1. Angry Outbursts

Anger is inevitable, but these moments are typically short-lived. Episodes of anger are triggered by different situations or people. An increase in irritation and lingering anger may allude to depression. Individuals with depression may be more likely to display their anger through aggression or violence towards people, even loved ones.

2. Anxiety

It is common to experience anxiety and depression in conjunction. Together, anxiety can become intense and debilitating. Anxiety is shown as an increased heart rate, rapid breathing, restlessness, and difficulty concentrating. In some cases, an individual may experience anxiety attacks. This can include feeling dizzy, shortness of breath, fear, or sweating.

3. Chronic Pain

Depression and chronic pain are strongly linked since depression can magnify that aching feeling. The pain you feel after an injury becomes chronic when it lasts much longer than would be expected. This becomes worse when changes in your body make you more sensitive to pain. Your child may experience low energy, mood disorders, muscle pain, and difficulty sleeping.

4. Clinginess to a Parent

If a child is experiencing depression, they may feel powerless and worthless. This may lead them to become increasingly clingy, a form of them reaching out for support. Being alone could heighten these negative thoughts, so they may seek extra attention.

5. Decreased Energy

Fatigue and depression and commonly seen at the same time. This may appear as continuous feelings of tiredness without any underlying cause, even after a good night’s rest. People with depression are more likely to experience fatigue, and chronic fatigue can increase the risk of depression. This bidirectional relationship creates a cycle that can be hard to break.

6. Digestive Disorders

There is a gut-brain connection. For example, those butterflies you feel in your stomach when you’re nervous. A troubled intestine can send signals to the brain, just as a troubled brain can send signals to the gut. Therefore, intestinal distress can be the cause or the product of depression. A study was done in 2011 aimed to find an association between psychological disorders and chronic constipation. Researchers discovered that the prevalence of mood disorders, including depression, is higher in individuals who experience chronic constipation in comparison to the general population. 

7. Learned Helplessness

Depressed individuals may experience “learned helplessness.” This is when they believe they have no control over the situation and cannot change the outcome, even if the opportunities to do so arise. If your child has repeatedly faced a challenge that is stressful and difficult to control, they make “learn” that the only option is to be helpless, and they will no longer try to implement change. This is a large factor for depression as they can lose motivation and are less able to make decisions.

8. Feeling Melancholy/Sad

Sadness is an emotion we all feel, so it is important to understand the difference between depression and feeling sad. Sadness is a natural human response to events that trigger emotional unrest. This is temporary and fades with time. On the other hand, depression is long-term. It completely impairs social, cognitive and physical functioning. 

9. Headaches

Everyone experiences the occasional headache, and most of the time, it is quickly relieved with over-the-counter pain medication; however, headaches an individual may experience when depressed are called “tension headaches.” These are different from the typical headache or even a migraine because they don’t necessarily impair one’s functioning and are persistent. They become more frequent, even daily, and feel like a mild throbbing sensation.

10. Feigning Illness

Individuals suffering from depression may convince themselves that they are experiencing symptoms of other illnesses. This involves mimicking or producing an injury or exaggerating symptoms to deceive others.  

11. Getting into Trouble

Children or teens who experience depression are more likely to get themselves into trouble. This may be with their school work, relationships, or physically (self-harm, drug abuse). They may feel hopeless and isolated and begin to believe these troubling ways are the only thing they can turn to for relief.

12. Memory Loss & Concentration

Natasha Santos, PsyD, a psychologist and behaviour therapist from New York, states that there have been studies done to suggest that the ability to take in information quickly and efficiently is impaired in individuals who suffer from depression. They may have irregularities in brain areas involved with memory storage and retrieval. Impairment in processing speed can also affect levels of concentration, which can diminish the level of functioning. This can be detrimental to your child’s learning and development.

13. Inability to Experience Pleasure or Excitement (even when activities are pleasurable)

The more technical term for the inability to feel pleasure is Anhedonia, and it is a common symptom of mental illness. The things that once made someone feel happy - like riding your bike, being with loved ones, or listening to music - may no longer produce positive feelings. The lack of reward and excitement can make it harder to get out of bed, as they lack motivation, and can even negatively affect relationships.

14. Insomnia, Hypersomnia

Sleep and depression go hand-in-hand. An individual experiencing depression may find it difficult to fall asleep and stay asleep or may experience sleeping way too much. At the same time, sleep problems may provoke or intensify depression. Issues with sleep, whether it be too little or too much, can disturb the neurotransmitter “serotonin”, which is directly involved in mood. Further, it can put stress on the body’s “internal clock”, or the circadian rhythm, increasing the risk of depression.

15. Mania

Mania is described as a long period of abnormally high levels of irritability and Energy. People also experience racing thoughts or other extreme intense behaviours. These episodes can last for weeks or more and are mixed in with periods of depressed states, such as fatigue and prolonged sadness.

16. Phobias

Phobias are a type of anxiety disorder, and since depression and anxiety are so closely associated, depression and phobias are as well. Phobias are when the individual develops an irrational, debilitating fear of something or a situation. People who are already susceptible to depression can experience a depressive episode after developing a phobia. Sometimes, the symptoms of depression can be worsened by phobias.

17. Refusal to Attend School

All the negative emotions your child or teen may be feeling can be extremely overwhelming, making school very unappealing. This can heavily affect their cognitive development or academic success. As a parent, be that support system for them. Encourage open conversations about their feelings and fears. You can even remind them of the positive aspects of going to school or try self-help methods. If matters become worse, reach out to a professional!

18. Weight Loss

Depression can negatively affect appetite. The stress may lead to missed meals, poor food choices, or the complete loss of hunger. When stressed, your body enters the “fight or flight” response which triggers an increase in metabolism - this minimizes your desire to eat. Mentally, all of the stressful thoughts may be too powerful, leaving you unable to think about anything else, let alone eating. Help your child overcome this by setting reminders to signal mealtime, cooking healthy meals that would improve mood or encouraging them to eat something small more frequently instead of a full meal three times a day.

19. Overeating/Binge Eating

Much like other symptoms, overeating and depression show a bidirectional relationship where overeating may lead to weight gain, and ultimately depression or overeating can be a coping mechanism for already diagnosed depression. A study done in 2012 explained how the effects of a high-fat diet overlap with stress and, therefore, depression. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America have stated that people who struggle with obesity and overeating often also struggle with mental illness.

20. Sulking

Sulking is defined as the state of a person who is silent and very irritable. This is a direct external display of a negative mood when someone feels extremely angry but has an intense desire not to communicate about it. Depressed individuals may exhibit this when experiencing an episode.