Depression in childhood

Depression in childhood (my story)

I was drinking and smoking by the age of 7 and fell in with what mum would later describe as “the wrong crowd”. My secondary school years weren’t any better. I was put in the remedial class, and mum and dad were informed that I had Dyslexia.

I skipped school a lot, mainly because I didn’t like being constantly reminded that I was a failure!

It’s clear now!

How I personally developed depressive behaviours makes sense to me now! I had formed several destructive self-beliefs that controlled my mind and my emotions. For example, I believed that I was “a stupid boy who would never amount to anything”.

Looking back over my life I can clearly see how these negative self-beliefs have influenced my behaviour and my ability to achieve.

Take back control 

So I thought I’d bare my soul and share my own experiences in an attempt to describe a technique to overcome depressive behaviours that has consistently worked for me.

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The early years

I didn’t know it then, but I realise now that I developed depression in childhood. My mum and dad moved a lot, meaning I was frequently the new boy at school. The need to make new friends seemed to be a regular thing for me, but I didn’t fit in because I was behind on my studies and considered to be a bit of a dummy.

The worry is…

Today, depression in childhood is much more widespread. Currently, much of the finger-pointing is toward social media, but I’m sure there are other factors involved too. For example, there seems to be a negative label for everything, meaning many more children than ever before are likely to form beliefs that there is something wrong with them compared to others.

Until children are taught how to change their own minds, many will carry these destructive beliefs with them into adulthood.

Mind-blowing

Depression seems to infect me without warning. What I really mean is, I’m not expecting it. Everything seems fine, then suddenly a little setback causes a wave of self-doubt to overcome me. I start asking myself if I’m ever going to make it, will anything I do be good enough. Even my previous achievements become questionable. I seem only able to remind myself about my failures.

Losing control!

Of course, I haven’t lost complete control (yet) because I can still hear the voice of encouragement within me. I try hard to hang on to this voice and fight off my destructive thoughts, but my voice of hope seems very distant and not at all convincing!

During these moments I feel heavy, sluggish, and demotivated. My energy levels are low, and I’m emotionally despondent.

The voice of self-deprecation is the KING now. It will rule me until I take back control!

Fighting back!

Nobody taught me, but I somehow “knew” that I had to stop listening to, stop reinforcing, and stop believing my own negative self-talk. I had to change my state-of-mind. Otherwise, I was doomed!

So, without any formal education, I taught myself to overcome depressive self-talk by consistently thinking helpful opposing thoughts. My recovery was always close behind.

In other words, I changed my mind and thought myself better!

Anyone can do it!

Here’s the thing, if this technique can work for me, with practice it can work for everyone!

Free Child Self-Esteem Check

CHECK YOUR CHILD FOR DEPRESSION & ANXIETY – through your own eyes!

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