★ Opens with the gut-punch line “Mom, there’s a hole in my heart,” instantly forging emotional connection.
★ Explains why well-meant phrases like “snap out of it” can be lethal, guiding parents away from common missteps.
★ Real stories replace dry theory; at-a-glance “For Adults / For Kids” tables turn expert advice into daily dialogue and action lists.
★ Dual-audience healing: for anxious parents facing child depression now, and for adults who carried shadows unseen since childhood.
★ Written by a psychologist and mother of three, balancing clinical depth with lived warmth.

“Mom, there’s a hole in my heart.” When a child says this, it is not melodrama—it is a precise description of pain. Joy, strength and belief in tomorrow are leaking out of that hole. Locked doors, closed hearts, dimmed eyes—this is not “just adolescence,” it is a real, dangerous emotional void. Childhood depression is not willfulness, not a phase, and not the result of poor parenting; it is a serious mental-health condition that demands attention.

Free of scare tactics and hollow slogans, this book offers honest stories, candid answers to the hardest questions, and a steady hand in the dark. You will learn:
- How to distinguish ordinary teen blues from true depression.
- Why a loved child can still believe they are a burden.
- Which “helpful” consolations actually salt the wound.
- Words that help and words that harm.
- Why “cheer up” can be the final straw.
- What parents can do when life has lost all meaning for their child.
- How to prevent children from becoming “empty shells.”
- Ways to replace toxic patterns with warmer family dynamics.

Each chapter ends with a two-column table: “For Adults / For Kids,” turning complex ideas into doable steps. If you have watched the light leave your child’s eyes, if you feel them drifting beyond reach, this book gives direction, tools and courage. Written for parents who see the problem but don’t know how to speak or act, and for adults who sensed depression in childhood yet never found words for it. Read it, use it, and you will wrap your child’s heart in protective armor; laughter will return and shadows will slowly lift.

Alyona Shchokotova – psychologist, psychotherapist, specialist in child and adolescent mental health, mother of three boys and one unreliable dog. A certified Gestalt therapist and group facilitator, she has spent years working on parent-child relationships, couple dynamics and body-mind connections, studying the bodily SOS signals children send when depressed.