My kid has the blues?

My son is 9. He's a sweet, sensitive kid who sometimes can be hard on himself. For example, once in kindergarten, he forgot his lunch box at school, and said in an anguished tone, "I feel like such a fool!" Last week, his teacher had a migraine and had to leave; he worried that his class had caused it by being too loud.Anyway, every fall, he seems to have a slump where he gets moody and a little bit depressed. Not all the time, but enough that I notice his negativity. A couple of years ago, it was noticeable enough that I contacted a psychiatrist friend of mine. But before I did anything about it, it resolved, and he was his usual self.Today he was at his martial arts class, and his instructor was a bit stern with him about practicing his forms. My son started to cry. After the class, his instructor pulled me aside and said, "I remember that in past years he's had some kind of seasonal thing where he gets moody. I want to be gentle with him if he's having a rough time, but i want to push him a bit if he's just slacking." It hit me that if his instructor is seeing this pattern, maybe there's really something going on.Can a kid get seasonal affective disorder in the fall? He still has moments where he is happy and enjoys what he's doing. But he's also more whiny and prone to tears.I am paranoid because we have a strong history of depression on both sides of the family. I believe he'll get past this "slump," but I also wonder if it's possible or desirable to seek out therapy as a prophylactic measure.Do you have any thoughts? via /r/Parenting http://ift.tt/2exv3lv