Treatment of depression in children. Depression in children. Main signs of a depressed child

• Symptoms of childhood depression
• Treatment of childhood depression

We are accustomed to using the word depression in relation to adults (we have already written about how to deal with depression). However, in a sense, it can also be used when talking about children. How can adults understand what is going on in a child’s soul? Sometimes, it is much more difficult for children to survive personal grief: they cannot tell what exactly is happening to them.

Depression in children is not at all “just a bad mood” and not the usual outburst of emotions characteristic of childhood. If a child is sad for a long period, or aggression is noticed in his condition, this is suspicious. If other negative factors unexpectedly begin to appear that affect his communication, interests, studies (crying, “withdrawal,” loss of appetite) - all of this is quite likely signs of incipient depression, and you should definitely consult a child psychologist about this .

Depression is a problem that needs to be corrected. But the result of consultations, in the overwhelming majority of cases, is favorable. According to doctors, children whose parents also suffer from this disease are most susceptible to depression. Children from dysfunctional families, for example those where parents are too busy and do not devote time to their children, are at risk.

Childhood depression can also be caused by increased sensitivity to seasonal climate fluctuations. Such types are easily recognized by both parents and doctors. They are treated by changing the medication regimen and using drugs that strengthen the body.

Sometimes depression is caused by certain life factors, illness or genetic predisposition.

Case Study

The grandmother of 6-year-old Katya came to see a psychologist. Grandmother complained that Katya was sad all the time. The girl played little with her peers. The psychologist asked her to draw her family. The girl depicted herself in one corner of the sheet, and her parents in the other. The grandmother explained: the parents are businessmen, they don’t have time to bother with the child. The psychologist had a long conversation with the parents, as a result it turned out that they did not understand what was happening to the child.

American medical statistics state that 2.5% of children suffer from depression, and at a younger age, up to 10 years, boys are much more likely to get sick, and after 16 years - girls.

Symptoms of childhood depression

The main manifestations of depression in a child are considered to be:

• fears that arise for no apparent reason;
• feeling of helplessness;
• sudden mood changes;
• sleep problems such as insomnia, constant drowsiness, or persistent nightmares;
• feeling tired;
• problems with concentration;
• heavy anxious thoughts.

Another group of symptoms of depression are its somatic manifestations: complaints of headaches or abdominal pain that do not go away when taking appropriate medications. Panic manifestations with dizziness, chills, palpitations, often accompanied by severe fear, are also dangerous.

Most often, such manifestations are accompanied by apathy or constant increased anxiety.

Parents and adults also note non-standard behavior that was not previously characteristic of the child: refusal of favorite games, irritability, aggressiveness, manifestations of anxiety, intensifying in the evening and at night.

In younger children, motor activity disorders, complaints of poor health, and frequent crying are more pronounced. At an older age, tearfulness and sadness are accompanied by irritability, absent-mindedness and lethargy.

The mother of 10-year-old schoolgirl Anya turned to a psychologist. She said that Anya was not interested in anything, she stopped doing her homework, she often cried at home, and did not answer questions. The psychologist asked Anya to create what she dreams of. She began to sculpt figures of gadgets: a tablet, a smartphone, a computer. It turns out that the girl was very jealous of her classmates: they had “cool” gadgets, which she was deprived of. However, the mother did not want to talk to the girl about this topic and could not explain everything to her so that the girl would calm down. But her classmates happily teased Anya, calling her “beggar,” which really offended the girl.

The soul hurts both adults and children

It is quite difficult to identify signs of depression in a child, firstly, because they appear less clearly, and, secondly, it is difficult for the child to talk in detail about his experiences. Therefore, childhood depression is almost always disguised.

What adults responsible for a child should always remember is that depression in childhood is always accompanied by complaints of poor health: pain, lethargy, changes in appearance. This leads to the child being shown to a pediatrician or surgeon, who try to identify the cause, and only after it turns out that there is no physical nature of the ailments, the child is sent for a consultation with a psychologist.

