Self-harm in young people and family conflicts increase
A study from the University of Calgary, in Canada, detects a increase in depression and anxiety among young people worldwide, doubling the number of cases with these problems with respect to the pre-pandemic indices.
This trend, according to Top Doctors experts, is exacerbated even more in Spain, where restrictions applied during confinement were especially severe for children and adolescents compared to other countries.
The factors that have triggered this increase in child and adolescent psychiatric emergencies range from change of schedules and routine, loss of physical activity and social relationships, overexposure to screens and social networks, living with illness and death of loved ones.
“The stress suffered by parents has a direct impact on their children. The loss of employment, economic and work problems, and even in the couple suffered by many of them as a result of the pandemic, have caused anxiety to surface among young people. We cannot fail to point out the increase in violence against minors, mistreatment and abuse within the family in this period. And this is a problem because almost half of mental disorders in adulthood develop before the age of 18 ”, Mrs. Olga Albaladejo Juárez, specialist in Psychologist, Psycho-oncologist and member of Top Doctors.
Psychiatric emergencies for children due to eating disorders and obsessive-compulsive disorders related to fear of illness and death have also seen a significant increase since March 2020. All these disorders, added to anxiety and depression, have led to a increased visits for self-harm, and recurrent thoughts of suicide.
“The less they verbalize and express their feelings, the more likely it is that, by accumulation, they will become ‘time bombs’ that implode. Self-injury produces an unreal and momentary relief of their anguish, since dopamine production increases, but it becomes a risky behavior that must be addressed and tried to suppress ”, explains Mrs. Luisa Fernanda Yágüez Ariza, specialist in Psychology Clinic and member of Top Doctors.
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