Helping your child with depression

What can parents do to help a depressed child? How do I know if my child has depression? How to tell if a child has depression? Will having a baby help my depression?

If your child is depresse you probably are scared and feel helpless.

Even I, with years of writing about and researching depression, have felt this way in the face of my son’s depression. There are some ways in which you can help your chil though. Some medical problems can cause depression. Your doctor may recommend psychotherapy (counseling to help with emotions and behavior) or medicine for depression.

Pick and choose the tips that you feel will most benefit your child. This will help establish a partnership between family and school to help support your child or teen with depression. No two kids are the same, and it’s important to remain patient with the process to help your child feel safe.

Education: Educating your child about depression is a crucial first step. This helps your child understand the possible causes (genetics, environmental factors, bullying, stress), understand brain chemistry (low serotonin), and. Help your child with everyday tasks.

If your grown daughter is going through post-partum depression , drive to her home as often as possible to help with cooking, child care, laundry and other household tasks. If depression medication is a consideration, it is strongly recommended that you make an appointment with a board certified child and adolescent psychiatrist (rather than a general physician) for a consultation. Why depression treatment might not be working. Whatever makes your child stay in contact with people will help.

Just remember, don’t leave loneliness unattended. It won’t go away on its own. In order to help your child battle depression, you need to be alert and ready to react. Stay calm when your child becomes anxious about a situation or event.

Recognize and praise small accomplishments. Don’t punish mistakes or lack of progress. Be flexible, but try to maintain a normal routine. If the symptoms of depression in your child have lasted for at least two weeks, you should schedule a visit with his or her doctor to make sure there are no physical reasons for the symptoms and.

Here are suggestions for helping your child with depression.

Keep in mind that depression is a medical condition. Parenting a child with depression is even tougher. Your child is not acting this way on purpose.

But here’s how you can recognize the signs and symptoms and best help your child. Helping someone with depression can be a challenge. If someone in your life has depression , you may feel helpless and wonder what to do. Learn how to offer support and understanding and how to help your loved one get the resources to cope with depression. If you think your child is seriously depresse do not panic.

Professional help is available for both your child and yourself. Enlisting the help of a mental health professional will provide you and your family with the support you may need. Depression is the most common mental health disorder in the U. The therapist can meet individually with your teenager, while also meeting with your family for the purposes of helping everyone to understand depression and how to best help. But this is the last thing my adult child with anxiety and depression wants or needs. At least in the case of my daughter, she doesn’t want me to try and evaluate the situation, or to feed her compliments, or to try and distract.

Learn about what is available and what you can do at home to help your teen. Serani offers a comprehensive and engaging overview of child depression … how to recognize depression in children and adolescents, what the current treatment approaches are, and how to work collaboratively with professionals in managing the challenges.