According to Meriam-Webster dictionary, depression means a serious medical condition in which a person feels sad, hopeless, and unimportant and often is unable to live in a normal way. To some people this may just be a phase or triggered by a certain event, but to others this is just a way of life. Numerous people believe that only adults can experience depression, although in my research I have found that is wrong. Brent Wagner states that as many as 2 out of 100 young children and 8 out of 100 teens have serious depression (qtd. in Healthwise Staff, par. 3). There are countless solutions to this problem that have occurred, but many have failed. Despite that multiple people believe there is no cure for depression I want to argue that school participation could be the answer we have been searching for. Although schools have flourished rapidly, students need to learn about depression and how it’s a problem. With so many uneducated students, bullying seems to be nonviolent when it really could be the main cause of most depression problems in schools.
Symptoms of depression vary from one person to another. Losing or gaining weight, feeling hopeless, sleeping too much or too little, is grumpy, sad, or bored most of the time and having trouble connecting are just a few of the signs of depression. Also, the depression symptoms may be different depending on the age of the child:
“Very young children may lack energy and become withdrawn. They may show little emotion, seem to feel hopeless, and have trouble sleeping. Grade-school children may have a lot of headaches or stomachaches. They may lose interest in friends and activities that they liked in the past. Some children with severe depression may see or hear things that aren’t there or have false beliefs. Teens may sleep a lot or move or speak more slowly than usual. Teens with severe depression may hallucinate or have delusions” (Healthwise Staff, par. 8).
Depression can be mild or severe. Mild depression leaves a child feeling “down” for a year or more, while severe depression leaves a child feeling hopeless. Causes of depression are not well understood. Causes may include stressful events such as losing a close family member or changing schools, some medicines, or family history (Healthwise Staff, par. 10). Treatment is determined by a physician.
School is a place where children and teens are forced to go. School is supposed to be a place of learning and education, but in the present day that’s where most depression takes its form. When depressed, school performance will more than likely decline. A study […] targeted two thousand five hundred-sixteen 7th-9th grade pupils (13-17 years) of whom 90% completed the questionnaire anonymously in the classroom. 18.4% girls and 11.1% boys were classified as being depressed. […] “Our study indicates that pupils reporting difficulties in academic performance should be screened for depression” (Fröjd, et al. 485-498).