Medical Articles

Childhood and Adolescent Depression

Depression among children has been recognized only recently as a serious mental health problem.  Researchers now accept that even infants can become clinically depressed.  One of the problems in knowing whether or not a child is depressed is that the symptoms are not as clear-cut as they are for adults.  With adults, there is typically an episode of sadness or a general loss of satisfaction or pleasure in usual activities.  There also are several other symptoms that commonly include disruptions in sleep, changes in appetite and weight loss/gain, decrease in energy level, slower motor movements, thoughts of death and/or suicidal thinking, and difficulties with attention and concentration.

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