The word ‘depression’ is often confused to be some clinical problem or mental illness. This clichéd idea needs to be changed. It is an unhappy and unsettled state of mind. I have often noticed that nowadays, most school goers are facing this problem. This is why I thought of researching about this epidemic situation among Middle and High school students.
Recently, in the US, the statistical analysis of emotional disorder was done. There, the result showed that almost 80,000 children are suffering from academic depression. They have also pointed to the other major problems related to academic depression and how quickly they are increasing.
The major reason that they have jotted down is, these children are forced to become competitive to achieve the best. As we all know, too much of anything is never good! This constant push starts building pressure in a child’s mind, and if they fail to achieve the desired, then they start getting depressed.
Mostly, parents do this in the field of academic as their future and career are based on it. Their intentions are not wrong; theproblem is in the manner they do it.
Note: Maximum children who are under the spell of academic depression are aged between 9 to 16 years on an average. I have made a chart based on the retrieved data:
| Problems | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Percent (%) |
| Attention DeficitDisorder | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8.6 |
| Mood Disorder | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3.7 |
| Anxiety Disorder | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 1.7 |
| Panic Disorder | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0.4 |
| Severe Depression | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 2.7 |
| Lack of Confidence | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 3.2 |
| Social Disorder | Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 0.5 |
Now that we know about the graveness of this situation don’t get panicked. If you fell that even your child is going through the same, see the signs. If you are not sure what the symptoms are, let me tell you about them.
7 prominent signs that your child is suffering from academic depression
If you want to help your child, see and notice his or her behavior and the way it is changing. At adolescence, especially girls suffer from thehormonal change which is natural. But those are mostly just related to mood swings, so don’t get confused between these two. Here, I have given some major signs which should not be ignored:
- Constant irritability
They tend to lose their nerve for every small matter. More than that, they become very stubborn and arrogant too.
- Avoiding school, study and homework
‘Once who never wanted to miss a single school day now makes stupid excuses to avoid going to school,’ this thought has surely come to your mind if your child is avoiding academics. Make sure you do not ignore this sign.
- Ignoring their hobby or passion
Hobby or pastime is something children love. They develop many skills during this time. But when they choose sitting ideally without doing any work or play then it is time for you to start worrying.
- Not informing about exams and results
You will often notice that children will come with a heap of doubts and problems right before their exam. But once they start getting depressed with their academic, you never see them buzzing around you. Don’t take it to be a sign of relief, rather try and solve the problem they are facing.
- Deterioration in grades
This is a major side effect that all parents try to avoid, but with an aggressive and pushy attitude, this is exactly what they end up doing to their children. Bad grades might bother you, but to a child, it is a sign of failure. So if they are not able to do well, it is best to provide them with some expert or professional help.
You can choose to keep a private tutor or can also opt for online homework help services.
- Avoiding school friends
They do this because they want to stay away from anything remotely related to their school and academics. If you child is willing to stay aloof, it’s time you have ‘the talk.’
- Confused about career
All children at ayoung age are extremely enthusiastic about their career. But as they start growing up it starts reducing or changing. In case if they stop talking about their future and career, it’s time for you to check on the issue and solve their trouble.
If you are reading further, that means you have noticed these signs. But do not get morally down as this is a phase which you can help your child to overcome.
How to help children overcome academic depression?
Where there is aproblem, there will be asolution too! If you see your child suffering from academic pressure and getting depressed under the burden, with the following solutions, you can help them overcome it.
- Be a perfect role model
For children, parents are their real life super characters. All you need to do is regain the faith and make them believe that you will make everything all right. Try to be more close to your child and start being a good listener. If you think that you need to give a comment or pass judgment, do that in a subtle way to avoid getting them hurt.
- Try to lighten up the environment
Constant talking about how sad and depressed they look will not help in any way. Rather, trying to keep the surrounding cheerful is much more beneficial.
- Talk to the school faculty
If they know that you are interested in understanding their problem and talking about the same to teacher, it gives them a sense of relief that ‘you understand him or her.’ The other benefit is, you can get to know about all the other academic problems your child is facing at school. This way you can bring aid to them faster and in a more appropriate manner.
- Offer your help in studies
Make them realize that their problem is your problem. This way they will start gaining more interest in studies and will also gain the confidence to overcome those problems.
Along with that, give them the assurance that they can do better. If required you can also take online professional help and support for improved results.
- Make their study fun!
In thecaseof high school goes, it is abit more difficult to engage them in fun homework activity. Instead what you can do it encourage their passion and creativity or hobby.But if your child is still in middle school, make their study fun and interesting so that they don’t find it very stressful. This will give some brilliant ideas which will also help your child to do better in academics.
- Make them feel worthy
Once they start doing badly in their academics, it makes them lose self-confidence. It is you who can help them to gain back. Make them realize that no matter what they do in their career, you will never stop appreciating their effort. This is a very helpful method to get them back on their feet.
All these above tips should do the tricks. But if you see that these are not helping and the matter is much severe, it is best to contact a child therapist or take help from the school counselor.
It’s time you be the messiah in your child’s life and help them to get a better academic career. Make your child’s future bright!