anxiety and depression in kid

Have you sought a second opinion on the medication? Though I understand your hesitation to medicate a child that young, there is empirical evidence to indicate that medication combined with behavioral therapy is the most effective treatment for childhood anxiety disorders. In fact children who received only one of these treatments, either therapy or medication, had much poorer outcomes than kids who received both. However, as a parent you are right in being leery of medicating your child. At that age overmedication can negatively impact brain development. Kids with behavioral and mental health issues are at serious risk of being overmedicated. Drugs should be the absolute last resort but sadly they are often used first because they are the easy option. So I'd make sure the medication is absolutely required. My hope is that your son's doctor has considered the benefits against potential deleterious effects. Has his doctor recommended any form of therapy along with the medication? I'd give those some time to work before resorting to drugs. At the very least, I recommend seeking a few alternate opinions on the antidepressants.

Tics are a sign of internalized stress. What kind of tics does your son display? Stress induced anxiety is the primary cause of depression in children that young. For kids so young, the biggest barrier to recovery is communication. They don't have the requisite language skills to communicate their feelings. Your son is only 7. He doesn't understand what is happening to him, or why it happens. He cannot explain how it makes him feel. Try to find out how he prefers to express himself and then meet him at his level. For instance, it might be easier for him to describe his anxiety on a numeric scale, or with colors of increasing intensity. Instead of talking about how bad his anxiety is, he might find it easier to say, 'I'm feeling red or I'm a 6'. Help him identify his triggers, encourage him to talk about what makes him anxious, then work on strategies to handle those triggers. Keep talking to him. About his feelings and yours. About your own stresses and how you handle them. Once he is able to pinpoint specific stressful situations, work with him to find step by step techniques to manage them. Enacting stressful scenarios and role-playing can help equip him to face his fears.

Often childhood anxiety stems from feelings of inadequacy, and fear of failure. One approach to handle this is building his self-confidence by engaging in tasks he can get good at. Start by setting simple, easy to accomplish goals, and as he shows improvement keep moving the goal-post. Getting good at a sport or a musical instrument can help alleviate stress by boosting self-esteem.

While therapy is an important component of a treatment protocol, do remember that with children results are usually mixed and take longer to appear. For therapy to work the patient must willingly participate in the exercise and understand its importance. Children being children find this very hard to do. As Guesswho suggested, a better alternative is Cognitive Behavior Therapy. Unlike regular therapy, CBT sessions last only a few months and provide concrete behavior altering tools to the child. CBT involves exercises, worksheets and homework. It is much better suited for children. But I would recommend seeing a professional therapist and not relying on the Internet or books for it. I would suggest that you get a CBT book to familiarize yourself with the techniques, to better help your son.

Outdoor activities, especially those involving nature are excellent in alleviating depression. Bike riding, camping, fishing, or simply a day out in the park will help your child feel happier. Regular outdoor play, or planned sports activities are equally beneficial. Yoga and mindfulness exercises are also often recommended. Creative play such as making art, playing music or writing a journal can help a child express themselves non-verbally. Just make sure that you get him to express the good feelings along with the negative ones. Anxious children tend to withdraw into themselves. Social isolation worsens the anxiety and depression. Activities that facilitate interaction and bonding with peers or other people should be high on the priority list. Team sports, and board games come to mind.

As a parent the most important thing you can provide is a stable, supportive family environment. Overcoming mental health disorders has much to do with a positive, can-do attitude, and with children the onus is on the parents to display such belief. Your child will model his own attitude on yours. So stay positive and help him believe that he will beat this. Good luck!

 

oops..Can't edit post now. @Rakhii Please fix the font.

 

Your latest post is very troubling. Was the anxiety/depression diagnosis made after the latest panic attack? Was she diagnosed by a psychiatrist/psychologist or a school/social worker? If she hasn't been seen by a psychiatrist, she needs to see one as soon as possible. For now refrain from offering homeopathic treatments, and follow the protocol prescribed by a licensed psychiatrist. If possible, please make an appointment with a psychologist, specializing with children, for an initial counselling session. They will be able to make a diagnosis based on the symptoms you have described. I don't want to alarm you by speculating on possible diagnoses, but the symptoms seem serious enough to merit immediate attention. Timely intervention can make a world of a difference in the long-term outcomes of many childhood-onset mental disorders.

I know that as a parent it is very difficult to see your child in pain, and it is a natural instinct to seek explanations for such senseless and arbitrary suffering inflicted upon them. But blaming yourself is not only unproductive, it will render you unable to provide the support that your daughter needs from you. Mental disorders rarely have a single, clearly defined cause. They are the result of a multitude of poorly understood factors, of which a big part is random chance. There is little you could have done to prevent your daughter's problems, but there is a lot you can do to help her.

Please find her competent, professional medical care. Despite your reservations about psychiatric drugs, I feel that your daughter will benefit far more from a carefully tailored regimen of pharmaceuticals and professional therapy, than from unproven herbs and homeopathy.