My child is depressed

Definition: what is; childhood depression? What is the difference between adults and young people?

Childhood depression is a real and frequent phenomenon in child development. However, this may differ from the depressive episode in adulthood. Indeed, parents may think that the manifestations of childhood depression will be like in adulthood. with fatigue, anxiety or withdrawal. While these manifestations of childhood depression exist, children can express them in different ways. The child can thus develop behavioral disorders and be hyperactive, angry or very irritable for example. This is why it can be difficult for parents to detect childhood depression in the child. Other symptoms like bedwetting or eczema may also be present.

Causes: Why can children have early depression?

Little known in children, depressive syndrome can be a response to behavior that changes abruptly, with signs of sadness on a daily basis. Why are children affected by depression?

He changes !

It’s hard to know why our little ones suddenly change their attitude. From super active to super dejected, children do not yet have a very stable temperament before they are 6 years old. The reasons for these depressive moods can be related to the development of the child but also to external events ! Parents’ divorce, a move or an emotional deprivation can turn toddlers upside down and trigger reactionary depression. Behind their carelessness, children can be under stress.

Currently, depression in children affects about 2% of them

According to the WHO (World Health Organization), two in a hundred children will get depressed at some point.

Among adolescents, the figure reaches six out of a hundred of them.

Boys are more affected during childhood while girls are more affected during adolescence.

Symptoms: What are the signs of trouble in a depressed boy or girl?

Unlike in adulthood, the symptoms of childhood depression are manifold. Here is a list of potential symptoms that can alert parents of depressed children.

– Depressive sadness: intense, continuous, rarely expressed verbally, moral pain, sad face mask

– Gestural and verbal inhibition: withdrawal into oneself, attitude of withdrawal, weariness, poverty of expression, apparent indifference

– Intellectual inhibition: thought process slowed down, drop in academic results, attention and concentration disorders, loss of interest and overall difficulties in learning, up to frank academic failure

– Behavioral disorders: attitudes of extreme agitation, instability, aggressive demonstrations, clowning or provocations, resulting in difficulties in the social integration of children. He may notably be the disruptor of the class.

– Propensity to accidents and injuries: more often victims of accidents or unexplained injuries, looks for dangerous situations

– Difficulties in playing: disinvestment from activities that are sources of pleasure

– Somatic disorders: bodily complaints with difficulty falling asleep, nocturnal awakenings, a change in appetite and stomach aches which can trigger anorexia or a bout of bulimia, or even anal incontinence

How the child will tell parents that he is depressed

“I don’t want to ..”, “I suck ..”, “I can’t do it! “…

These are the kinds of little phrases that your little one has been mulling over for a few weeks, when it comes to starting a new activity. It depreciates in front of you and you no longer understand it.

While some parents say they have the right to change and no longer want to practice certain hobbies as before, you always have to ask yourself if this is not hiding something deeper.

Long considered a secondary disorder, depression in young children is often a suffering that is poorly understood by those around the family.

Processing ; what solutions to treat childhood depression. Should we see a child psychiatrist?

if there is no longer any room for doubt and your child is diagnosed with depression, how to react as a parent? As a first step, it is important to consult a pediatrician who will be able to make the diagnosis and tell you the best procedure to follow. If antidepressants are prohibited (except for rare, very serious cases with suicide attempts for example), parents will generally be advised to take the depressed child for child psychiatry consultations. If the parents also feel confused, family therapy can be considered in order to best restructure the child with his parents. Psychotherapy is therefore the best way to help your child to take care of his mental health.