How to tell if a child has depression

All state schools in the UK will receive a dedicated mental health team as part of a £2bn funding boost due to be announced in today’s Budget.

Chancellor Philip Hammond will unveil funding plans for the specialist units, which will be overseen by NHS professionals and help support children suffering from mental health issues.

The plan, which will be implemented over a five-year period, will help tackle the epidemic of depression, eating disorders and self-harm among young people, The Times reports.

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“Charities welcomed the move but policy experts said that it offered only half the money needed to ensure that mental health was no longer treated as the ‘Cinderella service’ of the NHS,” the paper adds.

According to the Mental Health Foundation, 20% of adolescents experience a mental health problem in any given year, with half of all mental health problems established by the age of 14.

It also warns that 70% of children and adolescents who experience mental health problems have not had appropriate interventions at a sufficiently early age.

With rates of depression rising among children and adolescents, here are some of the signs to look out for:

What is depression?

Depression - known as major depressive disorder, to distinguish it from the mood depression - is a common, highly preventable and treatable illness that affects millions of people across the world. Yet, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, only 28% of sufferers seek help.

The mechanisms of the illness are severe and wide-ranging, centering on a persistently low mood, often associated with extreme despondency and apathy. Depression can last for weeks, months, years - or indefinitely.

Loss of appetite, sleeping problems, difficulty concentrating, loss of self-confidence and feelings of guilt and hopelessness are common symptoms, and if they interfere with a person's day-to-day life, it is possible they are suffering from depression.

How to spot depression in a child

Young people suffering from depression will likely be hard to motivate and difficult to engage with, writes MumsNet. Furthermore, they may suffer from a visibly low mood and may become irritable easily, expressing anger in outbursts, whch in turn can lead to misery and/or guilt.

Youths often find it difficult to fully express their feelings, particularly to their parents. As a result, the warning signs may be harder to spot in children. Vigilance is necessary to gauge whether a child needs professional help or not.

Kids Matter, an Australian youth mental health charity, compiled a list of symptoms and how they may present themselves to a parent. For example, if a child has “problems going to sleep or staying asleep, waking early, or sleeping a lot”, there is a chance that they are suffering from the classic sleep problems of depression. Another symptom of depression is “impaired thinking processes”, which may present itself in a child as a propensity to “draw the wrong conclusions”, or to “expect the worst”.

Parents.com says more youth-specific symptoms may show up in a child with depression, such “changes in grades, getting into trouble at school, or refusing to go to school”, as well as “efforts to run away from home”. Crying and whinging may also be common.

What to do next

It can be a difficult subject to tackle, but if you feel your child may be suffering from depression, Kids Matter's advice is to be patient at first. The charity warns it is “easy for adults to feel annoyed by them and to blame or punish the child for his or her behaviour”.

It is important not to force children into revealing their true feelings. Parents should instead let children know that it is okay to ask for help and that parents are ready to listen.

Techniques for tackling depression at home include a focus on routine, including establishing healthy eating and sleeping habits, and also encouraging exercise.

If the child continues to show symptoms after a few weeks, or wishes to speak to a professional, then it is time to ask for further help from a GP or hospital, which may include medication or talking therapies, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

Medication may include anti-depressants, which have an array of side-effects that vary from patient to patient, so it is important to keep a close eye on any changes in your child's behaviour.