TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction ........................................................................
3
Chapter 1
How to Recognize the Symptoms
of Depression in Your Child ...............................................
4
Chapter 2
What You Can Do to Help ................................................
12
Chapter 3
How to Respond If Your Child Refuses Help .....................
21
Chapter 4
A Parent’s Guide to Psychiatric Medications.....................
24
Chapter 5
Substance Abuse and Your Child’s Depression ...............
31
Chapter 6
Suicide Prevention ...........................................................
36
Chapter 7
The Decision to Hospitalize ..............................................
44
Chapter 8
Caring For Yourself When Your Child is Depressed.........
48
Chapter 9
How to Form a Healing Circle For Your Child ...................
56
Chapter 10
One Parent’s Story of Raising a Child
with a Mental Illness .........................................................
61
Chapter 11
Some Final Thoughts........................................................
66
Resources For Wellness ..............................................
67
INTRODUCTION
Whatever
you give of yourself to somebody else is never lost,
no matter what happens to that person.
Fred Rogers (aka Mr. Rogers)
In the pages that
follow, I will explain how you can recognize the signs of
depression
in your child and how to seek effective treatment. This
e-book is not just for parents; it
can be used by a caregiver, teacher, or any loving adult
involved with a depressed child. In
addition, much of this material can be used to help children
with other mood disorders
such as anxiety and bipolar disorder. Whether the child
in your life is a pre-teen, teen or
young adult, or whether he lives with you or apart from
you, it is my wish that this information
may empower you to bring hope and healing into this young
person’s life.
CHAPTER 1 (Partial)
HOW
TO RECOGNIZE THE SYMPTOMS
OF DEPRESSION IN YOUR CHILD
Growing up has never
been easy. Today’s children, however, face problems
that are
far more serious than those of previous generations. A study
commissioned by the California
Department of Education compared the top non-scholastic
concerns of public school
students in 1949 with those in 1982. Back then, children
worried about talking out of turn,
chewing bubble gum, wearing inappropriate clothes, running
in the halls, and cutting in
line. The identical survey administered in the 1980’s
revealed that the concerns were now
drugs, alcohol abuse, teen pregnancy, AIDS, suicide, rape,
child abuse, poverty, assault
and gang warfare! In the book Breaking the Patterns of Depression,
psychologist Michael
Yapko looks at his own childhood and reports a similar shift:
When I was eight years old, my biggest concern was whether
I’d be the starting pitcher on my Little League baseball
team. I didn’t have to choose between Mom or Dad for
my primary residence. I didn’t have to set up a
complex visitation schedule following their divorce, because
they never
divorced.
No one instilled
in me a fear of people who wanted to do “bad touches”
to me. No one tried to scare me away from drugs, because
drugs weren’t a kid’s issue. No one lectured
me in fourth grade about safe sex and AIDS. No one brought
guns to school and opened fire. It is a different and tougher
world for today’s youth, who face these sorts of things
every day. Just a few years ago, psychologists couldn’t
say with certainty that kids were even capable of suffering
from psychiatric disorders the same way adults do. Now,
according to PhRMA, a pharmaceutical trade group, up to
10% of all American kids may suffer from some mental illness.
Perhaps twice that many have exhibited some symptoms of
clinical depression.
A depressive illness
is a “whole body” disorder, involving one’s
physiology, mood, thoughts and behavior. It affects the
way we eat and sleep, the way we think and feel about ourselves,
others and the world. Clinical depression is not a passing
blue mood or a sign of personal weakness. Subtle changes
in the brain’s chemistry can create a terrible malaise
in the body-mind-spirit that can affect every dimension
of one’s being.
| Order this
book now and receive FREE COPY of Douglas
Bloch's inspiring e-book, Healing Affirmations for Depression
and Anxiety. These positive words will make a real difference
in your mental health recovery. |
Purchase
this e-book now!
$9.95