Depression is often expressed in the form of so-called “hypochondriacal disorders”: when a child complains that he has a serious fatal illness and uses frightening medical terms, heard somewhere by chance, to describe his condition, for example, AIDS, cancer. Children often show signs of anxiety, and if at first the anxiety is pointless, later the child begins to worry and be afraid of certain and specific things: getting lost, losing his mother, that his mother will not come to the garden for him, that a flood or war will start.

The symptoms of depression are most pronounced in adolescents, most often manifested in thoughts about their own uninteresting and inferiority. Apathy and loss of will are noticeable when a teenager is not capable of vigorous activity and “kills” time with activities unusual for his age, for example, mindlessly driving a toy car. The child simply cannot begin to do his homework, while scolding himself for being lazy and lacking willpower. The teenager begins to skip some unpleasant classes, and later may even drop out of school altogether.

The adults responsible for the child most often interpret such changes in his character and behavior as laziness or the influence of bad company and apply disciplinary measures, to which the teenager most often reacts with aggression.

Case Study

The father of 13-year-old Danila turned to a psychologist because his boy was often bored at home. The man raised his son alone; his mother went abroad with her new husband. It seemed to my father that if he bought a lot of ultra-modern gadgets, then this would be enough for the boy. However, in a conversation with a psychologist, it turned out that the boy suffered from a lack of emotional ties with his relatives: no one was interested in him...

Treatment of childhood depression

You need to treat the child’s mental state with increased sensitivity, speaking frankly but calmly with him about what is bothering him. If bothersome symptoms last more than 2-3 weeks, you should consult a doctor. To make a diagnosis, methods such as personal interviews are very useful - both with the child himself and with his parents.

The main method of treating childhood depression is psychological sessions; if depression lasts for a long time, antidepressants may be prescribed. In this regard, the methods of treating depression in adults and children are no different. However, to treat depression, a child psychiatrist will first prescribe psychotherapeutic sessions, or, for example, play therapy for children. And only after making sure that it does not bring sufficient effect, he prescribes antidepressants. The risk of childhood depression is significantly lower in families with a calm environment, those where the child, his moods and desires are respected. Influencing a depressed child requires persistence and, at the same time, extreme correctness, as well as emotional empathy.

Advice from a psychologist on how to help a child cope with depression?

Adults are not always able to clearly understand how serious a child’s condition is, since they tend to look at children’s problems from their own “adult” point of view. However, the percentage of children who find it difficult to cope with the most ordinary loads is not so small. Even if it seems to an adult that the child’s problems are insignificant, they may seem insurmountable to the child himself. Don’t think that you understand exactly what the child is feeling at the moment, take his fears seriously:

1. It is important to be able manage your own emotions and behavior. Since the reasons are not always clear to parents, they may feel guilty about the state of a child suffering from depression, and, without wanting it, pass on - “broadcast” such a state to the child. As a result, he will feel misunderstood. Indeed, it is very difficult to communicate with a child in this state, so it is recommended to undergo a course of family therapy.
2. Spend some time alone with your child every day, the child should understand that you are always ready to listen to him without judgment.
3. Playing sports will improve your health, not only physical, but also mental. If the child is weak, you can start with walks in the park or swimming pool. As modern research shows, the best remedy for childhood depression is aerobics. It is at the same time cheerful music, varied movements and fast rhythm. All this will help the child overcome depression.
4. Diet plays an important role. Brightly colored vegetables and fruits, such as oranges and carrots, are a good help in the fight against depression. An “antidepressive” diet should include bananas and chocolate, which contain endorphins, as well as foods containing thiamine: buckwheat, nuts and legumes. In winter, sunbathing and taking multivitamins are necessary.
5. The family should be happy. You can give each other gifts, organize joint games or humorous competitions, invite guests, fool around to fun music. Do you know what one of the famous doctors of the past said? When a circus comes to town, it is no less important for the health of its residents than the opening of several pharmacies: give the child fun.
6. You should carefully monitor what exactly your child reads and limit watching aggressive television programs. It is recommended to make changes to the interior of the child’s room, making it brighter and more joyful.
7. An effective way to combat depression is sand therapy.
8. The Japanese constantly smile - this habit is developed in Japanese children from early childhood. Scientists have proven that not only joy and fun causes smiles, but also the smile itself leads to an improvement in mood - reflexively. Teach your children to smile.

