Depressive disorders affect adults as well as children. If you have persistent sadness or depressed mood that just does not seem to go away and it is interfering with your functioning then you may be suffering from depressive episode. In children/adolescents depression may present as irritability, poor performance in school, acting out behavior and problem with peers along with other symptoms of depression. A child psychiatrist can recognize and treat depression in children. Various medications and psychotherapy are available to treat depression and put your life back on track.

Various anxiety disorders like Generalized anxiety disorder,Panic disorder, Socal phobia and OCD can affect adults and children with some disorders like separation anxiety disorder affect children only . Anxiety disorders significantly disrupt the functioning of individuals and people live in fears and worries that seems overwhelming at times. Anxiety disorders are commonly associated with other mental health disorders. Psychotherapy and pharmacotherapy can be used to treat these disorders.

Onset of bipolar disorder is usually in adolescence but it is more commonly being recognized in children. In a recent study about half of the adult patients with bipolar disorder reported onset of symptoms in childhood and is misdiagnosed in many patients leading to inadequate care for years. In bipolar disorder patients experience highs and lows in their mood. It is a chronic disorder which usually needs long term treatment. For support groups and more information visit www.dbsalliance.org.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is a neurodevelopment disorder that affect about 6 to 10 percent of school age children. It can be of inattentive type or of combined type in which patients have inattention and hyperactive/impulsive behavior. It can affect educational achievement and social relationships which can cause frustration in children. Symptoms of ADHD continue to affect about half of adults who had ADHD as children. It is never too late to get assessment and treatment for ADHD. In adults with ADHD there is increased incidence of occupational, interpersonal and legal problems due to inattention and impulsive behavior. There is increased feeling of restlessness and difficulty with organization and executive function which can impair planning and completion of tasks, which can further cause frustration, irritability, depression and anxiety. There is increased incidence of depression, anxiety disorders, learning disorders and substance use disorders in patients with ADHD. For more information visit www.chadd.org.

Prevalence of autistic disorders is being more recognized recently and intense research is going on to better understand disorder and its causes and efforts are ongoing to improve life of people suffering from these disorders. There are three core categories of difficulties in this disorder: Social interaction difficulties, speech and language delay and abnormal symbolic or imaginary play. The difficulties in these disorders vary from mild to severe and so there is a spectrum of illness from higher functioning individuals to very low functioning individuals. Behavior difficulties are commonly recognized in autistic disorders which may range from mild disruptive behaviors to severe aggressive or self injurious behaviors. Behavior interventions using Applied behavior analysis techniques are highly successful to improve these behaviors. Medications are also used sometimes in addition to behavior interventions to improve these tantrums.

Many children are referred for disruptive behavior disorders like oppositional defiant disorder and conduct disorder which are usually co-morbid with other disorders like ADHD, Anxiety or mood disorders . Careful assessment needs to be done to identify these disorders and family is involved in treatment process.