Pediatric Depression

I was speaking with my friend S yesterday about Bunny's new troubles. She asked if I had ever considered that Bunny may be suffering from seasonal depression. And you know what? I hadn't. It had never occurred to me that Bunny could be depressed.

S told me that she's dealt with seasonal depression for her entire life and that much of what Bunny is experiencing sounds very familiar.

I've noticed that Bunny is deeply sad and has tremendous anxiety, but she seems to be grasping for causes. She's doesn't quite understand why she's so sad... she just is. She'll try to blame it on various things, like her teacher shouting in class. But when her issue is resolved, she's still very sad and moves on to blame it on something else. Lately, she's been placing the blame on missing me too much during her school day. This just doesn't make sense to me because she's been going to school since she was two and a half years old. She's never had a problem.

I looked up pediatric depression and read a bit. When Bunny came home I asked her if she feels like she's sad in her heart but doesn't know why, but feels as though she can't change it. And she told me that she tries to feel better and tries to have a good attitude, but that she can't stop feeling sad and scared (which I read as anxiety.)

I'm taking her to our holistic doctor to talk about this. I know that she'll know what to do and won't be quick to medicate her. Maybe it's something as simple as a vitamin D or B-12 deficiency. Or, maybe it's nothing.