How to Recognize Childhood Depression Symptoms

An increasing number of children and adolescents are being diagnosed with and treated for childhood depression. Children with depression may act sad but show other, more unique symptoms as well. Since the symptoms of the disease look different in children than in adults, they can be harder to recognize. Paying attention to changes in behavior, attitudes and habits can help you if you think your child might be suffering from depression.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

1. Expect depression symptoms to manifest differently in children than they do in adults. While adults tend to recognize when they are feeling sad or lethargic, young children and adolescents can't always do so. Children tend to be more negative than sad and their emotions are expressed as anger, irritability and anxiety rather than tears or a visibly depressed mood.
2. Pay attention to somatic complaints in young children. Preschoolers, in particular, tend to exhibit otherwise inexplicable physical symptoms such as headaches, stomach ailments, asthma, fatigue and bed-wetting. Since children of this age have difficulty understanding and expressing their emotions, they are also more likely to show increased aggression as a response to the sadness and frustration they are feeling.
3. Listen for statements that indicate a child is feeling unloved, unaccepted and unworthy. Young children will often tell adults that nobody likes them or they are bad. An adolescent is more likely to vocalize her concern that she doesn't fit in, doesn't like her body image or that she feels like nobody loves her.
4. Heed any changes in your child's attitude toward and performance in school. Withdrawal from everyday activities is a common symptom of depression. This can look as though a child isn't trying hard enough in school or he is being ornery about attending class when in fact, due to his depression, he may be having difficulty navigating social interaction with his peers.
5. Pay attention to an increasingly accident-prone child. Both young children and adolescents suffering from childhood depression show increased risk-taking behaviors. Whether that means your preschooler is more willing to climb to high places or your adolescent is experimenting with cutting (a form of self-mutilation), it's important to recognize that their falls and scars need to be examined more closely.
6. View drug and alcohol abuse by adolescents as a possible symptom when it's accompanied by other signs of depression. Substance abuse is often a teenager' s way of self-medicating for depression.

Tips & Warnings

• Seek professional help immediately if your child is talking about harming himself or is unusually preoccupied with death. Statements and thoughts to that effect may indicate that your child is suicidal.