HOW DEPRESSION IS CHOCKING THE BALANCED GROWTH OF A CHILD; AND ITS SOLUTION

 

INTRODUCTION

Childhood is that sensitive period wherein a child undergoes emotional, social as well as

 cognitive development. Depression can also check the potential development of a child

 during formative years. However, understanding how depression affects the child's

 development and finding effective solutions to this problem is what all parents, educators,

 and mental health professionals need.

Understanding Childhood Depression

Childhood depression is not a transient phase or transient misery. It can manifest in any of the

 various forms that it takes, including but not limited to: protracted sadness, irritability, fatigue,

 loss of interest in activities once enjoyed. WHO estimates that approximately 5% of the

 children are afflicted with depressive disorders and on the rise.

The Complexity of Childhood Depression

Childhood depression is not a phenomenon of mood swings; it has critical thinking that

 provokes huge dimensions that call for more understanding and intervention. The causes of

 childhood depression often involve genetic factors, environmental stressors as well as family

 functioning. This complexity calls for all-rounded approaches in diagnosis and the treatment

 of children in ensuring they receive the care they deserve.

OTHER EFFECTS OF DEPRESSION ON DEVELOPMENT

Emotional Consequences

•Greater Anxiousness: Apart from depression

 in depressed children, anxiousness makes

 the problems emotionally worse. This causes

 a difficulty to solve one's problem while in

 treatment and produces developmental issues

 in the same child.

•Emotional Intelligence Dysfunction:

Emotional intelligence, the ability to understand

 emotion regulation, is known for enabling one to know how they feel and can change it, like

 knowing people's emotions and adjusting it. Such capability or characteristic is lacking in

 children involved, thus showing them weaknesses in relationship building among human

 beings.

Social Effects

• Poor Social Skills: Isolation caused by depression denies the child the benefits of

 psychosocial growth experiences, in the form of social learning-including conflict resolution

 and empathy. These would be endangered as eventual adults in their relationships.

•Friendship among peers: A child's inability to socialize strains friendships made with friends

 in this aspect. The withdrawing child may be misunderstood by peers, thereby ensuring

 increased isolation.

Cognitive Effects 

•Loss of Motivation to Learn: Depression can

 rid the child of the initiative of the energy to

 learn, and poor performance may become a

 vicious cycle that leads to loss of motivation

 and low-esteem.

•Aversion to Critical Thinking: Depressed

 children often fear critical thinking or

 problem solving because this does sometimes put them in disadvantageous positions when

 dealing with problems related to academics and social status.

Physical Health Effects

•Chronic Fatigue: Depression often manifests its presence in a child's life through the child's

 behavior in the manifestation of a grave concern that the child feels too weak. The child is

 neither able to start exercising nor perform even the most minor exercises, which only

 aggravates the other health disorders.

•Risk of Substance Use: If depression has started in childhood and progressed into

 adolescence with no treatment, the risk of maladaptive coping behaviors, including substance

 use, is followed by a high possibility of serious lasting impairment.

DEPRESSION AND DEVELOPMENT

1. Emotional Development and Control over Emotions: 

A child may not be able to muster his emotions which may

 lead to eruptions or withdrawal. This can lead to the

 formation of vicious cycles of negative emotions that

 could lead to greater feelings of low self-esteem and

 hopelessness. He or she lacks the capability to

 express feelings, which means that such feelings tend to

 affect his or her ability to have better relational contact in

 a much more severe way.

2. Social Development for Isolation and Withdrawal: 

Depression makes the child withdraw from friends and family, and thereby isolate him, so they

 lack social skills and become lonely. The isolation process can lead to more depression, so a

 vicious circle gets created. The depressed child can be irritable or sad, thus the peer alienates

 and pushes towards bullying or ostracizes him.

3. Cognitive Development for Concentration and Academic Work:

A depressed child will be unable to concentrate, hence affecting the child's academic work.

