Family separation: A leading cause of Depression

Introduction

Largely due to high rising figures of people battling with depression today, which has given momentum to various campaigns calling for swift decision making in staging a front against the rising number of people battling depression across the globe, few nations have shown sincerity in tackling depression through decision implementation, a transverse case is seen in many countries that have shown no commitment in tackling the rise in depressive cases.
Creating Care centers for those battling with depression still remains a far cry in most countries with little or no study being carried out to properly ascertain ways of treating depression, with a trend as this and no plan at hand for major cases, an increased number to that extent would be a catastrophe.
Already there are established suicidal cases linked to depression with a record of 800,000 deaths per annum and a total population of 300million people across different age suffering depression.
The WHO had since last year embarked on a one-year global campaign against depression with a goal seeking to have people battling depression seek out help.
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Depression and its causes

Depression is a mental health disorder characterized by an increased depressed mood, decreased energy, feelings of guilt or low
self-worth, disturbed sleep, loss of appetite, lack of concentration, pleasure, and interest.
While on the other hand, the causes of depression are difficult to point out as are there are numerous but to mention a few, the following are causes of depression:

1. substance abuse
2. genetic vulnerability
3. severe life stressors
4. and medical conditions
5. Stress

There are also a number of social problems that lead to depression and some are;

1. Marital issues
2. Economic Crises
3. Family Separation etc.

According to World Health Organisations prediction, by 2030 more people will be affected by depression than any other health problem.
Which points us to the area that this post seeks to addressing.
Certainly there is a great extent to which depression can greatly reduce in worldwide when family separation is curbed when there are absence of any abused on the child.
In Family separation all parties suffer (the child and the parents) when they were no prior cases of abuse suffered by the child but in all cases the child remains the major sufferer.

Depression suffered by children as a result of family separation

The separation of a family is a traumatic experience for all family members but is most challenging for the younger children as they are the most vulnerable in all case There are also many problems with childhood depression becoming a life-long problem that early detection and treatment can be a lifesaver.
Depression suffered by children as a result of separation goes far as affecting the performance of children at school and other social formations the child find him or herself in.

According to Benz (2004)
"Traumatization through Separation" with a case scenario of the depressed ordeal that was suffered by Jews, particularly the young during the holocaust which had more to do with the;

1. Age and time of separation
2. How they were separated from their parents
3. Where and with whom they stayed with after the separation?
4. The duration of the separation
5. Plans for reunification if any at all
6. Whether or not the reunion with their parents with and their children severed any bond that existed at the time of the separation.

The attachment theory holds that relationships between a child and parent is fostered and nurtured during the child’s formative years, where a separation at this stage becomes a depressing experience for the child leaving them with depressed emotion for the rest of their lives and this is manifested through irregularities in the eating pattern, behavior, attention-seeking behaviours and mood swings.
In a study carried out in 2009, eight percent of children had reported incidents of depression and in recent times the figures have since increased over the last decade many of which included those suffering from depression as a result of family separation.

No doubts Child protection services in various countries have gone overboard in carrying out their duties particularly in cases where a substantive abuse isn't present. Like a case cited in an article titled
"Has child protective service gone too far?"

On the 29th of July 2013, a Latina mother in Illinois named Natasha Felix sent her three sons, ages 11, 9, and 5, out to play with a visiting cousin,in a fenced park right next to her building. The oldest was charged with keeping an eye on his siblings, while Felix watch from a window. While they were outside, a local preschool teacher showed up at the park with her class. She saw the 9-year-old climb a tree. Felix’s youngest son fought with his cousin over a scooter and, at one point, ran with it into the street. Based on this, the teacher called the child-abuse hotline, and Felix received a visit from the Department of Children and Family Services.
According to legal filings in the case, the investigator, Nancy Rodriguez, found that Felix’s kids “were clothed appropriately, appeared clean [and] well groomed,” and that Felix “appeared to be a good mother.” Felix’s oldest son seemed like a “mature young boy” who “certainly could be allowed to go outside by himself to the park next door.”
However, when Rodriguez asked Felix if the boys had any special needs, Felix replied that the 11-year-old and the 9-year-old had been diagnosed with ADHD. On the advice of their doctor, they were off their medications for the summer. Rodriguez later wrote that “based on the mother not knowing that the kids were running into the street with the scooter and also based on the children having ADHD,” she recommended that Felix be cited for “Inadequate Supervision” under the Illinois Abused and Neglected Child Reporting Act. As a result, Felix was placed on the state’s child-abuse registry, which led to her losing her job as a home healthcare aide and ended her dreams of becoming a licensed practical nurse.

Separations on unjustifiable grounds as this would easily trigger a Massive depressive episode on both parent and children.
To the Child protection Agency, it is more or less like there just has to be a separation without a well thought out case of the effects of depression on both parent and child or children as the case maybe.

The way forward and Family Protection

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Knowing the problem is one step in the right direction but finding solutions to the problem is a lifesaver.
Based on an examination of a large population seen to be going through phases of depression, the case of family separation being a major contributor has come to be one on a fast-rising scale, not only an individual is seen to be the sufferer in this case as in other cases of depression, the entire family is thrown into the problem.
The World Health Organisation in its awareness campaign against depression must strive to creating an awareness for family protection and advocate for a reduction in separation lacking substantive abuse that puts both the health of the child and the parent in jeopardy.

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