Case Study

Little Zhenya was taken to a psychologist because the boy was very irritated. The parents said that they were going to divorce - and the boy found out about it. The psychologist asked 11-year-old Zhenya to draw his family. It turned out that the father for the boy in the picture is definitely “black” in color. The child adopted his mother’s negative view of the man in the family and was very upset. The psychologist helped carry out the divorce procedure in the family so that Zhenya retained a positive attitude towards both parents.

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Depression in children is an affective disorder that is accompanied by a sharp drop in mood; the child cannot feel joy and develops negative thinking. There is also increased anxiety, fears and phobias previously unknown to the child appear, and problems with social adaptation appear. Somatic symptoms are also noticeable in the form of headaches, impaired digestion and general malaise. Read more about how to get your child out of depression in this article.

General information

To begin with, I would like to understand the question of what depression is and what its origin is. The word itself came to us from the Latin language and translated means “pressure”, “suppress”. This problem is quite common and every year the number of parents seeking help is growing. Depression may occur in a child at one year or much later. An early depressive state suggests that similar problems will bother both a teenager and then an adult. Experts noted that this disease is seasonal, since the main peak of incidence occurs in

Main reasons

Before talking about treatment methods and prevention methods, I would like to highlight the causes of depression in children. They are different for each age period. When a child is 2 years old, depression may have the following causes:

1. CNS lesions. Such an affective disorder may be the result of damage to brain cells, which can occur due to a number of pathologies: birth asphyxia, intrauterine hypoxia or other intrauterine infections, neuroinfections.
2. Hereditary predisposition. Children whose closest relatives have some kind of mental illness or neurological problems are especially susceptible to depression. If you are aware of such facts, then you must inform your doctor about this.
3. Difficult 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 distance (alcoholism, drug addiction). Children living in conditions of constant scandals or exposed to violence from their parents quite often feel depressed and fall into a depressive state.

It is worth noting that depression rarely occurs in young children, and if it does happen, the reason lies in family relationships.

Causes of depression in preschoolers

Depression in a 5-year-old child can manifest itself against the background of the fact that he gets acquainted with society, and the active process of his socialization outside the family begins. At this age or a little earlier, children begin to attend kindergarten, where they get acquainted with new children, routines, and rules. At this age, the reasons may be biological or may be influenced by the child’s inability to gain a foothold in the new team.

1. Parenting style. Some parents establish total control over their child, he is constantly under guardianship, and they use violence and behave aggressively towards some children. Against the backdrop of all this, the level of neuroticism creeps up and, of course, depression occurs.
2. Social relations. When a child goes to kindergarten, he finds himself in a new team, and he has never had such communication experience. There may be problems communicating with peers, or the child may not want to obey the teacher’s instructions. All this leaves an imprint on the emotional state of the baby.

Depression in a primary school student

As for school-age children, all the above reasons remain the same and new ones are added to them. At this age, the child goes to school and again finds himself in a new team. At school, the demands on children are much higher, the workload increases, and parents can demand a lot from a new student. What makes the child’s condition especially difficult is that he cannot cope with what adults want from him. As a result of this, he may not only develop depression, but also have a significant drop in self-esteem.

Classification of depression

There are several classifications of depression in children. First of all, I would like to highlight those states that differ in their duration and completeness of manifestations. Here are the highlights:

• depressive reaction
• depressive disorder
• depressive syndrome.

Further, depression is distinguished by the nature of its course: an adynamic form, which is characterized by severe lethargy of the child, slow actions and monotony, as well as an anxious form. In the second, you can observe the emergence of many fears and phobias in the child, he loses restful sleep, he is often tormented by nightmares, the baby may become too whiny.

