It is common for young people to experience episodes of feeling down as they go through childhood and adolescence. Typical mood issues that young people experience tend to be short term and can be managed with the understanding and support of their parent/carers. A young person may feel down because of a loss, adjusting to change, difficulties with peers or struggling with schoolwork. It is also possible to feel low without a clear reason. While everyone feels sad from time to time, having a persistent low mood for two weeks or longer may be a sign that some support is needed.
Low mood can impact how we feel, think and behave. The first emotion we may associate with low mood is sadness, but it can also make us feel less confident, empty and unmotivated. For children and young people, low mood can sometimes be miscued as anger or irritability, and you may notice that they are grumpy a lot of the time. Experiencing low mood can make us think in a negative way about ourselves, others, the world in general and the future. For example, we may be overly self-critical, think that people don’t like us, and that the “worst-case scenario” will happen. We’re also more susceptible to believing these negative thoughts are factual when feeling down. Low mood can drain our energy, meaning we feel more tired and unmotivated than normal. Sleep and appetite can also be impacted, i.e., sleeping or eating too much or too little. Having low mood impacts how we behave. As a result of feeling tired and unmotivated we may stop doing the things we normally do and isolate ourselves from others. For example, you may notice your child no longer wishes to spend time with friends and family, start to fall behind on schoolwork, or lose interest in the pastimes they would normally enjoy.
Lack of activity often goes hand in hand with low mood and sets off a vicious cycle. Once our normal life tasks and responsibilities have fallen to the wayside, we begin to experience a new set of problems. For example, if a young person is feeling too low to complete their schoolwork, they may soon feel overwhelmed at the thought of trying to catch up, causing significant stress and worsening mood. A young person may also not want to go out anymore and avoid hanging out with their friends, which in turn may cause loneliness and isolation. Furthermore, they may lose interest in their hobbies and drop out of clubs or other extra-curricular activities. These young people are missing out on the fulfilment and enjoyment of activities that can provide distraction from negative thoughts and help them feel happier.
Caregivers often have questions about how to best support a child who is experiencing low mood. To help answer these questions, the Primary Care Child and Family Psychology Service are running a free webinar titled “Supporting a Child or Young Person with Low Mood” on Thursday 20th February 2025 at 10am. To attend, contact 087-3451489 to register with the Primary Care Psychology team. Registration closes on 18th February at 11.00am.
This article was written by Colleen Burke, Trainee Clinical Psychologist, with the HSE Primary Care Child and Family Service, Limerick. This service is a member of Parenting Limerick, a network of parenting and family support services across Limerick city and county.
