What to do about 8 yr. old with depression and anxiety?
My sweet little nephew is only 8 yrs old, but suffers from what I believe to be depression and anxiety. He is so sad alot, and extremely anxious over irrational fears. There also seems to be some behavioral/maturity issues with him as well. Seems to cry at things that an 8 yr old shouldn’t be crying at.
Recently he has started hitting himself and biting himself, which has us all very upset. His self esteem has taken a hit too.
The parents are getting a therapist right away, this week in fact, but I want to know what people know about the types of medication for a child with depression and anxiety. What seems to be the best out there?
An 8 yr old should be having fun and not worrying…it breaks my heart to see him this way. Any advice is appreciated and I willl pass along to the parents. Thanks!
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Filed under: Advice for a Broken Heart
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There are all kinds of chemical disorders that people used to suffer with all of their lives that are trivial to treat.
There are others that are not so trivial. Personally, the ones I hate are the ones that you actually come up with a drug/therapy combination that works and someone is happy, maybe for years and then it stops working.
That can be heart-breaking.
However, it is certainly no worse than if they had been miserable all of that time.
These are the exceptions, not the rules. Whether or not there are events that are leading to this state, the right people can usually help.
Your immediate reaction is about medicating the child? I would not do that. I had depression as a child but no one noticed it or did anything about it – it’s good he will be seeing a therapist but don’t just drug the child up as that is just avoiding the root cause of his depression.
Leave the meds alone and let the therapist do their work.
What is happening at this 8 year old’s home? Is there any reason for why this child is reacting this way? Is it a possibility? I would say to try to look at things from an 8 year old’s perspective. (That’s great to get help and wonderful that you are asking around.) Is anything going on at school?
I’m sure the therapist will ask these questions as well or I hope so.
As far as I know, there aren’t any good medications for a child this young. I have seen Paxil prescribed. But this should be a last resort.
Taking him to a therapist is the right thing to do. He has some issues that need to be addressed professionally. Support his parents and encourage them to see that he gets the care he needs.
not sure ive got a counciler wich helps me a little i suffer from the same but im 12 ive got social anxiety disorder wich is very depressing so hes not alone hope that helps
I am sorry to hear about your nephew
Man, that sounds so young to be having any kind of emotional issues doesn’t it? I know they Paxill for anxiety. And there are my treatments for his depression as well. Is there something going on in his family that would make him feel this way? Good luck to you and your nephew 
Medication should be the last resort. Seek the help of mental health professionals instead.
I went through what your nephew went through when I was 8 to the time I was 11. I was very suicidal– chances are this child may be too. One thing that worked for me was every night before I went to sleep I listed 5 things that I liked about myself. Each night they had to be different. They could be about my mental or physical self. This exercise pulled me out of the suicidal part. Then I got a journal and wrote everything out. Have his parents get him a journal and have them make sure he is writing– but make sure that they do not read it.
As for medication, I don’t believe in it for most things. I think that you should try to help him without medication first, and see what you can do that way.
leave meds out. your family needs to find out more on why he is like he is. start by trying to remember the time he started this. could be he is hiding something that he is scared to say.
I feel so bad for him. Has anyone just sat down and tried to talk to him? Is it possible that someone is doing something to him? I understand that people hate to think about this but if the way he is acting is new I would definitely check to see if someone is hurting him. It may be hard to get him to talk because people who hurt kids use fear to make the child keep quite. If they do put him on any medicine i would suggest using the lowest dosage. Please let us know how he is doing.
I am so sorry for you and I know how you feel as I had this with my 8 year old.
She was been bullied at school and sunk to an all time low.
I took her to our doctor and he arranged counselling straight away. We took her out of school and home educated for a while to help get her confidence back.
From experience and I am also a therapist, let your nephew just go through every emotion because he will be stronger for it.
I had to let my kid hit rock bottom before she came back up again and with all the help that she got she is so much better for it.
We were against medication because we did not want to put a lid on what she was feeling. In fact my doctor was of the same thinking and we just let her tell us how she felt through counselling, through writing down in a feeling book and it worked.
This started Feb this year and by Sept she is tons better.
If it is behaviour, then the therapist will get get to the bottom of what is going on. 8 Year old children start to form who there are and this will again change again at 16 and then at 21.
School may be your answer as to why he is feeling this way.
Our daughter self harmed as it was a way of punishing herself but through the counselling she knew that there were other ways of helping get through the bad days.
If you need to email me direct, then please do so.
Well, I have a Daughter and, they put her on welbrution ( i think that’s how it’s spelled) she doe’s way better and, acting like herself again. My daugter is only nine but, they said the stree on a child can come from fighting parent’s and, nightmare’s the child can have about them!!!!!
Honestly I hope he grows out of it because a lot of people will give him a hard time as he gets older. I have suffered from depression and I have panic attacks. When I was in school it was horrible also. It really depends on how he will respond to medication if he needs it. In the long run he may want his parents attention or he may be getting bullied at school and he is to scared to tell anyone. Teachers don’t always know what is going on with the students. If that is the problem try getting him into cub scouts or clubs and even sports to help him get friends. If his parents can not give him the attention he wants find him a mentor. This helped me through high school. Just try avoiding medication because it can change him to where he will not have any good or bad emotions. I hope he will grow out of it!!!!!
Since the child is hurting himself, acute medication may be a necessity at this point. Medication is not as bad as people think, just highly misunderstood.
Therapy would be adjunctive with the medicinal treatment and last longer. Therapy, even for a child, can teach valuable life-long skills for anyone. Better to learn them young than never at all.
Good luck to your family; especially the little guy.
Many people think that SSRIs cause suicide in children, but that is false. It is true that people under 18 and on SSRIs do commit suicide more often than others on the drugs, but that doesn’t prove it causes suicide. What causes suicide is the fact that after getting some relief from the medication, the patient will be able to do more of the things he wanted to do including commit suicide. The best medication is Lexapro or Prozac. They may also be taken with Klonopin. It is more dangerous to not treat a child than to treat a child. Medication can be very good under close supervision.