What should parents do if their child is depressed?

If your child has a tendency to be depressed or has been diagnosed with depression, Doudehui gives the following three suggestions, hoping to give some inspiration to the parents of the child: The first suggestion: Pay attention to the physical health of the child. The body and mind are one, and the mind Problems can also cause physical problems, and similarly, physical problems can also cause psychological problems. Many children lack exercise and lack of sleep. Some children have poor living habits. They stay up late, eat junk food, spend a lot of time playing mobile phones or computer games, and stay in virtual space for a long time. In addition, irregular eating can easily cause physical problems. Being uncomfortable and in poor physical condition can also inadvertently aggravate a child\’s depression. If a child is depressed, parents should pay more attention to this and help and support the child to move as much as possible by creating a supportive family environment for the child. Exercise is beneficial for ordinary people, not to mention depressed children. Therefore, letting children move as much as possible can better promote their mental health. Teenagers are depressed, and many children will play mobile games to escape the problem. When electronic products replace children\’s real activities and the time spent playing on mobile phones increases infinitely, the time for children to exercise and communicate with peers will decrease, and the more they will fall into it, Depressive symptoms will become increasingly severe. Therefore, it is best to exercise for at least half an hour every day, and do not do exercises that are boring or painful for the child and that make the child unmotivated. Involve the whole family and brainstorm ideas. Anything that involves movement is fine. For example, walking the dog, skateboarding, riding a bicycle, going downstairs to throw away garbage, picking up express delivery, going to the supermarket to help mom carry things, dancing at home, playing badminton, playing Go, cleaning the room, singing together at home, etc., or some actions suitable for children , are all helpful to children. Even if it only takes a few minutes to start moving at first, it is still good. If you start moving first, the child will gain some energy. In addition, in terms of children\’s diet, try not to eat takeaways and consume too much sugar or starchy foods, which will have a negative impact on children\’s mood and energy. Eat more foods rich in high-quality protein, fresh fruits and vegetables to keep your child\’s brain healthy and help your child improve their mood. If your child can\’t sleep, don\’t worry. You can accompany your child, do some things he wants to do, and talk. Don\’t rush him to go to sleep. At the same time, try to create a quiet and comfortable sleeping environment. For example, try to keep as few items in the bedroom as possible, with soft lighting. If the child allows it, you can play some sleep music to encourage the child to get enough sleep. Children need more time than adults to achieve optimal physical function. Try to keep your child from staying up late. Adequate sleep can also help your child improve his mood. Don\’t rely too much on medication to get your child to sleep. The latest and most complete 2023 [Kindergarten, Junior High and High School] premium VIP course catalogs from famous teachers in various disciplines on the entire network, click to view now! The second suggestion: Encourage children to connect with the outside world. After most children are depressed, they will gradually stay away from their classmates and friends, and do not like to do the things they liked in the past. This will only make the child more lonely and helpless. Therefore, parents should try their best to help their children rebuild their social communication system. So the effect is very small, tooTry to do something. For example, as a parent, you can set aside some time for face-to-face communication with your children every day. If your children are only willing to communicate with you for thirty minutes, that is okay. But you must make sure that during these thirty minutes, you put your phone aside, mute it or turn it off, and then focus your attention entirely on your child, listen to your child, and no matter what he says, you must continue. Don\’t be distracted, don\’t judge, don\’t talk nonsense. Listening to your child\’s feelings, thoughts, or seeing your child is a great support for your child. Don’t get me wrong. Talking to your child about depression or feelings will make the child’s condition worse. Communicating face-to-face with your child will allow your child to further accept themselves. The effect of alleviating your child’s depression will effectively promote your child’s psychological recovery process. No matter what method is used, it is necessary to keep the child in contact with the outside world and encourage him to invite trusted friends and classmates to play at home, or to go out with classmates, even for a short time. If your child\’s situation allows, you can also participate in activities with other families to give your children the opportunity to go out and meet people and build relationships, which is also helpful for your children. If there are some public welfare or group activities, you can bring your children to participate. For example, club activities, interest activities, and charity activities are all acceptable. A little by little, the children\’s motivation and interest will be stimulated, and their vitality will be regained. The children\’s emotions will be positively affected. Parents should also show weakness and actively invite their children to help them do something to increase their sense of value, or help relatives and friends around them do some small things. Helping others can also improve the child\’s sense of self-identity and increase the child\’s sense of experience. . Tip No. 3: Know how to seek professional psychological support Professional psychological support is essential for depressed children. When you feel that your child\’s depression is very serious, he is unable to study and live normally, he is self-isolated, he is unwilling to communicate with others, and his self-esteem is very low. Don\’t hesitate any longer, seeking professional psychological treatment and psychological counseling in a timely manner is the best choice. Respect your child’s ideas. Whether you want to see a psychologist or receive psychological counseling, you need to obtain your child’s consent. If your child doesn\’t want to go, don\’t worry. First, you must find out what your child really thinks, whether they are distrustful, worried about being labeled as sick, or worried about their parents\’ money. You can do counseling yourself first, and then guide your children to receive psychological counseling. Whether it’s psychological counseling or psychotherapy, whatever is best for your child is the best. Don’t be superstitious about so-called experts, celebrities, or hypnosis, or other psychological therapies that provide immediate results. At the same time, we must maintain rational and objective expectations for psychotherapy and psychological counseling. When a child is depressed, it doesn\’t take a pill or a few psychological consultations to see immediate results. A child\’s psychological recovery takes time, and the child also needs time to grow. Parents\’ patience at this time is particularly important. It invisibly sends a positive message to their children that I am worth it. If the child is forced to go to school or study as soon as things get better, the child will sometimes become confrontational. Parents must pay attention to this. If a child is mildly depressed or moderately depressed, it is more stable to start psychological counseling first.The right choice. If the child\’s depressive symptoms have not been relieved after a period of consultation, it is not too late to seek psychological treatment or drug treatment. If your child\’s symptoms are found to be serious during psychological consultation, most responsible psychological counselors will take the initiative to tell the parents to take the child to the hospital for psychological treatment, and then cooperate with psychological consultation after the child\’s mood is stable. Unfortunately, many parents initially believe that medication will provide the quickest results. Even if the child\’s depression is not serious, he rushes to take the child to the hospital for psychological treatment. This gives the child a negative psychological suggestion and makes him think that he is mentally ill, making him even more depressed. Unless your child acts dangerously or is suicidal, in which case he or she must go to the hospital for psychological treatment, medication and/or continued observation. Parents must understand this. Many children are actually mildly depressed. After taking medication, they suffer from drowsiness, memory loss, nausea, headaches, and even worse mental state. There is no doubt that antidepressants are also one of the most common ways to treat depression. But it is not a specific medicine, and it does not mean that children will completely get better after taking medicine. It is very common for children who have been depressed for a year or two and still take medicine to remain depressed. Antidepressants were developed and tested on adults, so there is currently no scientific explanation for their effects on teenage brains. Therefore, parents should consider the actual situation of their children. We must believe in science, but we must also realize that depressive drugs themselves also have certain risks and side effects. Don\’t give up eating because of choking, but also treat it scientifically. Children should not stop taking antidepressants without permission. Once they stop taking antidepressants without permission, it may increase the child\’s risk of suicide. During the medication period, you must pay close attention to your child\’s medication reactions and changes. If you feel unwell, you must consult your child\’s psychiatrist. communicative. If you observe the following problems in your child, be sure to go to the hospital for psychological treatment. Frequent suicidal thoughts/words, suggestions or attempts to commit suicide, strong irritability, hyperactive words or behaviors (mania), and other abnormal behavioral changes that may harm oneself or others.