Depression in children: the basics

What is depression?

Depression is a state of low mood and aversion to activity that can affect a person’s thoughts, behaviour, feelings and sense of well-being. Individuals must have at least five of the following symptoms to be diagnosed with depression:

• A depressed mood during most of the day, particularly in the morning
• Fatigue or loss of energy almost every day
• Feelings of worthlessness or guilt almost every day
• Impaired concentration, indecisiveness
• Insomnia (an inability to sleep) or hypersomnia (excessive sleeping) almost every day
• Markedly diminished interest or pleasure in almost all activities nearly every day
• Recurring thoughts of death or suicide (not just fearing death)
• A sense of restlessness or being slowed down
• Significant weight loss or weight gain

Depression statistics in India:

• Globally, an estimated 350 million people of all ages suffer from depression.
• Depression is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease.
• India has been named the most depressed country, with a rate of 36%.
• This means that at least 3 out of every 10 people are depressed in India.
• 3-9% of children meet the criteria for depression at any time.

Depression in Children

In children, depressive illnesses/anxiety may be disguised as, or presented as, school phobia or school avoidance, social phobia or social avoidance, excessive separation anxiety, running away, obsessions, compulsions, or everyday rituals, such as having to go to bed at the exact time each night for fear something bad may happen. Chronic illnesses may be present also since depression weakens the immune system. Other signs include persistent unhappiness, negativity, complaining, chronic boredom, and taking no initiative.

• Uncontrollable anger with aggressive or destructive behaviour, possibly hitting themselves or others, kicking or self-biting or head banging
• Harming animals
• Continual disobedience
• Easily frustrated, frequent crying, low self-esteem, overly sensitive
• Inability to pay attention, remember, or make decisions, easily distracted, mind goes blank
• Energy fluctuations from lethargic to frenzied activity, with periods of normalcy
• Eating or sleeping problems
• Bedwetting, constipation, diarrhoea
• Impulsiveness, accident-prone
• Chronic worry & fear, clingy, panic attacks
• Extreme self-consciousness
• Slowed speech & body movements
• Disorganized speech – hard to follow when telling you a story, etc
• Physical symptoms such as dizziness, headaches, stomach aches, arms or legs ache, nail-biting, pulling out hair or eyelashes. (ruling out other medical causes)
• Suicidal talk or attempts

Credits:

Author:

Pragya Lodha, MINDS Mumbai Program Director & Psychologist

Acknowledgements:

Ankita Gupta, MINDS Research Associate
Anoushka Thakkar, MINDS Research Associate
Roshni Dadlani, MINDS Communications Lead