Should children take antidepressants?

Question

Please be as descriptive as possible. I want to know what you think about children and depression-and the drugs that treat it.

Answer 1

And how! Drugs are perfect for kids of any age. I let mine do speedballs. Keeps the little buggers happy. Start them out on Pot and then move up. It will make everyone happy.

Answer 2

Yes, children can take antidepressants. I have worked with mentally ill children for the past 8 years and I also worked closely with the psychiatrist at our facility. The most popular ones that I've seen prescribed have been Zoloft, Wellbutrin and Prozac. From what I've seen with the Wellbutrin is that is helps mainly with hyperactivity rather than depression. I've seen kids go from very depressed (as in sluggish, don't want to get out of bed, etc) to actually being able to interact with other kids appropriately and participate in activites when the antidepressant is at a therapeutic level. I wouldn't necessarily recommend letting a pediatrician prescribe the medication (they might not have all the info). Rather I would recommend a child psychiatrist because they would have insight into what medication would be best as well as what dose to start at. I've seen kids as young as 6 on antidepressants with no adverse side effects. The suicide risk has only been shown when an individual is already severely depressed and suicidal, then it can make it worse (and typically it's been Prozac that has been blamed for this). I will say that it's not every time it happens. I was on Prozac as a teen when I was severely depressed and suicidal and it did not increase the thoughts or make me feel worse. It didn't help either, but that's because it was the wrong med for me.

Answer 3

Children are just as able to get depression as anyone else. I think a lot of people underestimate the trauma that a child can experience, and think that just because they don't have to pay bills or go to work, their lives must be easy, but that is not always the case. And I think it is important to remember that if you have never known any worse, the most difficult thing in your life will still seem, to you, the most difficult thing in the world.

I think that it has a lot to do with the cause of the depression. For some people, and this can include children, depression is physical, caused by a chemical imbalance. In such cases, I believe treatment with anti-depressants to be perfectly okay - the same way you would treat the chemical imbalance that diabetes is caused by! However, the child will need to be told about the stigma that goes will being on such medication, and also reassured that there is nothing wrong with taking the pills - they're not crazy, they just have a problem with the chemicals in their body.

However, when the depression has other underlying causes, I think it's essential to treat the cause of the problem, rather than simply medicate away the symptoms. For example, if the child is experiencing depression as the result of the bullying, they need to talk about what is going on, be told that it is not their fault and the ones to blame should be correctly dealt with. If it is due to concern about their weight or appearance, then they need to be taught about looking after themselves, inside and out etc etc. The same goes for child victims of abuse, neglect, witnessing a crime etc. Often the cause of the depression can be treated through talk-therapy and reassurance, which avoids addiction to medication, and also the negative stigma associated with taking depression-medication.

As a child I was very depressed, and never sought help. Now, although I suppose technically I am still a child, being 17, I am now just seeking treatment for life-long depression as a result of abuse and mis-treatment, as well as hormonal problems. I know that there is a chance I will be put on medication, and I think that at this stage in the game, that's okay - even if it's just a temporary measure while I work out the underlying causes - but I will be asking my doctors for my primary treatment to be through talk-therapy, psycho-therapy and counselling, because I would rather work that way than be drugged out of my brain. However, I understand the importance medication can have in treatment.

Answer 4

That is a good question, and my answer is depending on the severity of the illness. But...
Childrens brains are not fully developed and the drug may have a negative affect on their functioning.
Most drugs for mental health work for reasons that the doctors and scientists do not know,( though anti depressants are one of the known drugs) putting a substance into a developing brain where you do not know how it will affect them years from now is just not a good choice.
If the child is suffering from major depression, and counselling does not work and all other choices have been tried and failed then you have to way your choices
Will my child take his/her own life?
vs
The possibility of damage to their brain in the long run, possibly but we dont know.
Given the choices you would take the pills over losing your child.

my inital thoughts were that doctors did not know what chemicaly happens to the brain when taking anti depressants, I was wrong, after looking in my drug book I realized that they know how it is helping the brain, but since the drugs are still rather new they are not aware of what the long term effects are.
Also, after reading I forgot that suicidal thoughts are reported after some children take some medications, or they become worse if your child already has thoughts of suicide.
Go to a childrens hospital and get the chemical balance checked out ( not sure how that works I will get back to you on that) If you know what chemical is not working properly then you can find the nest medication for your child and eliminate the task of finding the right pill through trial and error like most people do.

Answer 5

I honestly think that some children are naturally depressed ... ( or born with some type of chemical imbalance that makes them depressed ) however this does not mean the first solution you find for a child is an antidepressant. I think that you should approach your child first to see what the problem is ... if that doesnt work .... take the child to see a counselor / psychologist. Last case scenario if the counselor / psychologist thinks antidepressants are what the child needs ... then sure i dont see why not.


Also i would suggest thoroughly checking the antidepressant out.

Answer 6

the major reason i believe that antidepressants undesirable for toddlers is they are childrens, newborn , a touch one on right of that maximum antidepressants designed in direction of adults that it even upload on to the depress that they feeling in basic terms to thinkng they seem to be a taking a drugs and childrens are all diverse on the mood swings and tempers yet with a loving care and good sit down communicate instantly solutions and sme cheer up i imagine it would want to do a touch good I had a nasty newborn hood and that i assumed about suicides and went so some distance as to attempt yet I had an staggering mom who takes me seriuosly And communicate over with me instantly up. and that i'll't imagine each individual has a robust mom or a father yet a newborn having frustrating cases at school getting bullied and dealing with a divorce isn't an deprecian yet an unresolved anger with concern and shame. What they want is a robust little bit of interest and information it can improve enormous difference that a chemically formulated drug in basic terms my ideas

Answer 7

Sometimes children do need it, sometimes children develop depression very young and there have been lots of cases where children as young as 5 or so have wanted to commit suicide. Depression when in children can be very dangerous a doctor can prescribe a proper dosage but you should first talk to your doctor about other means of therapy for the child including diet and exercise, but seeing it is not so common in children it can be very serious and should be treated how a doctor thinks necessary.

Answer 8

Should children take antidepressants? Yes and no. I believe that antidepressants are widely overprescribed, for adults and especially for children. But there are rare cases where antidepressants for children save their lives. As much as we would like to think of children as innocent, carefree, and happy, there are children that have serious depression, leading them to attempt (and sometimes successfully commit) suicide. The risks of giving a child antidepressants (the chance that it could make them suicidal) can be avoided by monitoring the child carefully after they first take the antidepressants. And just like antidepressants can save adults lives, they can save the lives of depressed children.

Answer 9

I do think that there is a such thing as depression, however I think that it is rare in children. I think to often today people try to medicate children rather than get counseling or other forms of help. We do not want to teach our children to be so dependent on drugs at such an early age. But in extreme situations it my be necessary.

Answer 10

big time yes the news is jets saying childreen have depressisioni had it since i was 10 years old,