Drastic changes in eating habits or significant fluctuations in weight can also flag depression, as well as excessive or inappropriate guilt and difficulty in concentrating, thinking or making decisions. Physical warning signs include frequent stomachaches or headaches. Failure in school or relationships can both cause and be the result of anxiety and depression. Any talk of suicide or any action that suggests suicide should be taken very seriously. Immediate psychiatric help should be sought.
Preschoolers can manifest depression in the same ways as older children.
In addition, a young child may be bored, listless, tearful, irritable, cranky, tired, unusually moody, hostile toward others or excessively talkative. Rejection by others, avoiding social contact, lack of enthusiasm for or participation in activities and not seeming to have any fun can also indicate that a child suffers from depression. And just as depression can cause physical maladies, physical ailments or hospitalization can also lead to depression. Something that seems minor to an adult but temporarily limits a child's activities can bring it on. Lubbers warns that ignoring signs of depression can be dangerous to a child's future mental health.