Depression is not child’s play

Depression is a problem that affects many people. The lifestyle we lead, the inability to resolve difficulties effectively and the circumstances we may have to live in can make us more susceptible to suffering from it. This disease marks us, makes us impossible, damages us. But only adults?

“The range of human experience includes feeling sad, but the experience of depression, feeling extremely sad, hopeless, or helpless, is not a healthy range of human emotions.”

-Deborah Serani-

We believe that this disease affects only adults, but the truth is that children can also suffer from it. This is known as pediatric or childhood depression and its symptoms are very different from those presented by adults. Let’s think that children have a much harder time controlling their emotions, mostly because they are still new to their experience with them and because the self-control areas are not yet fully developed in their brains.

Babies can suffer from depression

If it was already surprising that children can suffer from depression, imagine thinking about the possibility that babies can also be victims of it. But how can a baby experience this disorder? In these cases, there may be a clear genetic component, although if the mother has had depression or experienced postpartum depression, this can also have an impact on the baby.

When a baby suffers from depression, some of the symptoms that may draw our attention are crying and feeding problems.

Another sign that may worry us is the lethargy that our baby shows. Normally, babies are active, cry, move, babble, look curiously. When they do not do this, they always seem tired, they are not active, they have a lost look in their eyes, we may need to start worrying. This is not a normal state.

The baby with depression does not smile, does not respond to stimuli, does not react if left with strangers. He is in a continuous state of apathy

Is it strange for a baby to suffer from this ailment? The truth is that it is not a situation that occurs very frequently, although perhaps its symptoms are overlooked and, later, we find them more marked in childhood. There, the signs are more evident, although very different from those of adults.

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Symptoms of depression in children

It is very important that as parents we pay attention to any possible sign that may reveal that our child is not feeling well, is sadder than usual and is not a happy child.. Sometimes, work and “adult” concerns cause us to consider our child’s sadness a lesser evil or, simply, mood changes or emotional alterations resulting from the age at which they are.

If we do not help the little ones, depression can worsen as they advance in age. Therefore, it is very important that we recognize some of the symptoms that affect children and that indicate a problem of pediatric depression.

Disinterest in games or socializing with other children: It is not normal for a child, who is experimenting and adapting to the world, not to be curious about playing and making friends. It is not even normal for there to be a lack of interest in school, since for them everything is new and they have a great thirst to learn.Low or lack of self-esteem: If you begin to appreciate that your child feels that he is not good at anything, that he does everything wrong and even says phrases like “I am not capable of doing it”, “I am not good for that”, “I am bad”, it is a clear call of attention. Children experiment, they make mistakes, but that doesn’t make them feel useless or stupid. If this is so, we find ourselves with a serious problem.He locks himself in his room and avoids contact with his family.: If your child spends a lot of time in his room, even reading or doing other things, and avoids contact with other family members, this may be a sign of attention.You have pain or discomfort for no apparent reason: Children have a hard time expressing their emotions and identifying them because they are still learning how to manage them. If they begin to sleep too much, feel that their belly or some other part of their body hurts and this has no reason, we may find ourselves with a depressive condition.

“One in 33 children may suffer from depression”

-Center for Mental Health Services-

It is necessary that all these symptoms last over time to be sure that it is a serious problem and not a temporary situation.. But, even more important is that we go to a professional in case of doubt or the presence of any of these symptoms for a long time. The sooner we identify the problem, the sooner we can put an end to it. Because depression is not, at all, child’s play.