Depression is common among adolescents and children as well, but parents and doctors often miss the warning signs mistaking them as a 'phase' in their rapidly changing lives.
They can be bothered by depressive disorder (unipolar depression), dysthymic disorder (chronic, mild depression), and bipolar disorder (manic-depression), if not treated properly this can have far-reaching effects which might interfere in their adult lives as well.
As per statistics about 2.
5% children and 8.
3% adolescents in US suffer from depression.
About 20% adolescents are affected by this disorder at least once before they reach adulthood.
However the symptoms get very easily ignored as one of their random mood swings, the adolescents have higher tendency of inflicting self harm and even suicide; also, they are more vulnerable to substance abuse.
Symptoms of depression in adolescents include irritable mood and constant temper tantrums, loss of interest in hobbies and activities they regularly enjoyed, rapid and considerable change in appetite or body weight, repeated negative thoughts about suicide or harming oneself or running away from home, restlessness and lack of concentration in the day to day activities, significant change in the sleep ( increase or decrease ), constant and unexplained aches and pains, crying spells, withdrawal from family and friends, extreme and unusually sensitive reaction towards simple matters, poor performance at school etc.
If five or more of these symptoms exist ceaselessly for two or more weeks then you should seek immediate medical attention, children can fight depression effectively provided timely help is given to them.
The recovery rate of children is very good, far higher than that of the adults however if your child is prone once to it you should be careful about it in the future too as the likelihood of recurrence of this disorder cannot be ruled out.
There are a large number of factors which can lead to depression in a young age, including the fluctuating hormones.
In some cases they are not able to cope with stress or the rapidly changing lives that they have.
More sinister factors could be loss of a loved one, smoking or substance abuse, trauma due to natural disasters or abuse and neglect, learning disorders and even break-up in a romantic liaison.
Regarding the cure of depression in adolescents, medication is not really recommended.
In fact it has been a matter of controversy and debate between doctors whether or not to prescribe anti-depressants to them.
In the recent past though, selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors (SSRIs) have been established as safe.
However the most reliable and best suited form of treatment is psychotherapy.