Depression in Children
By: Mark MonteiroTotal Views: 33, Word Count: 606,
Depression in children has a very heavy negative impact on them and their life even when they grow up. Its impact is long lasting and if not taken care of or properly guided, it may spoil the whole life of the child. Depression in children is not actually the everyday emotions that occur as a child grows. If a child is sad and looks different, it doesn't mean that he has depression. However, if these symptoms become persistent in their life and interfere in their day to day life like schooling, interests, social activities, etc., then it becomes a matter of concern for the parents. It may be in this case that he is suffering from the medical condition called depression.
The symptoms of depression in a child vary from one to other. Early medical studies relied on the fact that if the child is in sad mood more often and shows excessive anger, he was considered to be in depression. However, this occurs only in younger children or teenagers. They show similar symptoms like the adults. But children below this age may not show these symptoms. The primary symptoms of depression include sadness, a feeling of hopelessness, mood, irritability or anger, hopelessness, social withdrawal, etc. Some other factors may be like changes in appetite (increased or decreased), increased sensitivity to rejection, changes in sleep, loss of concentration, physical complaints like stomach ache and headache that do not respond to treatments, fatigue and lack of energy, inability to function during events at home or at school, etc.
Some children may have thoughts of death or suicide. These symptoms are not prominent in all children. Basically, children above the age of 12 may have these feelings. They may display different type of symptoms at different situations. Some children may function reasonably well even during depression, but some others may show significant change in their social activity and may show change in their appearance too. Children who are above the age of 12 may also begin using drugs or alcohol.
The thought of suicide is rare in children who are below the age of 12. They may however do this in cases of impulsiveness and anger due to depression. Committing suicide is a serious problem with the teenagers in depression. According to a research, it has been found that about 500,000 teens attempt suicide every year, out of it about 5,000 of them succeed in their attempt. It has also been seen that the children with the family environment of alcoholism, physical and sexual abuse are more prone to getting into the thought of suicide.
Parents therefore need to keep an eye on their children if they are in depression, so that they may not try to attempt suicide. Some of the signs that may occur if your child may try to attempt suicide include social isolation, depressive symptoms as discussed above, talking of hopelessness, suicide, helplessness, increased acting-out behavior (sexual or behavioral), increased risk-taking behavior (this is a serious symptom of possibility of committing a suicide), frequent accidents (result of carelessness about life and reasonless risk taking), giving away possessions, increased crying, and reduced emotional expression. Similar to adults, depression in children can be caused by a combination of factors related to physical, environmental, genetic, and other factors.
Children growing up in the family where depression is prevalent in other members, especially adults, are more prone to develop this mental imbalance. Therefore, if you want to keep your child away from depression, you need to develop a positive atmosphere at your home. With these tips you can avoid depression in children.
About the Author
Dr. Mark Monteiro is graduated from the Hazard University and done his MBA from the he University Of Illinois College Of Medicine. Currently he is working as general physician at Elmhurst Loyola Center for Health. For over 15 years he has been a pioneer in the field of physician health. He has contributed to the treatment of many diseases like- ASTHMA, TUBERCULOSIS, HIV, HEPATITIS AND ITS TREATMENT
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