Why is my 11 year old sister depressed?
You sound like my mother when I was 10 years old: Andi! Why are you lying here crying when you have nothing to cry about? Theres no rhyme or reason to clinical depression. As a 10-year-old kid, I didnt have the experience or language to describe to my mother the emotional pain and profound sadness I was feeling. In my case, it eventually turned out I had childhood bipolar disorder. Im not diagnosing your sister only a professional mental health practitioner can do that. However, your sister presents red flags of depression that I also exhibited as a child. In addition to persistent crying, doing poorly in school, and struggling socially, I was 7 years-old when I announced to my mother I resented being born. My mom shrugged me off and said she wished she hadnt been born either. She ended our conversation saying basically the both of us had to just get on with it. I had my first suicide attempt around your sisters age. And I was 17 when was diagnosed with manic depression in 1983. Stop dismissing your sisters depression symptoms and get that poor child some mental health aid NOW. Please urge your parents to make an appointment with her pediatrician straight away. Depression at all ages is treatable. Dont let your sister continue to mentally suffer on her own.