 That means drooping grades, leading to low self-esteem and lack of motivation.

 4. Negative Thought Patterns:

Dysfunctional cognitions may be influential in changing the view a child has regarding reality

 and therefore may create a pessimistic viewpoint that defines the child's decision and

 problem-solving capacity.

5 .Physical Health, Changes in Sleep and Appetite:

Depression is associated with irregularity about sleep and appetite changes, so these

 influences would affect the child's physical health and energy. It brings yet further into a

 vicious cycle of physical health problems leading to mental health problems.

6. Health Diseases Long Term Risk Factors:

Late onset depression brings people into health problems when they become adults. Examples

 include obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. Lifestyle factors include inactivity and

 unhealthy eating.

LONG TERM EFFECTS OF DEPRESSION IN CHILDREN AND ITS SOLUTION

Childhood depression, left untreated, causes long-term effects that spill over into adulthood.

 Various research studies have found that such depression in children leads to anxiety

 disorders, substance abuse disorders, and many more mental illnesses later on in their lives. In

 addition to this, the social and academic failure in childhood results in the failure to thrive in

 prospects for a career and relationships when that child would now be an adult.

Solutions to Childhood Depression

In order to minimize the effect of depression on the development of a child, both must be

 treated as a holistic aspect. Some of the prime strategies used to deal with the situation are

 described in the following paragraphs:

Help of Parents and Care-givers Communication: 

You need to create an atmosphere through which

 you can open up the feelings of children. Create

 a routine check-up with them about their

 feelings.

Education:

Introduce them to depression and the specific

 matters that a child may experience. This would

help you to be ready for its management.  

Health Coping Skills Modeling:

Instruct the child healthy ways of managing emotions, stressors, and demands like

 mindfulness or other activity-based programs that require physical activity. Professional

 Therapy.

Therapy/counseling:

Urges an individual to seek a licensed mental health professional. CBT seems highly effective

 for depressed children.

Medication:

Some teenagers must receive medications. Seek a child-centered psychiatrist at school and

 Community Resource. Speak with teachers and guidance counselors at the school that your

 child attends regarding their concerns. They can guide them to meet the needs of your child

 in a classroom.

Facilitate Peer Support Programs:

Be involved with schools offering programs that facilitate social skill-building and peer support

 so that children understand each other very well.

Lifestyle Changes 

Physical Activations: Exercise lifts your moods. Be an advocate for the activity that your child

 enjoys most, for instance, sport, dancing etc.

Create Routine: The child should learn to create a routine for his day; it will give a structure to

 your day and helps build securities by reducing stress.

Healthy Nutrition: The healthy, well-balanced nutrient-rich diet has an effect on energy and

 moods; thus, meals can be planned and prepared together and help healthy nutrition.

•Building Resilience: Teach the child to be tough, making him think differently about

 solutions and facing challenges

•Self Realization: Make them have the opportunity of realizing small successes in life by

 being rewarded for small wins by attaining even the smallest success which empowers esteem

 and enforces good behavior.

•Socialization: Give them an experience of different play dates or group activities to try

 teaching them how to accommodate their peers and develop social skills.

CONCLUSION

Children with depression have to face continuously extreme, very demanding emotional,

 social, and cognitive development demands. The impact can indeed be reduced and positive

 development can occur with proper strategies and support. Open communication, consulting

 professional help in suitable situations, having support from school, good lifestyle habits, and

 learning to develop resilience enable children to overcome the challenges of depression and

 pop up much stronger and best prepared for life.

 

Additional Materials

1. Book: Buy books on emotions for children so that they can describe and make sense of their

    feelings.

2. National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and the Child Mind Institute are portals that can

    provide healthy information and help.

3. Hotlines: Strive to be aware of hotlines of mental health so when the children needed to

    make calls anonymously, they could get immediate help. We would really be bringing the  

    life of a child who was touched by depression into the scope of transformation, if we call for

    mental health together and bring up a free and open atmosphere.