Lori Wildenberg and I talk about hope for helping your child overcome anxiety, depression, or suicidal ideation. Lori almost lost her daughter to death by suicide and shares with us what she’s learned. Through her situation, she learned that even those parts of our lives that are messy and embarrassing can be used by God to help others. She shares things that build hope and things that bust hope.
In recent posts, we’ve discussed the very important reality of understanding depression in children, depression in teens, and their risk for suicide. Many parents may now be wondering if childhood or teen depression can be prevented? That’s one of the questions we’ll be addressing today. We’ll also be discussing what we need to know to best help those we love who are depressed.
Depression always carries with it a high risk of suicide. While this discussion can be frightening, if not alarming, to some adults, there are specific risk factors and warning signs that parents can look for in their children and teens. Knowing this information could save lives.
In many circles there exists a myth that childhood depression doesn’t exist, but that simply isn’t the truth. Although it may be more common for adolescents to experience depression, children as young as 3 years old can have depression. Over the past three decades I’ve seen the incidence of childhood and teen depression rise significantly. It’s a serious illness, but also one that is treatable.
One in four children will have mental health issues by the time they are 18 years old. In this episode, licensed professional counselor, Michelle Nietert, and I talk about how to recognize depression in children, what parents can do to help, and how parents can know when it’s time to seek outside help for their children.
