“My daughter usually doesn’t say a word at home. No matter what I ask her, she remains silent. She’s not happy doing anything or going anywhere, looking lifeless all day long. How should I communicate with her?”
Zhao Lin (pseudonym), now in her third year of junior high, was diagnosed with moderate depression a year ago when she was in her second year.
At the moment her daughter was diagnosed, Ms. Gao (pseudonym) felt like the sky was about to collapse. She had only heard about depression in negative news on her phone.
“How could such a terrible illness happen to my daughter?”
When Zhao Lin first started taking antidepressants, she reacted strongly to the side effects of the medication.
Nausea, vomiting, diarrhea; most importantly, after taking the antidepressants, Zhao Lin became extremely sleepy, often falling asleep during class, leading to a decline in her grades.
Ms. Gao was terrified; the medication was not only unhelpful for her daughter’s depression but also caused numerous other problems.
If this continued, her daughter would not only be physically unwell but also fail academically, so Ms. Gao decided to stop the medication.
After stopping the medication, Zhao Lin’s symptoms seemed to worsen.
Below is Ms. Gao’s account:
01
Daughter’s depression relapsed and took leave from school
I clearly stopped the medication for the sake of my child’s health and education, why does it seem like her depression is worse than before she started taking the pills?
After school, Linlin doesn’t even greet us, not even a smile; she slams the door shut as soon as she enters the house and doesn’t come out for dinner.
Several times, I knocked on her door and asked, “How was school today?”
Her attitude was extremely cold; she couldn’t even be bothered to look at me, her replies barely five words: either “fine” or “just okay.” When she didn’t want to talk, she simply put on her headphones and ignored me.
Eventually, Linlin’s emotions began to spiral out of control, often throwing tantrums while doing homework and wrecking the furniture in her room.
I remember one time I heard crying from her room, and when I rushed over and opened the door, I saw her stabbing her leg with a compass, crying as she did it:
“I really want to study, but I have no motivation at all. I can’t continue!”
Since then, my daughter has not gone back to school, and I had no choice but to arrange for her to take a leave of absence.
The child is unhappy with everything
Since she stopped going to school, even hearing her speak has become a luxury for us.
Most of the time, she doesn’t say a word; no matter what we ask her, she either nods or shakes her head, responding only with “uh-huh” or “oh.”
Moreover, my daughter often cries inexplicably, seeming listless all day, lacking interest in anything, not even wanting to eat.
Even though I try to cook various dishes for her every day, giving her all the meat,
