Can Babies Have Depression? What should families watch out for?

Depression is a brain disease that can occur in any period of human life. In other words, depression arises due to imbalances in brain chemicals and makes the person unhappy, unhappy and unwilling in life. A depressed person considers himself responsible for everything that happens to him and blames himself. He always looks at the negative side of life. His expectations about the future are hopeless and pessimistic. He has a belief about himself that he is worthless and unlovable. For this reason, he sees the events as more exaggerated than they are and interprets the events by making generalizations. For example, he says, “This kind of thing always happens to me”. Or he doesn’t see the rest of the picture and blames himself saying how did I do so wrong when he got 75 points on the 100 point test. He interprets events as he sees fit and draws arbitrary inferences, for example, my boyfriend didn’t call me, I think he doesn’t want to talk to me anymore.

Since depression is a genetically transmitted disease, if the mother or father has depression, it is likely that the child or adolescent will also experience depression with triggers.

The two main symptoms of depression are disgust and lack of taste. In other words, the depressed person does not want to do anything, even if he does it in a forced way, he cannot enjoy what he is doing.

Other symptoms of depression include feelings of helplessness, low energy, poor concentration, thoughts of worthlessness and guilt, and changes in appetite or weight.

Depression in children and adolescents can be seen in the form of not wanting to go to school, low self-esteem, phobias, abdominal pain, nausea or headaches, but it can also be seen in behavioral disorders such as hyperactivity, moodiness, irritability, lying, running away from home or school.

We said that depression is related to the chemicals in the brain. The levels of the serotonin hormone responsible for happiness and the dopamine hormone responsible for pleasure decrease and the child or adolescent becomes unhappy and unhappy. There may also be an increase in the levels of norepinephrine and cortisol, which are stress hormones, and the child and adolescent may feel restless, angry, anxious, and may experience difficulty learning by experiencing focus problems.

While some children or adolescents internalize these negative feelings, some children express them. Children and adolescents who introspect their emotions; They display shy, fearful and dependent characteristics and feel insecure. This makes them more prone to depression by having negative thoughts about themselves. Children and adolescents who express their emotions show more aggressive and aggressive attitudes by displaying behavioral disturbances, but it is also possible that these children turn to substance use and join opposing groups.

It can be difficult to diagnose because the child’s language skills are not mature enough before age 7. However, the child’s facial expression, behavior, reactions, and body posture can facilitate the diagnosis of this diagnosis.

The genetic predisposition and the presence of neurochemical disorders predispose the child to depression. Negative life events provoke the development of depression in predisposed children and adolescents.

The death of the mother or father, illness, divorce, living in a separate city or emotional neglect of the child due to a very busy work schedule, the parents depriving their child of love and attention, migration or relocation, constant conflicts in the family, the emotional neglect of the mother or father. Having a mental disorder, the problem experienced by the adolescent of the opposite sex, and exam stress are the causes of depression in children and adolescents.

My advice to families:

You shouldn’t say things like don’t worry, don’t make yourself sad, forget it. Because you must not forget that these are negative feelings and thoughts that arise from the child’s own will, that is, from an irregular action of the hormones in the brain.

If you can change your child’s behavior, you can change your child’s feelings and thoughts. For example, you can encourage your child to exercise regularly. Because during exercise, the body produces endorphins and the person begins to feel good. Endorphins are the happiness hormone that are secreted during sports, dancing, jumping or running. Therefore, a regular sports or art course will make your child feel good.

It is very important that your child is asleep by 10 pm at the latest. Because endorphins, the happiness hormone, and melatonin, the sleep hormone, fluctuate between 10 and 3 am. In order for your child to feel peaceful and happy, he should not disrupt his sleep patterns.

You should encourage your child to spend time in the park in sunny weather because the sun’s rays penetrate the retina of our eyes and are passed through the nerves to the pineal gland, increasing the amount of serotonin, which makes the person feel happy.

You need to prepare the environment for your child to repeat the things he normally likes to do. Because the dopamine hormone responsible for the feeling of pleasure fluctuates when the person is engaged in the things he loves. For example, playing games with friends, going to the movies or eating your favorite dish increases the release of dopamine.

Depression responds very well to cognitive behavioral therapy. You would have to say that these negative feelings and associated negative thoughts affect the emotional center of the depressive illness in the brain, which is why you feel restrained, unhappy and unhappy. That’s why you need to tell your child that taking action has healing effects on their thoughts.

You should tell your child that depression is made worse by locking themselves in the room, sleeping for hours, or staying away from social life.

Specialized clinical psychologist Müjde Yahşi said: “Even if the symptoms are mild, you should definitely contact a clinical psychologist who works with the child, but if you have moderate or severe depression, you should definitely contact a child and juvenile psychiatrist.”