"Healthy China Action (2019-2030)" data shows that the prevalence of depression in my country is as high as 2.1%. Adolescents account for about one-fourth of the people who receive treatment for mental and psychological diseases each year.
Why are more and more depressed children?
On the one hand, the public has a deeper understanding of depression. Parents have begun to pay attention to their children's emotional problems. Once they detect something wrong, they will take the initiative to seek medical attention. On the other hand, the increasing pressure faced by children, the rapidly changing social environment, learning pressure, and unreasonable parenting methods have all contributed to the increase in the incidence of children’s depression year by year. In many cases, it is not that the child is sick, but the family has a problem.
The child is depressed, and the family bears an inescapable responsibility. The manifestations of depression are complex and diverse. Some children may be just physically uncomfortable at first, such as nausea, stomach pain, headache, dizziness, etc.; some may manifest as emotional problems, such as easy crying and tantrums. If these atypical manifestations are not paid attention or intervention by the parents in time, the child’s condition will be further aggravated, especially unhappy, long-term depression, feeling meaningless in life, increasing conflicts with family members, long-term poor sleep, and social relations And social functions are gradually weakened, and they are even unable to go to school, have serious manifestations such as self-harm behavior and suicidal thoughts.
What are the characteristics of most depressed children?
1. There are many adolescent children. 60%~70% of children are concentrated in the 12-18 year old age group, and the male to female ratio is about 1:2. Before junior high school, the incidence of boys and girls was similar, but from the beginning of junior high school, the incidence of girls was significantly higher than that of boys.
2. Long duration. Many parents often find that their children are depressed after their children become tired of school. In the outpatient clinic, the depression of many children lasted for half a year to a year, and some children even lasted for two to three years.
3. The upbringing environment is harsh. In more authoritarian families, parents have a strong desire for parental control, children cannot fully express their ideas, and it is difficult to develop autonomy. "Everything is up to the parents, and I don't seem to be of any use," a child said in the clinic. Living in a depressed family for a long time, children are prone to lose self-confidence and cause depression.
4. Poor interpersonal relationships. The child has a bad relationship with his peers and is often squeezed out by his peers, or he bullies others. In either case, the child’s likelihood of depression will increase.
5. Influence of congenital factors. Parents or grandparents have had depression, premature birth or malnutrition, and the child is more likely to be depressed. In addition, whether the mother's mood is stable during pregnancy also has an impact on the child's future mood.
How to prevent childhood depression
The earlier a child's age of onset, the more difficult it is to treat. The earlier the depression appears, it indicates that the child's early parenting environment or innate influencing factors are greater, and the later treatment will be more difficult. From the perspective of prevention, parents should give their children more tolerance, provide timely support to children in all aspects, and truly understand and respect children.
When a child encounters a problem, he should be by his side in time and give him psychological support. Usually, actively build social channels for children to make more friends and exercise more. For a child who is already depressed, parents must remember not to blame the child. The most important thing is to change the attitude towards the child and the family education model to remove the child’s depressive factors from the root of the disease.
Doctor profile
Yang Xingjie is currently the attending physician in the Child Psychological Ward of the Clinical Psychology Department of Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, and a member of the well-known expert team of Professor Liu Huaqing in children and adolescents.
Specialty: is good at diagnosis and treatment of depression and mood disorders in children and adolescents; it has rich clinical experience in the diagnosis and treatment of common diseases in children's psychology such as ADHD, tic disorder, autism, etc. Experience.
Visiting time: Wednesday all day
Article reposted from｜Life Times
Collection reporter｜Zhang Jian
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