How Does Your Depression Affect Your Child?

Tracy Thompson begins her thoughtful book The Ghost in the House with two brilliant sentences: “Motherhood and depression are two countries with a long common border. The terrain is chilly and inhospitable, and when mothers speak of it at all, it is usually in guarded terms, or in euphemisms.” If depression happened in a vacuum, it would be so much easier. But it doesn’t. It happens in the context of a family, raising kids, being responsible for other human beings even as you can’t take care of yourself. My Worst Fear for My Children “Even when it is relatively mild, depression may cause subtle shifts in the interactions between mother and child, and a mother’s depression may negatively affect her child’s development and well-being,” explains Ruta Nonacs, MD, PhD, in A Deeper Shade of Blue. This is my worst fear for my kids — that my tears, anxiety, apathy, and sadness will destroy them and will cause them to have psychiatric conditions down the road. In the midst of an uncontrollable crying session, I hear Jackie Onassis’s words: “If you bungle raising your children, I don’t think whatever else you do well matters very much.” The other day, my son, daughter, and I were in Michaels, the craft store picking up some face paint for spirit week at school. “Can I have some gum, Mom?” my son asked me. We’re in the candy aisle. “Sure,” I said, putting aside my efforts to de-sugar him. “Do you want anything?” I asked my daughter. “Yes,...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Bipolar Books Brain and Behavior Depression Parenting Personal Source Type: blogs