Moodiness or disorder?

My ten-year-old daughter is approaching puberty (breasts getting rounder and areola/nipples developed but no hair yet), and she has been very sensitive the last few months.  It seems like every little thing, whether good or bad, is blown out of proportion with lots of tears or bouncing-off-the-walls joy.  I don't really know what's normal for a growing young girl, so I can't tell if this is "hormones" or what.  When I spoke with my mother, she says she doesn't remember my sister or I being so sensitive, and that she's concerned.  There is a significant family history of both unipolar and bipolar depression (mother, maternal grandmother, maternal aunt, maternal grandfather, maternal great-grandmother, paternal grandmother, paternal great-grandmother), and I don't know if or when to have her see a psychologist or psychiatrist for a mental evaluation.  What can you recommend?

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

Dear Pam D,

As children approach and enter puberty, reactive behavior of the type you describe is not at all unusual. Generally, this behavior occurs mostly with parents and other family members.

How is your daughter doing outside the immediate family? Is she succeeding in school? What do her teachers say? Does she have friends? Have there been any changes in her friendships? In general, does she seem like a happy child, in spite of the reactive behavior you are witnessing at home?

The family history is a significant risk factor in relation to the possibility of her developing a mood disorder, and adolescence is a time when such disorders often become evident.

However, given the relatively recent timeframe of the change, and if her outside-of-the-home status seems untroubled, it's probably too soon to be worried about a mood disorder.