Depression and Children:
It Isn’t Just Adults

Depression can affect you at any age. Many of us tend to think of it more so with teens and adults, however, children can also experience symptoms of depression. Watching your child experience these symptoms can be overwhelming. It is important to remember that depression is treatable at any age. 

How Do Children Show Depression?

Parents may find it difficult to detect depression in their children because this is quite frequently masked by behavior that parents consider “normal”. Here are some indicators that can help parents decide whether their child may be experiencing Depression:

  • Withdrawal from friends and activities they used to enjoy.
  • Decreased energy.
  • Difficulty focusing.
  • Appetite changes, such as eating more or less than usual.
  • Changes in sleep patterns, sleeping excessively or not enough.
  • Outbursts of emotion.
  • Extreme emotions.
  • Feeling sad or hopeless
  • Physical complaints like headache, stomachache or back ache. This may result in frequent absences from school and a drop in grades.
  • Anger and/or irritability.

What Causes It? 

There are many possible causes for depression in children. Stressors, such as pressures in school, lack of friends, adjustments to new environments, can all lead to depression in children. Conflict and tension in the family is also known to cause depression. Apart from instability in family life, children can also become depressed after living with a parent who is depressed.

Depression is a condition that can be treated; it is not a lifelong sentence. Today, counselors, psychologists and psychiatric professionals use various interventions to help children recover from depression; these interventions can change the way children feel as well as how they look at themselves, their lives, and their environment.

Recovery is Possible

Depression can feel overwhelming and you may worry that this is something your child will experience their whole life. That does NOT have to be the case. Depression is treatable and recovery is possible. 

You are not alone in facing depression. Therapy and psychiatric medication management can be powerful interventions in treating depression. If you are seeking depression treatment for your child in Durham, North Carolina call CCS. Carolina Counseling Services contracts with effective licensed therapists and psychiatric professionals who can support you and your child through this. Call today to schedule your first appointment.

Providers are in network with most major insurances including Aetna, Aetna State Health Plan, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina (Blue Cross NC), Tricare, Medicaid and many more. Online appointments are also available making getting quality psychiatric care anywhere in North Carolina easier than ever before!

Jaime Johnson Fitzpatrick LCMHCS, LCAS is one of the Owners and Vice Presidents of Carolina Counseling Services. She is a Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor and Licensed Clinical Addictions Specialist in the State of North Carolina as well as a Licensed Mental Health Counselor in State of New York. Jaime is also certified in Dialectical Behavioral Therapy and utilizes various other approaches in her practice.