Adoption Week e-Magazine Article

Contributed by: MN ASAP

Depression affects 19 million Americans and comes in many shapes and sizes including clinical depression, seasonal affective disorder, the most common types being major depression and dysthymia. Major depression includes a constant feeling of sadness, lost interest in everyday living and a general lack of energy. Major depression lasts all day, every day.

Dysthymia, a chronic, although mild form of depression, typically starts in childhood or early adulthood. Mild symptoms that last for as long as two years may be a sign of dysthymia. Depression interferes with normal child development, and frequently causes problems at school, with friends and in family adjustment.

The causes of depression may be genetic, a chemical imbalance, or a major life loss. Adoptive parents should monitor children whose health history includes depression in the birth family. The strong link between depression and alcohol/drug use exists. Depression can lead to alcohol/drug abuse and vice versa. Parents of children at risk for depression need to be hyper-vigilant to the potential of the abuse of chemicals.

Getting treatment is very important in depression because it is a very treatable illness. Most who use medication, talk therapy or a combination of the two, are able to rise above the symptoms. The good news is that anti-depressants work for 70 percent of sufferers. These new medications have fewer side effects than in the past. Antidepressants restore the imbalance of chemical messengers in the brain, offering relief from the symptoms of depression. The results may include improving mood, energy levels, concentration and sleep. Antidepressants need to build up before they become effective and may take as long as 4 to 6 weeks before taking effect.

Children with depression may appear chronically sad and begin to avoid activities they normally enjoy. They may frequently appear agitated, hyper or irritable. Depressed children may frequently complain of physical problems such as headaches and stomachaches and often miss school or have poor performance in school. They may appear bored, low in energy and frequently have problems concentrating. A major change in eating or sleeping patterns is a indicator of depression in children and adolescents.

Significant depression exists in about 5 percent of children and adolescents in the general population. Children under stressor who have learning disorders are at a higher risk for depression. Children who have experienced multiple losses, as have some adopted children are vulnerable to experience depression.

Common Myths To Dispel for Children and Youth

MYTH: It's normal for teenagers to be moody. Teens don't suffer from "real" depression.

FACT: Depression is more than just being moody. And it can affect people at any age, including children and teenagers.

MYTH: Telling an adult that a friend might be depressed is betraying a trust. If someone wants help, he or she will get it.

FACT: Depression, which saps energy and self-esteem, interferes with a person's ability or wish to get help. It is an act of true friendship to share your concerns with an adult who can help. No matter what you "promised" to keep secret, your friend's life is more important than a promise.

MYTH: Talking about depression only makes it worse.

FACT: Talking about your feelings to someone who can help, like a psychologist, is the first step towards beating depression. Talking to a close friend can release some of the pain.

Suicide

Parents should take any threat of suicide from a child very seriously. Experts agree that even a casual or vague threat of suicide should lead a parent to ask a very direct question of their child: Are you planning to commit suicide? Intervene calmly, and of course, call 911 in an emergency.

Signs of suicide include:
• Being preoccupied with death
• Suicide threats, direct and indirect
• Obsession with death
• Poems, essays and drawings that refer to death
• Dramatic change in personality or appearance
• Irrational, bizarre behavior
• Overwhelming sense of guilt, shame or reflection
• Changed eating or sleeping patterns
• Severe drop in school performance
• Giving away belongings

Resources:

The Childhood Depression Sourcebook by Jeffrey A. Miller

The Bipolar Child: The Definitive and Reassuring Guide to Childhood's Most Misunderstood Disorder by Demitri F. Papolos, MD

'Help Me, I'm Sad'‘: Recognizing, Treating, and Preventing Childhood and Adolescent Depression by David G. Fassler, Lynne S. Dumas

National Institute of Mental Health

National Depressive and Manic Depressive Association

American Association of Suicidology

Contributed by: Minnesota Adoption Support and Preservation