Depression among children on the rise

Hyderabad: Psychologists have been getting a lot of cases of childhood depression. The reasons cited are educational stress, family feud, separation of parents and social media influence.

Dr Purnima Nagaraja, Consultant Psychiatrist and Psychotherapist, Dhrithi Wellness Clinic, says, "Of late, we are getting a number of cases. Depression in children is very difficult to understand, as the children cannot display the classic signs of depression that is crying, aggressive behavior, emotional withdrawn, change in mood swing, isolation, and most of the children pretend to stay normal, by laughing for no reason and sometimes fighting with friends and parents without any subject, and are unable to share with anyone."

The lack of student counselors in schools is also a reason, say experts. Mahek, a psychologist, says, "The teachers and parents need to look out for changes in behavior. The sooner one knows, the better it is to tackle the problem head on." In India, more than 1.5 lakh children committed suicide in the last few years due to educational pressure, bullying and other reasons. Pressure created by teachers and parents is a major reason for isolated. It also leads to aggressive behavior which leads to depression.

The only antidote for this is support from parents, guardian, and teachers, and if it is unnoticed by the parents, it can lead to personality issues, caution psychiatrists. Aliza Virani, Mentor, Suchitra Academy said, "I have across come at least 15 cases where the subjects had unstable minds – they plan something and do something else. There is a need to strike a balance between extracurricular activities and studies."

Afshan Jabeen, RCI Clinical Psychologist, Dyslexia Therapist, Ripples Center for Enhanced Learning, said, "Childhood depression is a risk factor for developing a number of other mental health symptoms and disorders.

Such children should not be forced by their parents, and if needed they should be taken to the counselor. She also said the best treatment for depression is interpersonal therapy (ITP) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).