Symptoms of adolescent depression that affect school learning

Many children and adolescents who have depression are also in an academic stage and have two open fronts: improving their emotional health and also not declining in academic grades that could harm their future. Symptoms of depression can directly interfere with learning and end-of-year academic results.

This can lead a child or adolescent with depression to enter a destructive spiral since poor school performance can cause them to have greater feelings of failure, greater stress and anxiety, which will worsen the depression they are having.

It is important to understand how depression can affect learning and school performance, because only by knowing this can we also find ways to help modify the school approach and at the same time, also improve emotional health. To understand it better, you need to understand what the symptoms of depression are when you are in the school year.

Although each child and adolescent is a different world, and it will depend on their personality and the personal circumstances that have some symptoms or others, there are some symptoms that are more generalized in terms of how they affect learning and school performance. They are red flags that could tell you that your child has depression if you had not yet realized or thought that his behavior was caused by factors other than depression .

SYMPTOMS OF DEPRESSION THAT AFFECT LEARNING

These symptoms of depression in children and adolescents directly affect their learning and school performance. Do not lose detail of which are the most important to take into account.

• • Loss of interest or motivation. Your child may stop worrying about their school work or even relationships with their peers. It is difficult to see the value of doing a job because of something that your child cannot see or feel that he benefits from doing it.

• • You have anxiety. Your child may be suddenly afraid to attend or participate in school. It is also difficult to learn when you feel anxious and emotionally upset. Students with anxiety often worry about their fear and cannot focus on lessons or school work.

• • Feelings of hopelessness Your child may not see the point of being involved in school if they think they have little chance of success . Depression can distort the perception of reality, leading a capable child to believe that he or she cannot be successful at a task.

• • Difficult to focus. Your child may not be able to focus on his school lessons or complete his schoolwork.

• • You feel constant fatigue. Constantly feeling tired can make it difficult for your child to wake up well in the morning or stay awake for all classes. Sleeping a lot can also interfere with energy. If you have little energy you may want to use it for less complicated activities.

• • Changes in appetite Having constant different energy levels leads to constant inattention and school performance.  Children and teens with depression may not feel like eating, which can help reduce energy and decrease attention in school. It can also happen that they eat much more than necessary and then feel bad for having done it and also on a physical level.

• Pains in the body that have no explanation. It is difficult for a child or adolescent who is in pain or why. You can focus a lot on that pain or discomfort.

Even if your child only experiences some of the symptoms that we have explained here, it is necessary that you go to a specialist because it will affect him academically, but much more emotionally. A professional can give you some tips and strategies for your child to improve his emotional health and academic grades in parallel.