Know the Mental Well-being of Your Child

Early detection and treatment of mental disorders in children is essential. When a mental disorder occurs, it becomes a part of the nature of your child if timely intervention is not done. This makes recovery more complicated. But knowing when your child has a serious problem isn't always easy. Everyday pressures can trigger changes in the actions of your child!

Mental health is a significant component of the general health of children, has a dynamic interactive link with their physical health and their ability to excel in education, at work and in society. On the inside and outside, both physical and mental well-being influence how we think, feel and act. 

Causes of Mental Illness
The exact cause of most mental disorders is not clear although evidence indicates that a variety of factors could be involved, including genes, biology, psychological trauma, and environmental stress.

• Heredity (genetics): Mental illness appears to be prevalent in families, which suggests that parents will pass on the risk of having a mental condition to their children.
• Biology: Special chemicals in the brain called neurotransmitters have been linked to some mental disorders. Neurotransmitters assist the brain's nerve cells to interact with each other. If these chemicals are out of control or do not act properly, signals cannot correctly flow through the brain, leading to symptoms. In addition, certain psychiatric disorders have also been related to abnormalities in or damage to certain parts of the brain.
• Psychological trauma: Some mental disorders, such as psychological trauma, may be caused by:

1. Extreme psychological, physical, or sexual violence
2. A major early loss, like the loss of a parent,
3. Neglect — both physical and mental

• Environmental stress: In an individual with a susceptibility to a mental condition, stressful or traumatic experiences may cause a mental illness.

Symptoms of Mental Illness in Children
Depending on the type of mental disorder, children's symptoms differ, but some of the common symptoms include:

• Changes in school performance despite good efforts, such as low grades.
• Inability to deal with everyday concerns and operations.
• Changes in patterns of sleeping and/or feeding.
• Excessive physical complaints about illnesses
• Defying strength, skipping school, cheating, or damaging properties
• Intensive fear of weight gain
• Long-lasting depressive moods, frequently preceded by weak appetite and thoughts of death.
• Frequent outbursts of anger
• Loss of interest in friends and hobbies commonly enjoyed by them
• Considerable rise in time spent alone
• Excessive concern or depression
• Hyperactivity
• Persistent dreams or terrors of night
• Persistent disobedience or actions of violence
• Regular tantrums of temper
• Hearing sounds or seeing images (hallucinations) that are not there 

Mental disorders that are most common in Children 

The following mental disorders can cause children to suffer:

• Anxiety disorders: Children with anxiety disorders respond with fear and dread, as well as physical signs of anxiety (nervousness), such as a quick pulse and sweating, to certain objects or circumstances.
• Disruptive behavior disorders: In structured settings, such as school, children with these disorders appear to resist rules and are also disruptive.
• Eating disorders: Intense feelings and actions, as well as irregular habits associated with weight and/or food, are implicated in eating disorders.
• Elimination disorders: Such factors influence actions linked to the removal of body waste (feces and urine).
• Affective (mood) disorders: These conditions include recurrent feelings of distress and/or rapidly shifting moods, including depression.
• Schizophrenia: This is a severe illness involving beliefs and feelings that are skewed.
• Tic disorders: These conditions cause frequent, abrupt, involuntary and sometimes meaningless movements and sounds, called tics, to be performed by a human.
• ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder): Children with this condition are hyperactive and have difficulty regulating and paying attention to their impulses. The most frequently diagnosed psychiatric illness in children is ADHD.

Tips for Parents

• Create a sense of belonging - For children's positive adaptation, self-identification, and sense of confidence in others and themselves, feeling connected and accepted is important. To foster mental health, it is important to create good, supportive relationships between students, school staff, and parents.
• Develop competencies - Children need to realize that, through their acts, they can resolve obstacles and achieve goals. The achievement of academic performance and the growth of individual strengths and interests allows children to feel capable and more likely to cope positively with stress. Also important is social competency. It can boost mental health to have friends and keep connected with friends and loved one.
• Ensure a positive, safe school environment - Feeling safe is important for the academic and mental health of students. Encourage positive attitudes such as respect, transparency, and kindness. Prevent negative conduct, such as abuse and bullying. Provide rules of behavior and equal discipline that are readily understood and maintain an adult presence in common areas, such as hallways, cafeterias, locker rooms, and playgrounds. Teach kids to stand up to a bully together, empower them to reach out to distressed or excluded peers, celebrate acts of kindness, and improve the availability of support for adults.
• Teach and reinforce positive behaviors and decision making - Provide clear goals and motivation. Good mental well-being is helped by teaching children social skills, problem solving, and dispute resolution. "Catch" them to succeed. Strong reinforcement validates actions or successes appreciated by others and strengthens them.
• Encourage good physical health - Good physical health supports good mental health. Healthy eating habits, regular exercise and adequate sleep protect kids against the stress of tough situations. Bad emotions such as anxiety, frustration, and depression are often minimized by daily exercise.
• Provide a continuum of mental health services - For children and young adults, school mental health programmers are part of a continuum of mental health care. Create partnerships with services for collective mental well-being. Be able to provide parents with names and numbers.
• Establish a crisis response team - To safeguard the physical and mental well-being of students, being ready to respond to a crisis is necessary. School crisis teams should include appropriate teachers, security staff and experts in the field of mental health who partner with community resources. The team offers mental health prevention, intervention, and post-convention services in addition to protection.

Prevention is the best cure for mental disorders in children and if they do develop it, it is better to diagnose at an early age to avoid its continuation in adult life. Healthy children are the harbingers of a healthy nation and they need nurturing with utmost care.

Written by: 

Komal Gupta

Intern, Brain Behaviour Research Foundation of India
Mental Health Counselor, Dietician & Yoga Coach
Founder, Nirogya