Are you missing the signs that your child is depressed?
IT’S quite easy for parents to confuse depression in children with a sour mood, since it’s not a condition that is usually associated with children. But increasingly, more and more children are being diagnosed with depression, and experts like clinical psychologist Dr Pearnel Bell believe that hundreds are being robbed of treatment and support because they are undiagnosed.
“Many were of the belief that children do not experience depression, but in recent times it is known that depression affects children too, and in many ways manifests as in adults. In fact, it does not discriminate. It affects all genders, ages, occupations, socio-economic classes, races and ethnicities,” Dr Bell said.
She explained that the condition is a serious mental illness that affects one’s mood, thoughts and behaviours, and can have a profound impact on the way one thinks and feels about themselves.
How can parents help?
Dr Bell says the answer lies in taking notes and acting on the very behavioural changes/characteristics which parents label as moodiness.
“The onset of depression can be sudden or gradual, and not only affects the child’s eating and sleeping patterns, but can leave them with a profound sadness that interferes with social and occupational as well as school functioning,” Dr Bell advised.
“It isn’t just a bad case of being sad that one can just snap out of,” Dr Bell argued, noting that clinical depression is a mental illness that requires professional evaluation and treatment.
She said that symptoms of depression may be manifested in a number of ways, including:
• The child expressing feelings of sadness, emptiness, discouragement and hopelessness. If this is persistent, then you should be concerned, because while children experience some sadness and loneliness, in a normal situation it comes and goes.
• The child cries for no apparent reason and almost always
feels weepy.
• He/she may show signs of irritability.
• Loss of interest in activities, including school and play.
• Does depression run in the family? If it does, the possibility
that your child is suffering from it also increases. Do you see
similar traits in whoever suffers from the condition and your
child?
• The child may present with self-esteem issues and may
appear to be very negative and rebellious.
• The child may lack energy and may appear lazy. He/she
may complain of aches and pains that have no real basis.
• The child may complain of sleep difficulties and changes
in appetite, eating too much or too little, or may show signs
of weight loss.
• The child may start doing poorly in school.
She advised parents that if you have children who are diagnosed with learning disorders, obsessive compulsive disorders or even anxiety, you should get them professionally assessed for depression since it is often masked by other illnesses and it also mimics moodiness.
She also notes that the earlier the child is diagnosed, the better it is for the entire family. Importantly, she said, the child will be able to get the kind of support that he/she deserves. This, Dr Bell said, includes treatment which is often more complex than it is for adults.
Treatment may vary from a mixture of lifestyle changes, such as exercise and a proper diet, to the intervention of a physiotherapist, to cognitive behaviour therapy.
