grave. Some studies indicate that the incidence appears to peak in adolescence, drops off between the ages of 20 and 35, then slowly rises thereafter" (3).
In children, depression is invariably connected to the responses or loss of the parents, and clinically, even in infancy, such depressive individuals "show feeding disorder, often repeated regurgitation, lassitude, poor muscle tone, and excessive sleeping . . . . These infants look like depressed little old men" (Irwin 3).
Children do not show as severe a set of symptoms as adults who are depressed, simply because they have a greater resiliency to bounce back from the environmental causes of depression. The depression in an older child can be manifest in headaches, stomachaches, or social misconduct. He can express insecurity, he can overeat or lack a healthy appetite, he can be restless and avoid playing with other children. In addition, "A sense of worthlessness or guilt, and signs of self-deprecation appear, as in most cases of depression. Some child psychiatrists believe that the 'hyperactive' child may actually be suffering from depressive illness. Some children even make suicidal threats, but young children are not likely to attempt suicide" (Irwin 4).
In teenagehood, the problem of depression in terms of its causes and diagnosis is complicated because it is sometimes masked by typical teenage behavior which expresses itself in rebelliousness which might at the same time be a symptom of depression itself.
As Irwin writes, "a teenager's depression is likely to be self-limited. But if the teenager has had a long history of difficulties, the depression may persist. When rebellion, withdrawal, running away, and other attempts to deal with the feelings fail to bring relief, the teenager may see suicide as the only solution to the persistent problems of living. In reality the attempt at suicide may be a desperate cry for help" (4-5).
Young adults may expe...