| Kids as young as five are being treated for serious depression in Calgary with some even threatening to take their own lives. Thousands of children are said to be in need of help, and a shortage of counsellors in the city means many of them are going without treatment, psychologists warn.
Kelly Moroz, a child psychologist based in Mission, says now experts are better than ever at spotting the signs and realize the problem may be bigger than previously thought. "There are so many kids we don’t get to, and it does not help that it is so hard to find psychologists here," says Moroz. "It is the same with adults, but it’s particularly hard to find psychologists for kids."
A spokesman for the College of Alberta Psychologists says there is no record of how many child psychologists are working in Calgary. In just three years of private practice, Moroz has treated at least a thousand children, approximately 20 per cent of whom are dealing with depression or anxiety and occasionally suicidal thoughts, though it is extremely rare for children to actually kill themselves.
Melody Soderquist, a 28-year-old sociology student at Vancouver’s Simon Fraser University, struggled with depression as a child and wants people to realize that just because kids are small, it does not mean they don’t have some big emotional problems. "I remember feeling depression as early as age five," she says. "I was never happy, and there are hardly any photographs of me as a child smiling. I was paranoid, and never slept well at night. I was anti-social. I held on to certain habits that most children get rid of at age four or five, like thumb sucking. I finally stopped sucking my thumb at 14."
Melody, who was adopted, says she never felt connected with her family because they were white and she is black. "My mom suffered from bipolar syndrome and learning disabilities," she explains. "She was often suicidal, which had a tremendous impact on my sister and me. I thought about wanting to escape or disappear, but my idea of suicide was influenced by what I learned through Christianity. I had the impression that people who committed suicide would not go to heaven. My depression eased after the age of 13, when I moved in with my grandparents. But I still experienced feelings of loneliness and depression, and still do."
Melody, who wants to become a counsellor, never received any treatment, but insists it would have helped. "So much more education is needed," she says. "I know individuals who were exposed to wonderful, cohesive family units, who have suffered from childhood depression. I think this is the worst part about child depression for individuals who suffer from it — that they can't identify why they are depressed, and so for them, unlike my situation, the idea of escape or coping is much more complicated and may lead to worse outcomes."
Depressed kids in counselling describe having "aching hearts" and being "hopeless." They are often fixated on being trapped, devastated by things like stories of trapped animals having to gnaw their own legs off.
Susan Ponting, a mental health educator based at the Alberta Children’s Hospital, is trying to spread the word about child depression by offering classes to the public and people who work at schools. "Kids demonstrate depression in different ways," she explains. "Depressed kids sometimes act out or are a bit more aggressive. A long time ago people used to think kids couldn’t be depressed — what do they have to be depressed about? But now we know depression in kids is something very real."
Other signs of depression in kids include withdrawing from friends and family, talking about death or suicide, an upset stomach, tiredness, lack of energy, long-lasting sadness, poor memory and feeling angry and worthless.
A number of factors are believed to contribute to childhood depression, from genetics and chemical imbalances, to difficult home lives and learning disabilities.
If your child has symptoms of depression, Moroz recommends first scheduling time to listen to their thoughts and creating a positive atmosphere with lots of fun. If that doesn’t work, seek help.
For a full list of symptoms and information on getting help, visit the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA) website at www.cmha.ca. |
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