Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent

You said that your child has had two or more 2-week periods where s/he was sad or irritable. S/he feels this way most of the day, nearly every day.

During these times you said your child has some of the following problems:

• Crying
• Doesn't want to do things s/he used to enjoy
• Eats too much or too little
• Has problems falling asleep or waking up too early
• Has too little or too much energy
• Feels worthless
• Has little or no hope
• Can't stay on task
• Feels bad him/herself
• Thinks about death
• Thinks about hurting or killing him/herself

Your child may be having some trouble at home or school because of his/her sadness. For example, s/he may be failing classes at school. S/he may be having problems getting along with you or other adults. Children who have these problems often have something called Major Depressive Disorder, Recurrent. Recurrent means that your child has had more than one period of time when s/he was very depressed. These types of problems are commonly referred to as "depression".

School-aged boys and girls have an equal chance of becoming depressed. Teenage girls and women are twice as likely to be depressed as men.

Depression is pretty common in children. Children under a lot of stress have a higher chance of getting depressed. Children who have been depressed more than once may get depressed again. Depression tends to run in families.

Adapted from the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Primary Care (DSM-PC) (1996) , the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Facts for Families© series (1997), and the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition (DSM-IV) (1994) .