October is Depression Awareness Month, and it’s important for people to understand that depression is an illness and can be successfully treated. Children can experience depression, too.
Children across the country are getting excited for Halloween and the activities that come with it. Parties, decorations, costumes and best of all … candy. Once Halloween is over, kids will be getting excited for the winter holidays. While all this sounds like a great time and is for many, the truth is that all the schedule changes and activities can affect kids’ moods. For children who struggle with depression, this time of the year can pose extra challenges, too.
Depression and other mood disorders in children are often undiagnosed and untreated because they are passed off as normal changes that occur in a child’s development. Early medical studies focused on “masked” depression, in which a child acts out or demonstrates angry behavior when depressed. While this does occur, particularly in younger children, many children display sadness or low mood similar to adults who are depressed. Sometimes, a parent’s depression can make a child feel depressed, too.
The good news is that treatment can help all ages. A study reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association found that when mothers achieved remission of their depression symptoms through treatment, their children also became less likely to be depressed. Parents who think their child could be depressed can take a short screening on behalf of their adolescent child at Military Mental Health.
