Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD) and depression usually go hand in hand. Others would like to think that depression is a direct result of the backlash of ADD, as when a child with ADD usually fails in school, the failure leads to depression and the child withdrawing from the academic world. Then again, sometimes depression is not diagnosed and the condition is thought to be the side effects of the medication provided an ADD patient, like when the child is actually depressed already. However, parents would still like to believe that the silence or withdrawal is just the side effect of either stimulants or relaxants.
As studies conducted by the American Institute for Mental Health reveal, roughly a third or 30% of ADHD patients are afflicted with some form or level of depression. This creates a dilemma in the treatment, as support is sometimes directed only towards the symptoms of ADD without attacking the depression. Usually the assumption is that: if one of the two is treated, the other is automatically treated, or plainly, treat depression and you treat the attention deficit disorder and vise-versa.
The sad truth is, according to a study by the Pediatric Pharmacology Department of Massachusets General Hospital, that both conditions, i.e. the ADD and the depression, should be treated separately as they are indeed, separate conditions. As symptoms of each are diagnosed, they must be addressed independent of the treatment of the other. What is crucial is to be able to identify the symptoms of each condition, the ADD and depression, as early as possible so treatment may be introduced promptly. Again, the quandary is, even if the conditions are diagnosed, which condition should be dealt with first? Or can they be treated simultaneously?
A compromise is suggested wherein individuals diagnosed for ADD are then asked to be checked up thoroughly by mental health professionals to see if there are other underlying symptoms of depression. If so, the doctor together with the ADD childs family can devise a treatment regiment that will address both conditions. ADD and depression are distinct medical conditions requiring careful care and treatment after correct diagnosis.
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