Can Preschoolers Be Depressed?

[groovedaddy]

Kiran didn’t seem like the type of kid parents should worry about. “He was the easy one,” his father, Raghu, a physician, says. “He always wanted to please.” Unlike other children in his suburban St. Louis preschool, Kiran (a nickname his parents asked me to use to protect his identity) rarely disobeyed or acted out. If he dawdled or didn’t listen, Raghu (also a nickname) had only to count to five before Kiran hastened to tie his shoes or put the toys away. He was kind to other children; if a classmate cried, Kiran immediately approached. “Our little empath!” his parents proudly called him.

But there were worrisome signs. For one thing, unlike your typical joyful and carefree 4-year-old, Kiran didn’t have a lot of fun. “He wasn’t running around, bouncing about, battling to get to the top of the slide like other kids,” Raghu notes. Kiran’s mother, Elizabeth (her middle name), an engineer, recalls constant refrains of “Nothing is fun; I’m bored.” When Raghu and Elizabeth reminded a downbeat Kiran of their coming trip to Disney World, Kiran responded: “Mickey lies. Dreams don’t come true.”

Over time, especially in comparison with Kiran’s even-keeled younger sister, it became apparent that guilt and worry infused Kiran’s thoughts. “We had to be really careful when we told him he did something wrong, because he internalized it quickly,” Raghu says. He was also easily frustrated. He wouldn’t dare count aloud until he had perfected getting to 10. Puzzles drove him nuts. After toying with a new set of Legos, he told his father, “I can’t do Legos.” He then roundly declared: “I will never do them. I am not a Legos person. You should take them away.”

One weekend when he was 4, Kiran carried his blanket around as his mother ferried him from one child-friendly place to the next, trying to divert him. But even at St. Louis’s children’s museum, he was listless and leaned against the wall. When they got home, he lay down and said he couldn’t remember anything fun about the whole day. He was “draggy and superwhiny and seeming like he was in pain.” Elizabeth remembers thinking, Something is wrong with this kid.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/29/magazine/29preschool-t.html?th&emc=th

[BrklynLiberal]

1. I believe that depression can be the result of a chemical imbalance in the brain..and therefore, can

occur as early as preschool.
The cause of this imbalance can be open to debate:hereditary, environmental, whatever...but I do believe it exists.

[xultar]

2. Yes. My depression was truly chemical and started young. I tried suicide

@ 10.

I don't know how I knew about it but I thought for years about not wanting to be alive anymore before that.

That shit was strange. My brain was really not my own back then. @ 41 I look back and I don't know how I came up with it. I don't even think I knew what suicide was I just took a whole bunch of pills hoping to die.

I hope they make some in roads into helping children with depression.

[groovedaddy]

3. Having been down this road via one of my progeny, I'm not sure I buy the "chemical imbalance"

explanation. That is typically the reason given for prescribing psychiatric drugs that DO alter brain chemsitry. The reasoning seems to be: if you're having a problem, i.e. depression, and we alter your brain chemistry and you get better, you must have had a chemical imbalance. There are NO "before and after" studies done of people's brain chemistry that I'm aware of. If either of you can provide any, I would greatly appreciate it.
I'm not opposed to using pharmaceuticals as a LAST resort. When my daughter had problems (she was 19) I did a fair amount of research in this area. The first thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is that placebos are just as or more effective than anti-depressants. Exercise is also just as effective. Nutrition is commonly ignored by most mainstream medical practitioners, particularly in the psychiatric realm. Vitamin D deficiency is at epidemic levels in the U.S. and depression is often a result, though physical maladies resulting from the deficiency are more common. And vitamin D is only one nutrient.
If anyone you know is facing these problems, I would highly recommend considering a blood nutritional screening and encouraging the person to start on an exercise regimen (they will probably need serious support to succeed at this.) Psychiatric drugs are very strong medicine and can cause debilitating side effects, particularly if the person decides to stop taking them. That should only be done under a physician's supervision.

[Crunchy Frog]

4. Yes. Mine began at the age of 4.