The Ascendancy of Mental Health Among Children

“Good mental health improves the overall quality of life.” ~ World Health Organization

Coauthor: Aishwarya Sibey

One’s mental health affects how he/she thinks, feels, and behaves. Just like having a healthy body, it is important to take care of one’s mental health which leads have a healthy mind. In recent years with the efforts of various organizational initiatives across the globe, although the term “mental health” has definitely gained significant clarity and understanding, it is still far-fetched for a common man and his awareness of mental health. This has resulted not only in misconception and stigma but also prevented people to seek the required professional help at an appropriate time that is otherwise easily available.

Mental Health as defined by WHO includes “subjective well-being, perceived self-efficacy, autonomy, competence, inter-generational dependence, and self-actualization of one’s intellectual and emotional potential, among others.” “So mental health is not merely an absence of mental illness but accounts for holistic emotional and behavioural responses which help in realization of one’s abilities coping with normal stressors of life contributing productively to oneself and community as a whole.” Mental health is an over-arching umbrella concept that intrudes diverse age groups, genders, cultures, ethnicity, race, and even sexual orientations.

Children do suffer from mental health crises but most often its manifestation is vague or nebulous and not easily understood by caregivers. Also, certain situations like separation from loved ones including pets, change of place, and over-expectation from academics could simply trigger them. Cultural evolution with reference to technological advancement has developed a range of mental health crises. For instance, the coming up of social media has led to the development of low self-esteem and anxiety wherein constant perfection is seemed as projected by the media. Moreover, children learn by imitation as observed in media and the cause of aggressive behaviour in them could be attributed to it. Albert Bandura, one of the greatest Canadian-American psychologists living today rightly puts it in this way: “Fortunately, most human behaviour is learned observationally through modelling:  from observing others one forms an idea of how new behaviours are performed, and on later occasions, this coded information serves as a guide for action.”

Mental health problems are very common among children. Research around the world shows that about 70% of mental health problems begin during childhood or adolescence and 10-20% of children and adolescents have mental health problems. Common mental health illnesses include learning disabilities, mental retardation, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), substance abuse, anxiety, and eating disorders. The following list of thinking, feeling, and behaviour level can indicate children experiencing mental health problems and it calls for help.

Thinking indicators:

• Frequent and intense negative thoughts about self and others.
• Saying negative things about themselves and others most of the time.
• Excessive guilt feeling.
• Trouble focusing or staying focused for a while on a task.

Feeling indicators:

• Holding on to negative feelings such as sadness, anger, guilt, fear, worry, and pessimism about the future.
• Strong feelings of hopelessness, helplessness, and loneliness.

Behaviour indicators:

• Wanting to be alone or quieter than usual.
• Crying spells.
• Trouble getting along with others.
• Staying focused and relaxed.
• Problem with sleep.

In addition to these, children might complain of psychosomatic issues such as frequent headaches and other aches and pain in different parts of the body, feeling tired and exhausted most of the day, unhealthy habits such as nail-biting, thumb sucking or hair twisting, and gastrointestinal (GERD) issues.

Many of these children do not get help adequately at the right time. This prevents them from succeeding in academics, social relationships, and self-care, apart from preventing them from reaching developmental milestones. On the positive side, we can say that most mental health disorders are manageable, if not treatable. Getting help prevents problems from becoming debilitating and lessens their effects.

This calls for guidance from mental health professionals (to handle crisis) as well as social workers to help in creating a supportive environment by imparting proper awareness and education to children and their caregivers. The following practices can be encouraged by parents to promote mental health among children.

1. Persuade exercise daily: Children should have enough physical movements daily at least for 30 minutes. They can dance, stretch, walk or run. Exercise stimulates brain plasticity, and it creates new neural connections needed for learning and development.
2. Eat healthily: eat fresh, eat on time, eat in quantities: Healthy food affects our thinking, feeling, and behaviour since our body responds to what one eats and drinks. Less intake of caffeine and drinking lots of water are extremely good for health.
3. Persuade positive journaling: A journal dedicated to positive thoughts and events can do wonders in children’s lives if they are initiated. Positive journaling is therapeutic, and it has several cathartic benefits including cultivating gratitude and forgiveness and their expression for mental health in children. It can improve their memory and communication skills.
4. Sound sleep hygiene: Encourage children to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day. Regulate their screen time as it can limit their quality of sleep. Every child should sleep at least 8 hours a day. Sleep deprivation can result in anxiety, depression, and impulsiveness among children.
5. Be kind to all: Being kind to self and others is therapeutic in itself. Being kind results in the decreased stress hormone, cortisol, and increased body’s natural pain killers, endorphins and thus promoting mental health. Kindness can have a lifelong impact on a child’s life.
6. Share to increase: Sharing increases one’s resources. When children share their care, love, time, resources with their family, friends, and the needy, they become rich in mental health.
7. Talk to the child and help them integrate and associate: Listening to them carefully, by keeping an open line of communication which helps in building a better bond.
8. Be a safe place for your child: Let them know that you are always there for them by being responsive to the child’s requirements.
9. Encourage creativity: Every child is different, and we need to accept them as they are and encourage them in accomplishing their skills, looking towards what they truly enjoy to help them express themselves is important.
10.  Show your love through action: Loving them is not being over-protective but also giving them their own space. Giving them hugs, spending time with them, and listening to their issues seriously on an everyday basis not only is shown as an action but also releases oxytocin which gives a deep sense of emotional warmth, calmness and contentment.

Being proactive to keep your child’s mental health healthy is very necessary. Early interventions can be key to treating their mental health. You can make a change for the better and by creating a new path to connect with your child.

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