Your child has not been as playful and does not like to mingle with friends. You can sense a change in the child, and when you discussed this at school, you even found the teacher reciprocate in support. You are not sure what the child is sad about. You do not know if you should talk to the child or should you see a doctor. Children can go into depression and parents can be the best help.
About Depression
Depression is persistent and sustained sad feelings that can become disabling enough to affect the quality of life and mood. It impairs feelings, thoughts, and actions. It is a mental ailment that affects daily life and psychic well being. Worst of all, the feelings of negativity can make one hopeless and even drive one to commit suicide.
Causes
Depression has no well defined cause. More than one factor like genetic, biochemical, environmental, or psychological can lead to depression. Depression may run in the family and affect more than one member. Depression can be caused by an alteration in the content or type of chemical messengers, called neurotransmitters, in the brain. These neurotransmitters, like serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine, in different parts of the brain carry information from one cell to another to either excite or inhibit a particular activity. Some may induce sleep, positive thinking, appetite, happiness while others may oppose this effect to produce negative effects. These affect behavior. Any stressful situation can trigger depression. This may be any event in life like a failed relation, loss of a loved one, huge material loss or trauma. Loss of a pet, friend, sibling, parent, or a possession can cause depression. A precipitating factor may not always be obvious.
Symptoms
Children and teens with depression may feel sad, hopeless, and uninterested in anything. They may get irrigated, angry, agitated, restless, or hostile over petty things. Depressed children are more vulnerable emotionally, and may cry or become tearful at anything trivial. They will withdraw from friends, family, and society. They lose interest in play, work, study, or anything in life. There may be changes in eating habits. Some may eat less and lose weight and others may eat frequently and gain weight. Some children frequently complain of aches and pains and miss school frequently. They may have a disturbed sleep or some may oversleep. They become difficult to talk to and interact with. They lack enthusiasm and motivation for anything. They seem tired and perform poorer in school. Their mental abilities and concentration is affected adversely. They may feel worthless and may inflict self harm. Some may even think of just ending their lives.
Depression in young people
Depression spares no age group. Young people are as vulnerable as the elderly. There can be various reasons for the young ones to fall prey to depression. Some may have a family history of depression or suicide. In them, depression is in the genes. An illness that lasts unusually long or a handicap can make one depressed. Children and teens who have a broken home or a single parent due to either divorce or death of a parent, are more likely to be depressed. Insufficient parent attention or neglect at home can lead to depression. Those who face lots of stress, lack nutrition, and do not get enough sleep can be persistently sad. Any physical, emotional, or sexual abuse can be a mental trauma that can easily lead to depression.
Taking care of a child with depression
Any child in depression deserves help and support from parents. Talking to the child, getting involved with the situation, and being able to relate with the feelings of the child can really provide lots of help. The family may be in a crisis or problem and the same can be explained gently to the child. Children may react differently to a given situation. A discussion and explanation that encourages the child to express feelings can help. Children may be taken to a counselor, therapist, or expert, if the need arises. The child should be able to develop faith and belief that he is being helped. All this should of course never be imposed. Spending time with the child and getting involved in a play, sport, or study can help the child. The child may be accompanied for a physical activity of choice like swimming, walking, gardening, or playing. A story time before bed also helps to connect to the child.
A depressed child needs attention. If the child is on medication, the same should be taken regularly, even if the symptoms improve. Physical activity is an antidote to depression. Anything like walking or cycling is good. A picnic can be refreshing. Love should be expressed and care made available when most needed. A patient hearing given to anything that the child tries to share is the best support. The children should be motivated to seek help and support from parents. The child should never be insulted or disappointed for just having expressed a silly thought. It is important that such children are never left alone. It is important to be watchful, if they are ever thinking of or trying to harm themselves by making cuts on the body, or thinking of committing a suicide. Depression can be a difficult journey, but parental support can make it smoother.
Antidepressants
Antidepressants are medicines that help to fight depression. These include the drugs that belong to the clesses of tricyclic antidepressants, MAOIs (Monoamine oxidase inhibitors), SSRIs (Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors), SNRIs (Serotonin and Noradrenaline Reuptake Inhibitors), and NASSAs (Noradrenaline and Specific Serotoninergic Antidepressants). These medicines work by altering the levels and activities of various neurotransmitters in the brain. Most often, the neurotransmitters altered by antidepressant medicines include serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. The brain slowly adapts to the changed content and activity of the neurotransmitters and symptoms of depression improve.
Safety of antidepressants
Antidepressant medicines are not always safe for children and teenagers. If used in children and teens, the therapy should be monitored and the status reviewed at regular intervals. An unusual change in behavior, worsening of any symptom, or appearance of a new one is an indication to seek medical help immediately. Ideally, teenagers on antidepressant medicines should be reviewed once a week for four weeks, every 2 weeks for the next month, at the end of the 12th week of taking the drug, and more often if problems or suspicions arise. The most feared effect of antidepressants is the increase in the suicidal tendencies. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has made it mandatory to have a warning for the same on all such medicines. This warning is called a “black box” warning label and it clearly specifies the risk of suicide in children, adolescents, and young adults up to the age of 24. The risk is greatest in the initial two months of therapy. It is more in children who have previously attempted to do any harm to themselves or if anybody in the family has had similar events. A number of other side effects like change in sleep patterns and behavior may be caused by antidepressants.
Depression in children can be disabling, debilitating, and even devastating. Offer support to your child and be an approachable help in any situation. Do not let the child drown in depression.