If you turn to Russian psychiatric manuals, you can find the following classification there:

1. Anxiety disorder that was caused by separation from someone (usually the mother).
2. Phobic disorder. It can be diagnosed if the child has some fears that are not typical for this age.
3. Social anxiety disorder. When a child joins a new team or is in a situation unfamiliar to him, he may experience severe anxiety, against the background of which we observe depression.
4. Mixed disorders of emotions and behavior. In addition to the already mentioned anxiety and fearfulness, noticeable behavioral disturbances are added. The child may become withdrawn and too aggressive; any social norms cease to exist for him.

Symptoms of childhood depression

Signs of depression in children are difficult to identify because they can be well disguised. Young children cannot yet understand what is happening to them, why their mood is spoiled and, accordingly, cannot complain about it. The presence of depression can be determined by somatic symptoms and by clearly manifested anxiety.

Somatic signs are difficult to miss. The child may begin to sharply lose weight, loss of appetite and severely disturbed sleep, constipation or diarrhea is observed, the baby may complain of various pains in the head, abdomen, various muscles and joints, and the heart rate increases greatly. If the child already goes to kindergarten, he may complain of constant fatigue and express a desire to rest and sleep. Schoolchildren begin to fake various diseases to attract attention.

As for the emotional state, anxiety certainly manifests itself here. The child is tense all day, and towards evening all his fears begin to intensify and reach their climax at night. It is almost impossible to explain the appearance of anxiety, since even the child himself does not know the reason. Very young children scream a lot and start crying for any reason; they are especially upset by the departure of their mother or a change in their usual environment or the appearance of new people.

Serious problems with adaptation in kindergarten may arise, and this problem is quite common. Because they think that their mother took them there forever and will never take them back. But even as they begin to realize that they are only staying here for a while, a new fear arises that mom will simply forget to pick him up today. With age, fears do not go away, but only intensify, as the child grows and his imagination begins to work faster. He begins to think about the death of his parents, the war, or accidents. It is during such periods that phobias develop, which then haunt a person throughout his life. This could be a portrait of a child with sad depression.

For schoolchildren, things are even more difficult as they begin to lose interest in life. The desire to study, go to school, and communicate with peers in class and in the yard disappears. They increasingly complain of boredom. The child begins to cry more often and may be rude to parents and acquaintances. Against the backdrop of all this, one can observe school maladjustment, when children simply have no desire to attend an educational institution or learn lessons. This results in poor academic performance and problems communicating with classmates.

Possible complications

Complications of childhood depression can vary widely. In almost fifty percent of cases, additional behavioral and mood disorders appear. And more than fifty percent of patients then develop an anxiety disorder. Most patients remain permanently with serious behavioral disorders, about twenty percent develop dysthymia and almost thirty percent have substance dependence. But all these are small things compared to the most dangerous result of depression - suicide. More than half of sick children think about suicide and half of them realize 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 the mother should do and which doctor to go to. Diagnosis is carried out by several specialists: a pediatrician, a psychiatrist and a pediatric neurologist. Until the child is four years old, they use the exclusion method, checking the patient’s heredity and the state of his central nervous system. At an older age, doctors will already be interested in the child’s emotional state; specialists will identify social reasons that could similarly affect the baby’s condition. There is a whole set of measures, after which you can accurately establish a diagnosis:

