9-Sep-09 2:00 PM CST

Suicide Prevention Week: What depression is like in children and adolescents

This article appeared originally on the Examiner website. The original article can be found at the following link:

http://www.examiner.com/x-3498-NY-Childrens-Issues-Examiner~y2009m9d7-Suicide-Prevention-Week--How-do-we-watch-out-for-

serious-depression

Suicide Prevention Week:What depression looks like in children and adolescents

By Maria R. Burgio

Suicide prevention is a topic that most of us would rather ignore because it's too painful. Yet, how many lives would be positively affected

with information about how to identify depression and prevent suicide in children?

Not all depression is accompanied by suicide or thoughts of suicide. Yet, depression is a devastating illness, affecting one in four

Americans, if we can use the numbers of Americans being prescribed anti-depressant medication. The symptoms are easy to list and understand by most of us:

1. feelings of sadness most of the day (Note: In children and teens can be irritable mood)
2. loss of interest or pleasure in most activities
3. significant weight loss or gain
4. insomnia or oversleeping almost every day
5. fatigue or loss of energy nearly every day
6. being slowed down or restless nearly every day
7. feelings of worthlessness or excessive guilt nearly everyday
8. difficulty concentrating
9. recurrent thoughts of death, recurrent suicide ideation with or without a plan

It's hard to tell if depression is serious because it can be present with three or four of the nine symptoms. Some depressed adults suffer

from fatigue, sadness, and feelings of worthlessness, but sleep and appetite are normal. Sometimes adults who exercise, seem to have

lots of energy, can still feel empty inside and really feel worthless. These people feel sad but put on a happy face. To make it more

complex, some of these people will toy with the idea of suicide while others really believe the world would be a better place if they were

dead. Still others begin to plan their own death. It's even harder to pick out serious depression in children and teenagers. Sad mood in youngsters can look like irritability. Naturally many parents of depressed chlldren believe they're misbehaving and punish them.

Here are some useful tips:
-depression is serious when the symptoms are present almost every day and over a period of time.
-in general, the more symptoms present, the worse the depression.
-some depression happens without a suicide plan, so don't automatically panic

- if there's a family history of alcoholism or depression, and your child has at least three of the above symptoms, have him or her tested

by a clinical psychologist trained in testing and diagnosing or a child psychiatrist.

-if your child talks about death or wanting to die, get help right away, no matter how old he or she is. Ask your pediatrician for a

referral to a mental health professional who specializes in chlldhood depression.

Next article: The two most important clinical symptoms used by professionals to diagnose depression

For additional information on this release, please contact:

Kathleen Wakefield

Phone: (757) 496-9775

Email:

Source: Examiner.com

Website: http://www.examiner.com/x-3498-NY-Childrens-Issues-Examiner~y2009m9d7-Suicide-Prevention-Week--How-d

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Suicide Prevention Week: What depression is like in children and adolescents