Childhood Depression Warning Signs: 11+ Lessons from One Woman’s Lifetime of Depression—and How Early Awareness Can Change a Child’s Future

Depression doesn’t always begin in adulthood. Sometimes, it begins quietly, invisibly, in childhood—masked as sadness, fatigue, or simply being “different.” This article is a summary of a conversation from the Giving Voice to Depression podcast hosted by Terry McGuire, in which guest Sally shares her lived experience of depression beginning in childhood and spanning decades of her life.

Now nearly 70, Sally reflects on the warning signs she displayed as a child—signs that were misunderstood, dismissed, or simply not recognized in an era with far less awareness about mental health. Her story is not shared with blame, but with urgency and compassion. She wants today’s parents, teachers, mentors, and caregivers to recognize what was missed in her—and intervene sooner for children today.

Her story offers both a warning and a message of hope: depression is real, depression is treatable, and early recognition can change lives. Most importantly, her story reminds us that children rarely have the power to advocate for themselves. They depend on the adults around them to notice when something isn’t right and to guide them toward help.

Below are 11 powerful lessons drawn from Sally’s experience—lessons that can help adults better recognize and respond to childhood depression.

1. Depression Often Hides Behind Personality Traits

As a child and teenager, Sally believed she was simply different. She didn’t recognize her sadness as depression. Instead, she interpreted it as part of her personality.

Sally reflected on how she misunderstood her emotional experience:

My friends were happy people — and I slept. I slept as much as I possibly could through my teenage years and I thought that I just wasn't like them. I didn't realize that my constant fear, sadness, darkness of my teenage years might be something more than just puberty… I thought I just had an old soul and a dark mind, and that I was unusual.

Children do not have the perspective to recognize clinical depression. They assume their emotional state reflects who they are, not something they are experiencing.

This misunderstanding can lead children to internalize harmful beliefs such as:

• “This is just how I am.”
• “I’m different from everyone else.”
• “Something is wrong with me.”

Adults may unknowingly reinforce this by describing children as sensitive, withdrawn, or unusually serious. While these traits can be part of personality, persistent sadness and emotional heaviness deserve attention.

Recognizing the difference between personality and depression can open the door to life-changing support.

2. Excessive Sleeping May Signal Emotional Distress

Teenagers often sleep more than adults, but Sally’s sleep was not simply biological—it was emotional refuge. Sleep allowed her to temporarily escape the sadness and heaviness she carried.

When depression affects children and adolescents, sleep patterns often change dramatically. Sleep becomes less about rest and more about withdrawal.

Common warning signs include:

• Sleeping excessively
• Difficulty waking up
• Persistent fatigue
• Loss of interest in daily activities

To outsiders, this may look like laziness or lack of motivation. In reality, it may reflect emotional exhaustion.

When sleep becomes a primary coping mechanism, it signals emotional distress that deserves attention and care.

3. Loss Can Trigger Childhood Depression Symptoms

One of the most painful turning points in Sally’s childhood was the death of her grandmother—the person who made her feel safe, loved, and understood.

Sally described the emotional devastation that followed:

That occurred with the death of my grandmother, who was my savior, my protector, the one who hugged me the most and told me that I was all those things that little girls want to hear. I didn't know she was dying somehow, and I just fell apart. And then after that, I had to deal with parents who were… uneducated about how to help a child grieve, and there was nowhere to go with those feelings.

Grief can destabilize a child’s emotional world. Without guidance, children may not understand their feelings or know how to process loss.

Instead, they may internalize their pain, leading to:

• Withdrawal
• Emotional numbness
• Persistent sadness
• Isolation

Emotional support during grief is not optional—it is essential for healthy development.

4. Creative Expression Reveals Hidden Emotional Pain

As a teenager, Sally expressed her emotional pain through poetry. While her peers wrote about joy and relationships, her writing reflected darkness and emotional suffering.

Sally shared the thoughts she experienced:

I certainly thought about suicide when I was a child. Not so much in the how would I kill myself, but more in the why am I here? Who made me live like this?

Creative expression often reveals emotions children cannot verbalize directly. Writing, drawing, and music may serve as emotional outlets.

Adults should pay attention when creative expression consistently reflects:

• Hopelessness
• Loneliness
• Worthlessness
• Emotional despair

These signals are not simply artistic—they are communication.

Listening carefully can help adults recognize emotional pain early.

5. Depression Symptoms Can Appear Very Early

One of Sally’s most revealing discoveries came decades later, when she found a letter she wrote at age 10 while attending summer camp.

