Is your child depressed ?

http://www.dnaindia.com/health/column-is-your-child-depressed-here-are-the-signs-you-should-look-out-for-2243009

Is your child moody, quieter than usual and disinterested in everything around him/her? Maybe it’s time to play closer attention.

Mr. and Mrs. Sharma were surprised to find their 15-year-old son, Ryan, still sleeping instead of getting ready for school in the morning. On trying to get him to wake up, they found him completely unresponsive and unconscious. Hysterical, they called their family doctor and for an ambulance, and then rushed him to a private hospital. He was in the ICU for seven days. Through blood tests and other medical investigation, it came to light that he had consumed a large quantity of sleep medication.

His parents were in a state of shock, disbelief and denial. They had no idea why their bright, good-looking, sensitive and hardworking son would do something like this. He was doing well academically, he had friends. Apart from being withdrawn and quiet in the last few weeks, there was nothing out of the ordinary in his behaviour.

The Sharmas refused to believe and accept that he may have any kind of psychological or psychiatric problem. They explained to the doctors that they had a stable home environment— they were a nuclear family, close to each other and financially stable. However, later, they divulged that there was a family history of depression on Mr. Sharma’s side.