Recognizing the Signs and Symptoms of Depression in Children

Our children’s health and well-being are important to us as parents. We take care of them when they’re sick, and we make sure they recover properly. This isn’t just about physical health. It’s about mental health, too.

Depression is a mental illness that affects a high number of people, but it doesn’t just affect adults. It affects children, too. And it’s our duty as parents to learn to recognize the signs of depression and how they manifest in children. After all, we can’t help them and take care of them if we don’t know they’re struggling in the first place.

Changes in Mood

Children with depression will feel differently than they used to. It can show as a persistent sadness that refuses to go away. Feelings of guilt or worthlessness usually follow this sadness. They think they shouldn’t feel that way, or they just don’t think they’re worth the effort we put into loving them. They might even feel like everything they try is hopeless.

But depression isn’t just low moods. It’s possible our kids might be more easily irritated. We’ll find them grumpier than they ever were before. They might also have a hard time relaxing for reasons they can’t explain.

Changes in Habits

As parents, it’s easier for us to notice these because we can tell when our children aren’t eating or sleeping the way they used to. Maybe they sleep and eat far more than they used to, enough to become worrying. Or on the contrary, they don’t eat or sleep as much as they should.

We’re also more likely to notice when they start withdrawing. That’s what depression does. It pushes our kids to stop hanging out with their friends and to stop spending time with their families. They suddenly stop being interested in activities they used to love and enjoy.

Physical Aches

Sometimes, our kids come to us claiming all sorts of physical aches. Maybe it’s a headache. Maybe it’s a stomach ache. Or maybe their muscles hurt even though they haven’t done any intense physical exercise. We might find they’re exhausted even though they’ve been sleeping well enough.

When we take our kids to the doctor for any of these reasons, and we can’t find a cause, it might be because of depression. When the mind sends warnings that something is wrong and they go unanswered for long enough, it has to find different ways to warn us that our kids need help. Unexplained pains and aches are one of them.

Other Troubles

Depression can manifest in other ways, too. It’s possible our child may have trouble concentrating or making decisions. They can struggle to do simple, everyday tasks they had no trouble doing before. We might notice they’re much less confident than they used to be.

As parents, we’ll definitely notice when our kids start acting out at school when they start getting in trouble. That can also be a sign of depression, especially if they used to be model students before.

Getting Help

As parents, we want the best for our children. That includes learning what to do when we suspect they might be struggling with depression. The first step is to seek professional help. We can suspect that our kids have depression, but only a counselor will be able to confirm it. They’ll also know what to do afterward.

Depression is dangerous. In the most extreme cases, depression kills people. We don’t want that to happen to our children. We want to be able to protect them, to keep them safe. Our children count on us to help them, and finding a good counselor is the best thing we can do when they’re struggling with depression. Fox Child and Family Therapy is here to help. Contact us today, 913-229-5691.