It can be understood that childhood depression may present with different symptoms than adults, considering the child's developmental level. First of all, depression in children may manifest itself with "easiness of anger" rather than symptoms of malaise and lack of enjoyment of life. In addition, physical complaints such as abdominal pain and headache may frequently occur in childhood depression. It is noteworthy that childhood depression is accompanied by excessive activity and agitation, which is exactly the opposite of the symptom of slowing down in psychomotor movements that is often seen in adult depression.
Depression during adolescence can lead to problems such as thoughts of self-harm, truancy from school, risky behavior such as alcohol and substance use, aggression, serious deterioration in family and friend relationships, and decreased school success. What should be noted here is that symptoms resembling depression, such as mood swings, problems in family and friend relationships, and anger management problems, may be observed during the natural process of adolescence.
Treatment of depression in children and adolescents is multidimensional. Today, antidepressant drugs are frequently used in the treatment of depression in children and adolescents due to their effectiveness and low side effect profiles. Serotonin reuptake inhibitors are most commonly preferred. In addition, cognitive-behavioral psychotherapy, psychodynamically oriented psychotherapy and family counseling are successfully applied in the treatment of depression. If depression is diagnosed in children under the age of 6, play therapy, art therapy and family counseling are primarily preferred.
References: fransizlape
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