1. Consultation with a pediatrician. The specialist must conduct a full examination of the patient and talk with the parents, after which the child undergoes all tests to rule out somatic diseases.
2. Appeal to narrow specialists. If the pediatrician, for his part, does not see any abnormalities, then the child is sent to other specialists so that the surgeon, dermatologist and other doctors can completely rule out somatic diseases.
3. Consultation with a neurologist. This specialist also conducts a full examination and prescribes several studies: ultrasound, MRI of the brain, EEG. Based on the results of these tests, it will be possible to establish the biological basis of the emerging depression.
4. Consultation with a psychiatrist. Only after excluding all somatic disorders can the patient go to a psychiatrist who will examine the child’s behavior and evaluate his emotional reactions. His task is to find out the psychological causes of depression and, based on his observations, as well as on the basis of the conclusion of a neurologist and pediatrician, establish an accurate diagnosis.
5. Clinical psychologist. The last person to work with the child is the psychologist. When the baby is already four years old, you can safely use various tests and techniques. Drawing tests are considered especially effective in this case, with the help of which you can interpret figurative material. Most often, psychologists use such tests as: “House. Tree. Person.”, “Non-existent animal”, “My family”, Rosenzweig test.

Treatment of depression in a child

Depression can be treated using medication and child psychotherapy. In parallel, social rehabilitation measures can also be carried out. The comprehensive approach includes:

• Use of antidepressants. Most often, experts recommend using selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. The first result of their action can be noticed after a few weeks; they have practically no side effects. These remedies can calm, relieve pain, smooth out all manifestations of panic, and relieve many phobias.
• Cognitive behavioral therapy. This type of therapy is carried out by a psychologist, where he teaches the child to express his feelings and emotions, supports the child in every possible way, using various techniques, and tries to change the mood and behavior of his little patient. This method is based on relaxation and uses breathing exercises. The use of projective techniques is also very effective. There is not only drawing, but also modeling and fairytale 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 relationships in the family and help family members find a “common language.” Here parents must learn to understand their child, be able to help him in a difficult situation, and do everything for his speedy recovery.

Prevention methods

If the child has already had depression before, then there is a risk that it will happen again. Twenty-five percent of children suffer from depression again within a year, forty percent relapse after two years, and seventy percent relapse after five years. Almost forty percent of adults who experienced childhood depression are diagnosed with bipolar personality disorder.

Timely prevention will reduce the risk of the first episode and help prevent relapse. The first thing to start with is to create a favorable atmosphere in the family, maintain trusting relationships between family members, support the child in every possible way in his endeavors and take part in his affairs. Don’t forget to visit specialists so that they can monitor the child’s emotional state. If necessary, you should take the necessary medications. Prescribing or canceling treatment on your own is strictly prohibited, even if outwardly no signs of the disease appear.

Depression in a child is a dangerous condition that requires increased attention from parents. There are often cases when it is accompanied. Childhood depression and its manifestations require surgical treatment.

A depressive state in a child often manifests itself externally in the form of laziness, selfishness, an uncooperative character, and a pessimistic mood. However, neither the child nor the parents perceive it as painful, although it definitely requires intervention from doctors. Indeed, with a timely diagnosis and with available treatment methods: psychotherapeutic, physiotherapeutic and phytotherapeutic, it is possible to relieve depression in the early stages.

Some time ago, psychiatrists could not say with certainty whether childhood depression exists in principle, because its manifestations in children are quite difficult to identify due to their erasure. Depression in childhood is often disguised as poor performance at school and lack of contact with peers. To identify this disease, you need to know what childhood depression is.

Children and the reasons for their development of depression

Here are a number of important factors that cause the development of depression:

• First of all, these are diverse problems in the family. This could be frequent family conflicts, a family without a father or mother, excessive guardianship on the part of the mother, or vice versa - lack of parental participation, neglect on the part of parents of sexual issues of gender education;
• Pathological manifestations of the early neonatal period, accompanied by fetal hypoxia, encephalopathy, asphyxia at birth, as well as various intrauterine infections that cause brain damage;
• Adolescent restructuring of the body with an excess of hormones, accompanied by new phenomena for the child: menstruation in girls, wet dreams in boys, multiple acne on the body in both sexes;
• Inconsistency of place of residence, with frequent changes and the impossibility of establishing permanent contacts;
• Learning lag, accompanied by psychological vulnerability in front of classmates;
• Exploitation of the achievements of information technology, with the compression of the whole world to the computer screen, which actually reduces the potential of live communication;
• The presence of severe stress of various types.

