We often assume that when babies are born, they are naturally happy. After all, why would anyone think otherwise? Aren’t sadness and other negative emotions associated with circumstance and learned response? This may be why when anyone asks a parent what they’re hoping for, a boy or a girl, chances are you will hear, “as long as the baby is healthy, that’s all I care about.”
According to a new study published in the February 2017 edition of Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, signs of anxiety and depression may be detected in children as young as newborns. The study shows that when babies are born, they exhibit “patterns of brain connectivity” that can, in turn, be used as early predictors of whether or not a baby will eventually show early signs and symptoms of mental illness in childhood development by age of two.
I’ll be honest; reading this news as an expectant mother had me feeling immediately worried about the mental state of my unborn baby. Am I carrying a child that is naturally wired to eventually be depressed?
Dr. Cynthia Rogers, a child psychiatrist at Washington University in St. Louis and one of the study’s lead authors, told The Huffington Post that ” … for some children their brains are developing along a trajectory that increases their risk for mental health symptoms as they develop.” She then went on to say, to my great relief as a mother, “It’s important to note, however, that the experiences and environment that they are exposed to as they grow may alter these connectivity patterns making it more or less likely for these symptoms to develop.”
At a time when great strides are being made to break the stigma of mental illness, it is enormously important to understand the roots and causes of still misunderstood illnesses like anxiety and depression. According to the University of Michigan’s Depression Center, 2-4% of American workers suffer from depression, and up to 50% of workers with depression experience short-term disability. In the year 2000, that statistic translates to an economic loss of $52 billion in workplace productivity.
So what do signs of anxiety and depression actually look like in small children? The experts at KidsHealth.org point out that while kids can experience a wide range of anxiety-like symptoms in all kinds of situations, it is not until they interrupt a child’s day-to-day functioning like school, sleep, or eating that a parent should consider intervention. Symptoms to look for would include excessive worry that is out of range of what is normal for your child, trouble sleeping at night but exhaustion and sleeping during the day, fatigue, irritability, and difficulty concentrating.
If you think your child is struggling with anxiety or depression issues, you can contact your primary care physician to seek out advice, counseling, and information to help you make an informed plan of action.