How to identify signs of depression in your child

The recent shocking double homicide of Hollywood legend Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, has shocked many in the entertainment world. For mental health professionals and parents it has underlined a painful reality. According to reports and people close to the family, their son Nick Reiner had been struggling with mental illness and addiction for years. They had feared his state is going to deteriorate in recent months. While Nick has been arrested on the suspicion of homicide, such incidents highlight the necessity to recognise the early signs of depression in children and young adults.

A persisted change in emotions is one of the earliest signs in a child. Emotional numbness, irritability, or excessive guilt are are ways a kid would express their feelings if they are unable to clearly explain why they feel that way. If a kid seems emotionally overwhelmed on most days, it’s a sign for parents to look deeper.

Try to notice behavioral changes as depression shows up with kids avoiding to talk. Parents may notice that their child is avoiding family, friends or losing interest in everything they loved before. You may find them isolated in their room, refusing to talk, extreme mood swings and it should not be taken as just some act of rebel and brush them off. It’s a cry for help in their silent way.

Lack of concentration, a drop in school performance, refusing to go to school and a drop in academic performance can point towards the emotional struggles the in the children. Many children can also experience occasional headaches, stomach pain, change in their appetite or abrupt sleep patterns and if these complaints are often, they are real and linked to mental stress and physical illness.

Depression may coexist with substance use, reckless behaviour or self-harm in older children and teens. They can talk about death, self harm or be demotivated about life in general and this requires immediate professional help. Parents should be as muchsupportive as possible and deal calmly by trusting their instincts. It is important to seek help early before things go out of hand. Timely intervention can prevent them from suffering silently and turning into a lifelong tragedy.