If the development of depression occurs against the background of complete well-being, which is also quite possible, then most likely it is due to biochemical processes occurring in the brain. Also, such a state can be caused by the destruction of existing ideals, which is expressed in prostration and powerlessness in the face of life’s adversities.

Statistically confirmed data indicate the development of depression in 50% of children whose parents, one way or another, suffer from the same illness. Therefore, the causes of depression in children are also associated with genetics.

Symptoms of childhood depression

Today, three phases of teenage depression have been identified, since it is adolescents who are most susceptible to its effects. The early phase is the period from 12 to 13 years, the middle phase is from 13 to 16 and the late phase is after 16.

Three declines, three symptomatic whales are a classic manifestation of depression. This is a decrease in: thinking functions, mood and mobility.

The most severe cases are those associated with the occurrence of suicidal feelings, which are preceded by a fairly long period of depression (up to a year). This course of the disease is the most dangerous. Symptoms of childhood depression in this case are expressed in a decrease in the child’s activity, loss of interest in friends, studies, games, and lack of mutual understanding with others.

The day is accompanied by sharp mood swings, from elated in the morning to depressed in the evening. Children suffering from depression lose interest in their surroundings, nothing makes them happy, they complain about misunderstanding on the part of peers and teachers, and conflict with them. Periods of cheerful and playful mood are very short-lived and are quickly replaced by another wave of depression.

When children, most of whom are nimble and searching by nature, suddenly stop moving and freeze in one position or lie for a long time, it is worth taking care of this. Work is not a pleasure, muffled speech, slow reaction to questions, frequent answers with a simple nod of the head, loss of appetite and fixation on something bad, impaired sleep function - all these are manifestations of childhood depression, which should be responded to immediately and under no circumstances delay the development of mental illness.

Parents are a chance for a child to resist depression:

• parents should not remain silent, they should be interested in the life of their child, talk to him, delve into his problems;
• parents simply need to be interested in what the child does after school and in whose company he spends his free time;
• parents should pay attention to the current intonation in the conversation, to the child’s planned activities for the next day;
• Parents are obliged to control the pastime of their children, how much time they spend doing nothing and identify its causes, whether they are hidden in a loss of interest in the surrounding reality.

Treatment of childhood depression

Depression in children cannot be eliminated without the help of a specialist. A psychotherapist, especially with severe manifestations of depression, accompanied by statements of thoughts of suicide, should recommend inpatient treatment.

While the child is in the hospital, he may even be prescribed antidepressants. If a mild form of the disease is determined, then treating it at home, with going to school and doing normal household chores, will be sufficient.

However, none of the methods of treating childhood depression can be effective if there are no changes favorable to the intrafamily climate. Parents must delve into the essence of the problems occurring with the child, not distance themselves from him, but, on the contrary, immerse themselves in his problems in order to constructively help in overcoming the various difficulties that arise. For prevention purposes, the child needs to spend enough time in the fresh air, avoid overwork and get enough rest.

Experts say that in the modern world, children are increasingly experiencing manifestations of such a serious illness as Depression in children is a mental affective disorder characterized by deterioration in well-being, bad mood in the presence of motor retardation, changes in motivation and general negative thinking. Diagnosis of the disease is carried out using methods: clinical conversation, questioning of parents, projective tests. Treatment is accompanied by psychotherapy, social rehabilitation with the use of medications.

Causes

The main causes of depression in children:

• birth injuries, pathologies during pregnancy and childbirth;
• hereditary predisposition (presence of the disease in close relatives);
• pathology in family relationships. An important factor in the development of a mentally competent child is conflict-free relationships in a complete family. But every family often has its own problems. Some children grow up in families where parents are divorced. Alcohol abuse and drug use by parents can also provoke the development of this disease. An incorrect parenting style, for example, overprotective parents, also negatively affects the normal development of the child’s psyche and makes him vulnerable to depression. A child cannot do without constant support from loved ones;
• problems in early socialization. Relationships with peers in kindergarten and school also affect your emotional state. Stress and mental trauma that a child receives during school years often become the cause of the development of depression in children and subsequently in adolescents.

