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Yes. Childhood depression is different from the normal “blues” and everyday emotions that occur as a child develops. Just because a child seems depressed or sad, does not necessarily mean they have depression.

Unfortunately, these disorders often go unrecognized by families and physicians alike. Signs of depressive disorders in young people often are viewed as normal mood swings typical of a particular developmental stage.

Only in the past two decades has depression in children been taken very seriously. The depressed child may pretend to be sick, refuse to go to school, cling to a parent, or worry that the parent may die. Older children may sulk, get into trouble at school, be negative, grouchy, and feel misunderstood.

In children ages 3 through 5, the most common emotional signs of depression are sadness, a detached or far away look, displays of anger and aggression, a timid or fearful appearance, shyness, a spacey look, moodiness and irritability.

In addition, health care professionals may be reluctant to prematurely “label” a young person with a mental illness diagnosis. Yet early diagnosis and treatment of depressive disorders are critical to healthy emotional, social, and behavioral development.

In addition, children and young adolescents with depression may have difficulty in properly identifying and describing their internal emotional or mood states. For example, instead of communicating how bad they feel, they may act out and be irritable toward others, which may be interpreted simply as misbehavior or disobedience.

Children who are depressed may have physical symptoms that are unexplainable such as headaches, stomach aches, cramps, nausea, failure to thrive, wetting the bed, asthma, tiredness, difficulties getting to sleep, and nightmares. They may display aggressive behaviors, such as hitting or fighting, or may suddenly start lying or stealing.

They may perceive that they are unable to fit in with their peers. This may be associated with self-derogatory thoughts and verbalizations regarding their intelligence, physical appearance, or attractiveness to others.

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