Signs of Depression

  • Feeling restless and agitated
  • Feeling angry and aggressive
  • Feeling tearful
  • Being tired or lacking in energy
  • Not wanting to talk to or be with people
  • Not wanting to do things they usually enjoy
  • Using alcohol or drugs to cope with feelings
  • Finding it hard to cope with everyday things
  • Not replying to messages or being distant
  • Talking about feeling hopeless, helpless or worthless
  • Talking about feeling trapped by life circumstances they can’t see a way out of, or feeling unable to escape their thoughts
  • A change in routine, such as sleeping or eating more or less than normal
  • Engaging in risk-taking behaviour, like gambling or violence

Tips for Parents and Schools

Make a Support Plan

Create a support plan with your CAMHS provider, listing the help that can be provided from school and local area. For schools, make sure to let the student know who they can speak to and seek support if they need help.

Make a Safety Plan

If your child engages in risky behaviour such as suicidal attempts and/or self-harm. It is important that items such as sharp objects, medications and harmful chemicals are locked away and cannot be accessed by the young person.

Counselling

If you believe your child may benefit from counselling, speak to your GP or CAMHS to see if this can be access. Alternatively, some school offer school counsellors for extra support.

Look After Yourself

Looking after a young person with depression can be difficult and can make you anxious. Seeking support for yourself, provides a good example to your young person, and ensures that you are in the best position to help your child. You can access the Charlie Waller support network, or call Samaritans at 116 123 if you need someone to talk to.

Communication between parents and children are an important step to helping a child with depression. This allows an avenue for the child to discuss their worries, and ensure that you can be aware of when your child may need more support.

S - Show You Care

Show your child that you care by giving them undivided attention when speaking about low mood and depression. Set a time and a private place to have a conversations about their worries and troubles.

H - Have Patience

Your child won’t always want to open up immediately, so it may take a few attempts to get them to talk to you about their worries. Be non-judgemental and patient, and the young person can become more comfortable.

U - Use Open Questions

Use questions like “How was your week?” and “How are you feeling?”, rather than asking leading questions. This helps to make sure that you are non-judgemental and also stops you from assuming a situation.

S - Say it Back

Repeating what your child has said to you, ensures you understand the situation. This ensures to your child that you have been listening are willing to listen.

H - Have Courage

Having these difficult conversations with your child is not easy but having the courage to do this goes a long way in helping your child to get better. Be accustomed to your child not always being ready to speak yet and be okay with silences in conversations. You are doing the right thing by speaking to them.

Urgent Help

There may be instances where your child is in a mental health crisis and may need urgent support. Below are some sources of help you can get urgently:

If you believe that your child is not safe, the best thing to do is to call 999 for an ambulance.

For urgent help but not emergency, you can call 111 for mental health support. They can provide an urgent GP appointment or provide a place of safety, if this is what is required.

This NHS page provides local mental health numbers in all areas in England.

If your child just needs someone to talk to, they can use the below numbers to speak to someone:

  • Call 116 123 to talk to Samaritans, or email: jo@samaritans.org for a reply within 24 hours
  • Text "SHOUT" to 85258 to contact the Shout Crisis Text Line, or text "YM" if you're under 19
  • If you're under 19, you can also call 0800 1111 to talk to Childline. The number will not appear on your phone bill.

Mind UK provides some helpful strategies to cope with difficult thoughts, which may be useful.