Children And Depression Essay, Research Paper

Summary:

Symptoms of clinical child depression can vary depending on their age,

personality, and home situation. Symptoms are often blamed on physical problems

than on depression so the diagnosis is frequently made in the pediatrician?s

office. If one suspects depression they should look for the following symptoms:

seems distracted and has trouble concentrating much of the time, is emotionally

unstable ?easy to anger and cries easily, ?looks? sad most of the time,

has difficulty finding activities that create happiness, may refuse to eat or

has a loss of appetite, may overeat, has obvious weight gain or loss, exhibits

attention seeking behaviors before bedtime, awakens more frequently during the

night, has hard time getting going in the morning, avoids or seems disinterested

in being with friends, fights with friends over trivial matters, has school

avoidance or school phobias, loses interest n home activities and conversations,

and avoids or seeks parents attention.

Brown, thinks that some cause are obvious such as chronic illness, an unhappy

home life, difficult social situations, real or imagined fears of failure, and

worries of physical or

emotional harm. But other causes are not. Note: Sleep deprivation often

causes depression like symptoms, but this can be cleared up with a few daytime

naps.

When to seek help is often a question for parents noticing changes and

symptoms in their child. A useful technique for teachers and parents for

deciding whether to seek help is evaluating the severity of the situation is to

divide your child?s day into three components: 1) home life and interaction

with family members, 2) school grades and studies and 3) social contacts with

friends and peers. If the problem is only in one area, counseling should be

considered. Problems in two areas would suggest that coping abilities are

starting to fail, and professional help is strongly recommended. And when all

three areas are affected, there is little place to take refuge so counseling

should be considered mandatory.

Reaction to article:

As a teacher we should always be on the look out for behavior problem causes.

Our children?s wellbeing should be the most important part of being a teacher.

If the only thing teachers care about is teach, teach, teach then they will be

failing at nurturing their children and teaching them not just facts be common

sense about life. Every time I read an article about depression it affects me. I

think because I wonder what has happened to our society to make them this way.

Thirty ago we didn?t have little one?s with severe depression. Meaning for

all of time till the 70?s we had no depression. What is it? The absence of God

in America is responsible for it all. I am sick and tired of the devil, and what

he is trying to do to our families and children. I am looking into therapeutic

school counseling. This will be useful for me because many of these children

will be sent to the office, and in turn I will need to look at the symptoms and

diagnose it right. God willing, I will be able to, and I will be able to help

them.