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BY SHIRU BHANDARI
As per the data mental health problems affect about 1 in 10 children and young people. Anxiety depression and conduct disorder excreta are direct response to what is happening in their lives. However the 70% children and young people who experience a mental health problem have not had appropriate intervention at a sufficiently early age.
The emotional wellbeing of children is just as important as their physical health thus mental health allows children and young people to develop their resilience to cope with whatever life throws at them and grow into well rounded healthy adults.
Things that can help children and young people with mental wellbeinginclude:

  • Having freedom to choose cloth, color.
  • Having time and freedom to play indoors and outdoors.
  • Taking active part in local activities.
  • Respecting and accepting ownideas.
  • Having part of family that gets along well most of time.

Other important factors include:

  • Feeling loved, trusted, understood, valued and safe
  • Being interested in life and having opportunities to enjoy themselves
  • Being hopeful and optimistic
  • Being able to learn and having opportunities to succeed
  • Accepting who they are and recognizing what they are good at
  • Having sense of belonging in their family, school and community
  • Feeling they have some control over their own life

Having the strength to cope when something is happening wrong and the ability to solve the problems.
Children are growing up with mentally healthy but surveys suggest that more children and young people have problems with their mental health today then three decade ago. That is might be, because of changes in the way we live now and how that affects the experience of growing up.

Dealing with Changes

Mostly things that happen to children don’t lead to mental health problems on their own, but traumatic events can trigger problems for children and young people who are already vulnerable.
Changes often act as triggers: Moving home or school or the birth of a new brother or sister and separation of parents. For example, few children who start school feel excited about making new friends and doing new activities but there may also be some who feel anxious about entering in new environment.
Teenagers often experience emotional turmoil as their minds and bodies develop. An important part of growing up is working out and accepting who you are. Some young people find it hard to make this transition to adulthood and may experiment with alcohol, drugs or other substances that can affect mental health.

Risk Factors:

There are certain risk factors that make some children and young people more likely to experience problems then other children, but they don’t necessarily mean difficulties are bound to come up are even probable. Some of these factors include:

  • Having a long term physical illness
  • Having a parent who has had mental health problems, problems with alcohol and drugs or has been in trouble with the law
  • Experiencing the death of someone close to them
  • Having parents who separate or divorce
  • Having been severely bullied or physically or sexually abused
  • Living in poverty or being homeless
  • Experiencing discrimination, perhaps because of their capability ,race ,sexuality or religion
  • Acting as a care for a relative,taking on adult responsibility
  • Having long-standing educational difficulties

What mental health problems commonly occur in children and young people?

Depression: Children and young people often experience the helplessness, hopelessness and worthlessness in a stage of depression and there is ninety percent probability of self harm people who have been experiencing the depression along with it people may experience of eating disorder too.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) : It can cause young people to become extremely worried. Very young children starting or moving school may have separation anxiety.
Post traumatic stress disorder: It can follow physical or sexual abuse, witnessing something extremely frightening of traumatizing, being the victim of violence, severe bullying or surviving a disaster.
Children who are consistently overactive behave impulsively and have difficulty paying attention may have attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) may more boys than girls are affected, but the cause of ADHD aren’t fully understood.

What help is available?

Parental help: Children and young people who have been experiencing the problem related to mental health, parents should have to show their warmness, openness, understand and acceptance of their children’s difficult situation.
Professional help: professional help could provide by school counselor, Psychologist or the psychiatric doctor. In some cases other people who has close with the person with the problem could help.

(The writer is the psychosocial counselor at the Aabhaash Psychological Counseling and Holistic Healing Center, Anamnagar, Kathmandu.)