Acute depressive reactions (death of a pet, serious illness of close relatives, divorce of parents, quarrel with peers, etc.) can provoke depression in children.

A medical examination reveals no pathologies.

Other factors

• Often a change of residence leads to mental disorder. The little man breaks up with his friends, and the established social circle is destroyed. There is not enough communication with peers, because it takes time to make new friends.
• Difficulties related to learning. The demands of parents to obey the instructions of teachers, in the absence of a desire to attend school, as well as the inability to cope with the curriculum, deforms the emotional state of the child.
• Addiction to electronic gadgets. Modern children often cannot be pulled away from a smartphone or other gadget; this negatively affects the formation of adolescents’ ability to communicate “live.” At the same time, chatting is becoming children's favorite form of interaction. The child becomes more vulnerable to negative events and adapts less well to external conditions.

Adolescence is the most favorable period for the onset of depressive disorder.

The symptoms of depression in adolescents are similar to those in adults. Due to an excess of hormones, growing children become more vulnerable. Leaders appear in their environment who establish their own, sometimes cruel, rules for relationships in the group. You can read more about teenage depression

Symptoms

Depression in children is usually a slowly developing (if not caused by acute depressive reactions) process that can last from several weeks to a month or more.
Characterized by the following symptoms:

• loss of interest in life, lethargy, gloomy state, irritability, lack of vital energy;
• unreasonable decrease or increase in appetite;
• manifestations of insomnia, drowsiness, the presence of nightmares;
• negative attitude towards learning and school;
• manifestation of hostility towards loved ones;
• desire for isolation, reluctance to communicate with peers;
• feelings of inferiority or guilt;
• possible thoughts of suicide.

At 2, 3 years

In 2-3 year old children, it is expressed in a sharp loss of the baby’s weight, a delay of several months in emotional, sensorimotor and speech development, sleep disturbances, and loss of appetite. In the absence of the mother, the baby “expresses protest” by screaming, bouts of causeless crying, and not wanting to play. The search for a mother among adults is expressed in a demand for increased attention (the baby needs to be consoled and praised). At an earlier age - in demonstratively ignoring an approaching adult (after all, this is not a mother). May make monotonous obsessive movements, move aimlessly “from corner to corner.”

At 4 years old, 5 years old

Children with severe depression aged 4 to 5 years have problems with the digestive system, cardiovascular system, sleep and appetite disorders, and inhibited emotional reactions. Present: stingy facial expressions, absent-mindedness, tearfulness, lethargy, loss of cheerfulness and interest in playing with peers, physical malaise. The lack of manifestations of positive emotions is expressed in the absence of drawings and crafts, or dark blurry forms in them.

At 6, 7 years old

School-age children (6-7 years old) express feelings such as despondency, hopelessness, and anxiety. Their depressive state is accompanied by a gloomy appearance, isolation, sadness, and they lose interest in games that they previously enjoyed playing. In schoolchildren, as a rule, one can observe a decrease in educational activities, loss of sociability, activity, and friendliness. There are complaints about fatigue, inability to concentrate on a task, and a tendency to loneliness.

At 7, 8, 9, 10, 11 years old

Children 7, 8, 9 and 10, 11 years old are susceptible to the following depressive symptoms: interest in learning and games disappears, they become withdrawn, and attention is impaired. With depression, somatic disorders may occur: enuresis, decreased or increased appetite, obesity, constipation. Children suffer from nightmares at night.

Attention parents

How to get a child out of early depression? First of all, you need to establish contact with your blood, begin to take an interest in his life, events at school. You need to pay attention to the presence of positive aspects and prospects in the future. You need to know your child’s social circle and find interesting activities for him after school.

Examination and treatment

If you notice the above symptoms in your child, you should definitely contact a psychologist to diagnose the disease and make a diagnosis. You can get first psychological help from a specialist psychologist using the link in our group