A misperception is that young children do not experience depression. About 5 percent of children and adolescents suffer from it, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Children who are under stress or have attention, learning or anxiety disorders are at higher risk of depression. It also runs in families.
Symptoms are often mistaken for adolescent moodiness, Berman said. Unlike in older people, depression in children is usually expressed in actions, rather than feelings.
"In general, it may be hard for the layperson to understand that a child can be clinically depressed," he said. "The bottom line is there are children as young as 4 or 5 who are diagnosed with depression."
It is important to remember, however, that in 40 percent of suicides, the victims do not exhibit symptoms of depression, he said.
To the family of Montana Lance, my deepest condolences. To lose a child at such a young age is devastating. That it was apparently by his own hand only makes his death harder to understand.
At the end of the article is an excellent list of signs of depression in children. There's also a list of resources, including the national suicide prevention hotline, which I'll duplicate here. Please call if you have thoughts of suicide.
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline: 800-273-8255
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