Mental illness in Children

Although an acute awareness has started emerging after years and decades of negligence in discussing mental health and mental illness as one of the prime subjects in today’sworld, mental illness in children still seems to belong to a narrow lane behind a shadow which most people are completely unaware of.

Over 40% children from this generation face developmental disorders including anxiety disorder, depression along with other mood disorders, schizophrenia, eating disorders so on and so forth. Since it is very normal for children to have a fickle mindset due to which the common symptoms of these disorders are generally ignored by their teachers, parents and other elders.
The best possible way to detect whether a child is suffering from any of these disorders or not is to get them to talk. A psychotherapist who has sufficient knowledge in child psychology may be appointed to get in touch with the child and proceed with the process which may or may not include medication.

However, ignoring these symptoms in children may lead to life fracturing impacts in their characteristics which will eventually refrain them from having a normal and sound personal and professional life. Therefore, mental health in children should be discussed as a prime subject and should never be neglected or ignored by the elders for the children to have a successful professional and personal life in their future.
There have been many instances where mild to severe symptoms have been neglected which has caused alcoholism and depression in future. A recent study shows depression takes place at a rate about 4-5% in children and upto 20% during adolescence and most of them need to be clinically diagnosed with proper medication, otherwise, it leaves life and scars in an emotional and psychological sphere.

Autism spectrum disorder is another illness that can cause lifelong impact on children if not diagnosed in a proper way since the beginning. Kids with autism require special care and treatment in order to lead a normal life further.

Various studies show 1 out of 10 children from our generation tends to suffer from mental disorder that in most cases goes unnoticed. These children tend to be nervous most of the time due to their lack of ‘normalcy’ that they are very much aware of. Bullying in high school and its contemporary institutions makes it worse for many. They suffer in silence which affects their mental health in a huge way.
Ignorance towards these things can lead to long term as well as short term consequences which include but are not limited to changes in sleeping and eating habits, abuse of drug and alchohol, gaining/losing weight, hypertension and depression.
Although many people tend to consider medication to be the only treatment available today but in many cases mere psychotherapy sessions work magically. A few excercises are supposedly recommended to those suffering that works really well and medicines are recommended only in crucial conditions.

Henceforth, even mild symptoms should never be ignored by the elders for it may leave life long physical and mental scars that would make their lives highly threatening.

– Suvasree Bandyopadhyay.