In most people’s eyes, depression seems to occur only in the adult world, while teenagers and children are “too young” to suffer from this terrible mental illness. In fact, it is not, although the depression is more female than male, but regardless of age. The Washington Post cited a report on “Preschool Depression” published in 2009, which pointed out that young children as young as 3 years old can also show symptoms of depression. Therefore, the prevention of depression in children and adolescents is also very important.
Children and adolescents need to be aware of depression, too, according to alarming data
If you don’t know much about the current status of the relationship between children, adolescents and depression, the following survey data may be able to illustrate some of the problems more intuitively: 1.
1, the data show that the incidence of preschool children about 0.3%, elementary school children about 2%, adolescents about 5% to 10%, the incidence of depression increases with age. 2.
2, Japan has investigated the mental health problems of Tokyo public high school students, in 163 schools surveyed, more than half of the students interviewed admitted that they had suicidal tendencies in the past three years.
In a report by the World Health Organization, depression is the leading cause of illness or disability among adolescents aged 10 to 19. 4.
4, the onset of depression is mostly in late adolescence, concentrated between the ages of 14 and 19, and really comes to the fore in middle age, perhaps 30 to 50 years old before the outbreak.
Depression is the number one cause of illness in adolescents, and suicide is the third leading cause of death in adolescents. In addition, depression can lead to other problems: smoking, drug addiction, alcoholism, AIDS, mental illness, sexual behavior, and violence. Studies have shown that the first symptoms of all mental illnesses appear around age 14. Therefore, the health of adolescents should not only focus on the physical aspect, but also on the mental health. If adolescents with depression receive timely treatment, it is possible to avoid death and a “lifetime of suffering”.
How to prevent depression in children?
The causes of depression in children are complex. In addition to intrinsic factors such as genetic and endocrine factors, personal development, family environment, socioeconomic factors, and bereavement also play an important role. Therefore, we can prevent the occurrence of depression by improving the social support and psychological state of the child.
1, family relations to be harmonious.
Family stability, family atmosphere is relaxed and happy, and close parent-child relationship, the psychological development of children will have a good impact. Family disharmony, often quarrels, or even rupture, will keep children in an alert state, resulting in distraction, irritability, anger, pain. A follow-up study of children in divorced families found that 37% of children and adolescents suffered from moderate to severe depression, and the five years after their parents’ separation and divorce was the most unpleasant time for them. Therefore, efforts to create a good family atmosphere can help prevent children from suffering from depression.
2, the correct positioning of expectations of children.
With the development of the economy, parents and teachers have higher and higher expectations for their children. More parents do not take into account the actual ability of the child, demanding too much, so that the child will be under too much pressure to learn for a long time, prone to emotional and behavioral disorders. Therefore, the family should be based on the child’s ability, interests, hobbies, to set some more realistic, sure to achieve the goal, so that they are less frustrated, step by step development, as well as will grow up well.
3, encourage your child to interact with others.
Lack of social skills is one of the causes of depression. Encouraging, organizing and guiding children to participate in social interactions will help prevent depression. Parents and teachers should treat children as equals and promote democracy, encourage them to speak from the “heart”, express different views, and support their correct opinions and behaviors. We should make friends with them, improve parent-child relationship and teacher-student relationship, and also encourage them to improve the relationship among classmates to form a harmonious “family” atmosphere.
4. Pay attention to the way you educate your children.
If parents do not pay attention to the way they educate their children, and often use mandatory orders, it will certainly hurt the children’s self-esteem. The long-term damage to self-esteem will lead to low self-esteem, and people with a strong sense of inferiority often have self-doubt, despair, depression when they encounter setbacks. The family’s children should be educated, more guidance, less reprimand. School teachers should pay attention to the occasion when criticizing students, taking into account the mood and emotions of the students at the time, to protect their self-esteem, and should not roughly humiliate and physically punish students who make mistakes.
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