Depression is diagnosed by a medical professional. To make the diagnosis, they will speak to the child, family members and other adults in the child’s life.
To be diagnosed with major depressive disorder, a child must be depressed most of the time for at least two weeks. They will also have several of the symptoms listed above. Their symptoms must be very different from their normal personality.
To be diagnosed with persistent depressive disorder, a child must be depressed or annoyed most of the time for at least one year. They must also have at least two of these symptoms getting in the way of their daily life:
- Eating too little or too much
- Lacking energy or seeming lazy
- Trouble sleeping
- Trouble concentrating
- Trouble making decisions
- Low self-esteem
In persistent depressive disorder, the symptoms may be more severe at times. They might also get better sometimes, but they do not go away for more than two months at a time. Sometimes, they may be severe enough to be diagnosed as major depressive disorder. When this happens, the diagnosis will be persistent depressive disorder “with intermittent major depressive episodes.” If the major depressive disorder symptoms regularly continue for more than one year, the diagnosis will change to persistent depressive disorder “with persistent major depressive episodes.”
A clinician will also see if the child’s symptoms could have a different cause, such as substance abuse, another psychiatric disorder, or a medical cause like diabetes or hypothyroidism.