms. This may be difficult to do initially. Families can remain in denial about what is happening to their loved ones. They may rationalize that this is just a phase or a stage, and that the child will “grow out of it.” In addition they may feel that they are to blame for their child’s struggle with mental illness. Yet, children can become depressed even when they are raised in loving and functional families.

Unlike other illnesses, depression cannot be diagnosed by taking a blood test or by a biopsy of the brain. Depression is diagnosed through observing its signs and symptoms--changes in a child’s mood, physiology, thinking and behavior. The symptoms of depression in children vary, depending on the age of the child.

Let’s look at how depression manifests in each of the following age groups,

1) Age 1-12 (a young child)

2) Age 13-19 (a teenager)

3) Age 20 and above (a young adult or adult child)

Symptoms of Depression in Children (before puberty)

Children before puberty who suffer from depression exhibit a wide variety of symptoms, sometimes making it hard to diagnose. Some kids with depression look like unhappy adults; they’re sad, despondent, tearful, and have a loss of appetite. Others, however (especially boys), react in an opposite manner; they become aggressive, hyperactive, break rules, get in fights, and use drugs and alcohol. Here are the major symptoms to look for:

1.MOOD CHANGES. They frequently look sad, tired, ill or tearful. They do not seem to have the usual amount of childhood energy and curiosity, or they lack the sense of humor and fun that most children have.

2.BEHAVIOR CHANGES. They act badly or are irritable for no apparent reason. They are demanding and difficult to please. At times they may become hyperactive. Since nothing makes them happy, they complain about everything. Their attitudes and behavior alienate the