You said that your child has had a time where s/he was sad or irritable most of the day.
S/he felt this way almost every day for 2 weeks or longer.
During this time you said your child had 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, Single Episode. 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. Depression tends to run in families.
