How to Help Kids With Sadness or Depression

Do you ever feel sad? Everyone feels sad sometimes, and it’s completely normal. Nobody likes being sad, but there are things we can do to help us feel better that we’re going to learn in this video.

How do you know you’re sad

But first, how do we even know we’re sad?

Sometimes it shows up in our bodies. We might feel slow or tired and not have much energy. Or our body can feel heavy and we might want to lie down or stay in bed more than usual.

We might feel a lump in our throat and find it hard to swallow or get a sad feeling in our stomach. We might even feel like crying, which is okay. Crying can help us feel better. Does your body ever feel this way when you’re sad?

Sadness can also show up in how we act. We might stop doing the things we usually like. Spend more time alone, eat junk food, and watch more TV, or not feel like doing anything at all.

We can even feel grumpy and get mad more easily.

Do you ever act like this when you’re sad?

And sadness can show up in our thoughts. We might think, “I don’t want to do anything. Nothing feels fun anymore. Nobody wants to play with me. I’m not good at anything.” Do you ever have thoughts like this when you’re sad?

There’s a worksheet on my website where you can fill in how you feel in your body, what you do, and what you think when you’re sad. You can pause the video and do it now or after you finish watching.

Why we get sad

There are lots of reasons we can be sad. Sometimes it’s because of something that happened. Maybe something didn’t go our way, like our ball game got cancelled, or we didn’t get something we wanted, like our friend couldn’t stay over, or we got left out by our friends, or we lost something we care about.

And that kind of sadness often doesn’t last that long. We might feel better that day or tomorrow.

Other times, we can feel sad for a long time and might not even know why or how to make it stop.

What helps us feel less sad

So, when you’re feeling sad, here are some things that can help.

Often, we don’t want to do anything, and even small things can feel hard, like getting out of bed and getting dressed, having something to eat, or even playing a game.

But usually, doing anything at all helps us feel less sad, even when we don’t feel like doing it. If we don’t know what to do, we can pick something we usually enjoy or that used to be fun like drawing, playing a game, listening to music, or going outside and getting some exercise.

Or we can do something that helps us feel proud, like helping someone, finishing a small chore, doing some crafts.

And you can use the worksheet to write down what helps you.

And it’s also good to spend time with other people like family and friends. Playing, talking, or just being around them can help us feel better.

And spending time with pets can make us feel less alone and less sad.

Usually, once we start doing things, we feel a little better.

If we’re just a little sad, we might not even need to do that much.

But if we’re very sad or have been sad for a long time, it’s important to do things like this every day so we don’t keep feeling more sad and can start feeling better.

And it can help to talk to someone we trust about how we’re feeling, like a parent, teacher, or friend. Even if it feels hard or we’re not sure what to say, telling someone else how we feel can make us feel better. And sometimes the person we talk to can help us figure out what to do next.

So, next time you’re sad, remember that doing things and spending time with other people, even if you don’t feel like it, can help you feel better. And talking about how you feel can help, too.