Sally read the letter aloud:

Dear Grandma, I'm having a nice time, but I wish I were with you. It's so lonely. Right now I'm alone. The rest are out getting leaves for a scrapbook. I feel like crying because I miss you so much… I better close before I break down and cry.

This letter revealed emotional suffering that had gone unnoticed.

Children often appear functional while feeling deeply alone. They may participate in activities while feeling emotionally disconnected.

Depression can begin much earlier than adults realize.

Recognizing early emotional signals can change a child’s future.

6. Adult Silence Reinforces Childhood Emotional Isolation

When Sally’s teacher expressed concern, her parents did not discuss it with her. No one asked how she felt.

Sally remembered the absence of emotional inquiry:

They did not tell me that the teacher had called or they didn't ask me any questions. Like, How are you? I don't remember that at all.

Silence communicates powerful messages to children. It can make them feel invisible, unsupported, and alone.

Children rarely initiate conversations about emotional pain. They rely on adults to notice and ask.

Simple questions such as “How are you feeling?” or “Is everything okay?” can open the door to healing.

7. Early Intervention Could Change Life Outcomes

Sally believes early intervention could have dramatically improved her life trajectory.

Sally emphasized the opportunity adults have today:

I think that we can be so much more aware and we can access so much more help and assistance as parents, as mentors, as teachers. There's so much help for children like I was.

Today’s children have access to resources that were unavailable decades ago, including:

• Mental health professionals
• School counselors
• Educational resources
• Online support communities

Early intervention can prevent years of unnecessary suffering.

8. Depression Treatment Can Restore Emotional Connection

When Sally began effective treatment, she experienced emotional clarity and joy in a way she never had before.

Sally described the moment vividly:

I woke up one day and the sun was brighter and I felt happy, kind of the happiness that you feel on a birthday… and it was just another dumb day in February, and I felt great, and I did not know what that was.

This experience illustrates a critical truth: depression is treatable.

Treatment does not change who someone is—it allows them to experience life fully.

Effective treatment can restore hope, energy, and emotional connection.

9. Success Does Not Prevent Depression Persistence

Despite building a successful career, depression remained part of Sally’s life.

Sally acknowledged this reality:

I have wonderful things in my life. I've got a puppy. All of the wonderful things and yet it's still that pit you fall into.

Depression is not caused by lack of success, strength, or effort.

It is a medical condition that requires understanding and treatment.

Success does not eliminate depression—but treatment can help manage it.

10. Depression Feels Heavy, Cold, and Inescapable

Sally described depression using a vivid metaphor.

Sally explained what depression feels like to her:

The feeling for me is all of a sudden I find I'm wearing that coat and it has gotten rain-soaked and cold and I can barely stand up from it… It's annihilation, somehow, that I can't recover from this. It's too awful, it's too big, it's too heavy, it's too cold.

This description illustrates depression’s profound weight.

Understanding this experience helps replace judgment with compassion.

Depression is not weakness—it is suffering.

11. Awareness Can Protect Future Generations’ Mental Health

Sally emphasized the importance of awareness and education.

Sally explained:

By ending this stigma, by educating everybody about what this is, we can get to the point where children who have depression, no matter what age, are identified and are directed toward the help they need.

Education empowers adults to recognize warning signs early.

Awareness creates opportunity for intervention, healing, and prevention.

12. Key Takeaways for Parents, Teachers, Caregivers

Sally’s story offers important lessons for anyone involved in a child’s life.

Key takeaways include:

Recognize emotional warning signs early

• Persistent sadness deserves attention
• Emotional withdrawal is not normal development

Listen carefully to children’s emotional signals

• Creative expression may reflect emotional pain
• Behavioral changes may signal distress

Normalize mental health support

• Therapy is healthcare—not weakness
• Early intervention improves outcomes

Take emotional pain seriously

• Children rely on adults for guidance
• Compassionate intervention saves lives

13. Compassionate Intervention Could Change Life Trajectory

Sally’s story is not one of blame. It is one of clarity gained over time. Looking back, she understands that what she needed most was a qualified, compassionate adult who recognized her suffering and guided her toward help.

Sally reflected on the impact early intervention could have had:

Any help that I would have been given… would have changed the direction of my life.

Children do not have the experience, authority, or resources to seek help independently. They depend on adults to recognize warning signs and act.

Compassionate intervention means:

• Taking emotional concerns seriously
• Connecting children with qualified professionals
• Providing emotional validation and support
• Ensuring children understand they are not alone

Early intervention does not just relieve suffering—it changes life trajectories.

Sally’s story reminds us that compassionate, qualified intervention is not simply helpful. It is transformative.