Depression in children is an affective disorder, which is accompanied by a sharp decrease in mood, the child cannot feel joy, he develops negative thinking. And also there is increased anxiety, fears and phobias previously unknown to the child appear, problems with social adaptation appear. Somatic symptoms in the form of headache, impaired digestion and general malaise are also noticeable. More details on how to get a child out of depression are described in this article.
General information
To begin with, I would like to understand the question of what is depression and what is its origin. The word itself came to us from the Latin language and in translation means "pressure", "suppress". This problem is quite widespread and every year the number of parents seeking help is growing. Depression may occur in a child a year and much later. An early depressive state suggests that similar problems will bother a teenager, and then an adult. Experts noted that this disease is seasonal, since the main peak incidence occurs in the autumn-winter period.
Main reasons
Before talking about treatment methods and prevention methods, I would like to highlight the causes of depression in children. For each age period they are different. When a child is 2 years old, depression may have the following causes:
- CNS lesions. Such an affective disorder can be the result of damage to brain cells that can occur due to a number of pathologies: birth asphyxia, intrauterine hypoxia or other intrauterine infections, neuroinfections.
- Hereditary predisposition. Children are especially vulnerable to depression, whose immediate family members have some kind of mental illness or neurological problem. If you know such facts, then you should definitely inform your doctor.
- Complicated family relationships. Much depends on the atmosphere in the family. It is very difficult for young children to endure a break with their mother or her emotional remoteness (alcoholism, drug addiction). Children who live in constant scandals or are exposed to violence by their parents quite often feel depressed and become depressed.
It is worth noting that depression with young children is rare and if this happens, the reason lies in the relationship in the family.
Causes of Depression in a Preschooler
Depression in a 5-year-old child can manifest itself against the background of the fact that he gets acquainted with society, the active process of his socialization begins already outside the family. At this age or a little earlier, kids begin to attend kindergarten, where they get acquainted with new children, orders, rules. At this age, the reasons may be biological, or the inability of the child to become stronger in the new team may affect the depressed state .
- Parenting style. Some parents establish total control over their child, he is constantly under guardianship, they use violence against some children, they behave aggressively. Against the background of all this, the level of neurotization creeps up and, of course, depression occurs.
- Social relations. When a child goes to kindergarten, he enters a new team, and he has not had such an experience of communication. Problems may arise in communication with peers or the child does not want to obey the instructions of the teacher. All this leaves an imprint on the emotional state of the baby.
Depression in a primary school student
As for school-age children, they have all of the above reasons preserved and new ones added to them. At this age, the child goes to school and again enters the new team. At school, the requirements for children are much higher, the workload is growing, parents can demand a lot from a new student. What complicates the condition of the child is the fact that he cannot cope with what adults want from him. As a result of this, not only can he develop depression, but his self-esteem can also drop significantly.
Classification of Depression
There are several classifications of depression in children. First of all, I want to highlight those states that differ in their duration and completeness of manifestations. It stands out:
- depressive reaction
- depressive disorder
- depressive syndrome.
Further, depression is distinguished by the nature of the course: the adynamic form, which is characterized by severe lethargy of the child, delayed actions and monotony, as well as an anxious form. In the second, you can observe the emergence of many fears and phobias in a child, he loses a quiet sleep, he is often tormented by nightmares, and the baby may become too whiny.
If you turn to the Russian psychiatric guidelines, then you can find the following classification:
- Anxiety disorder that was caused by separation from someone (more often with the mother).
- Phobic disorder. It can be diagnosed if the child has revealed some fears that are not inherent in this age.
- Social Anxiety Disorder. When a child falls into a new team or is in an unfamiliar situation for him, he may experience severe anxiety, against which we observe depression.
- Mixed disorders of emotions and behavior. To the already mentioned anxiety and fearfulness, noticeable behavioral disturbances are added. A child can become withdrawn and too aggressive, any social norms cease to exist for him.
Symptoms of childhood depression
It is difficult to detect signs of depression in children, as they can be well camouflaged. Young children still cannot realize what is happening to them, why their mood spoils and, accordingly, cannot complain about it. The presence of depression can be determined by somatic symptoms and by clearly manifesting anxiety.
Somatic signs are hard to miss. A child can begin to lose weight dramatically, loss of appetite and sleep disturbance, constipation or diarrhea, a baby may complain of various pains in the head, abdomen, various muscles and joints, heart rate is very fast. If a child already goes to kindergarten, then he may complain of constant fatigue, express a desire to rest, sleep. Schoolchildren begin to simulate various diseases in order to attract attention.
As for the emotional state, then, of course, anxiety manifests itself here. The child is in tension all day, and towards evening all his fears begin to intensify and reach their peak at night. It is almost impossible to explain the appearance of anxiety, because even the child himself does not know the reason. Very young children scream a lot and start to cry for any reason, they are especially upset by the departure of their mother or the change of familiar environment, the appearance of new people.
Serious problems may arise with adaptation in kindergarten and this problem is quite common. Because they think that mom took them there forever and will never pick it up again. But even when they begin to realize that they only stay here for a while, a new fear appears that Mom will simply forget to pick it up today. With age, fears do not pass, but only intensify, as the child grows and his imagination begins to work faster. He begins to think about the death of his parents, war or accidents. It is in such periods that phobias develop, which then haunt a person throughout his life. This may be a portrait of a child with a sad depression.
Schoolchildren are even more complicated, as they begin to lose interest in life. The desire to study, go to school, communicate with peers in the classroom and in the yard disappears. They increasingly complain of boredom. The child begins to cry more often, can be rude to parents and just acquaintances. Against the background of all this, one can observe school maladaptation, when children simply do not want to attend an educational institution or learn lessons. From here comes poor performance, problems in communicating with classmates.
Possible complications
Complications of childhood depression can be very different. In almost fifty percent of cases, additional disorders in behavior and mood appear. And more than fifty percent of patients then get anxiety disorder. Most patients will always have serious behavioral disorders, about twenty percent get dysthymia and almost thirty percent substance dependence. But all these are trifles in comparison with the most dangerous result of depression - suicide. More than half of sick children think about suicide and half of them implement these plans. And every second attempt ends, alas, "successfully."
All this can be avoided only with timely diagnosis.
Diagnostics
Let's find out when a child is depressed, what to do to mom and to which doctor to go. Several specialists conduct diagnostics at once: pediatrician, psychiatrist and pediatric neurologist. Until the child is four years old, use the method of exclusion, check the heredity of the patient, the state of his CNS. At an older age, doctors will already be interested in the emotional state of the child, specialists will identify social causes that could similarly affect the condition of the baby. There is a whole set of measures, after which you can accurately establish the diagnosis:
- Consultation with a pediatrician. The specialist should conduct a full examination of the patient and talk with parents, after which the child passes all the tests to exclude somatic diseases.
- Appeal to narrow specialists. If the pediatrician does not see any violations, the child goes to other specialists so that the surgeon, dermatologist and other doctors can completely exclude somatic diseases.
- Neurologist consultation. This specialist also conducts a full examination and prescribes several studies: ultrasound, MRI of the brain, EEG. Based on the results of these analyzes, it will be possible to establish the biological basis of the emerging depression.
- Psychiatrist consultation. Only after the exclusion of all somatic disorders, the patient can go to a psychiatrist who will examine the behavior of the child, evaluate his emotional reactions. His task is to find out the psychological causes of depression and to establish an accurate diagnosis based on the findings of a neurologist and pediatrician.
- Clinical Psychologist. The last psychologist works with the child. When the baby is already four years old, you can safely apply various tests and techniques. Particularly effective in this case are the drawing tests, with which you can interpret the figurative material. Most often, psychologists use such tests as: "House. Tree. Man.", "Non-existent animal", "My family", Rosenzweig test.
Treatment for depression in a child
You can treat depression using drug therapy and child psychotherapy. In parallel, social rehabilitation activities can also be conducted. The integrated approach includes:
- The use of antidepressants. Most often, experts recommend the use of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The first result of their action can be seen after a few weeks, they have practically no side effects. These funds can calm, anesthetize, smooth out all manifestations of panic, and get rid of many phobias.
- Cognitive behavioral therapy. Such a therapy is carried out by a psychologist, where he teaches a child to show his feelings and emotions, supports the child in every possible way, using various techniques, tries to change the mood and behavior of his little patient. This method is based on relaxation, breathing exercises are used. The use of projective techniques is also very effective. Here, not only drawing, but also modeling, fairy-tale therapy.
- Family psychotherapy. During such classes, the specialist works not only with the child, but also with his parents. The purpose of the classes is to restore harmonious relations in the family, to help family members find a "common language". Here, parents must learn to understand their child, be able to help him in a difficult situation, do everything for his speedy recovery.
Prevention methods
If the child already had depression earlier, then there is a risk that a repeat will occur. Twenty-five percent of children in a year again suffer from depression, forty percent relapse in two years, and seventy percent have the problem again after five years. Nearly forty percent of adults who have experienced depression as a child are diagnosed with bipolar personality disorder.
Timely prevention will reduce the risk of the first episode and help prevent relapse. The first thing you should start with is to create a favorable atmosphere in the family, maintain trusting relationships between family members, fully support the child in his endeavors and take part in his affairs. Do not forget about visiting specialists so that they monitor the emotional state of the child. If necessary, you should take the necessary drugs. It is strictly forbidden to prescribe or cancel treatment yourself, even if outwardly no signs of the disease appear.