7/31/2023-|Last update: 7/31/202311:32 AM (Mecca time)
Recent studies have confirmed that it is normal for children – as adults – to suffer from emotional and mood swings that are reflected in behavior.
These negative feelings may develop over time and later become a sign of a child’s depression, and his senses and desires begin to conflict with social activities, interests, school work, or even family life.
And the American “Cleveland Clinic” Medical Center focused – in a study on its website – on alerting parents that depression may affect children from the age of 3 years, even if the incidence of depression among children is not comparable in rates to the number of cases among adolescents and adults.
This study stated that depression and anxiety are among the most common mental health disorders in children.
She indicated that about 7% of those between the ages of 3 and 17 in the United States suffer from anxiety, while about 3% of them experience symptoms of depression.
The mother should be fully aware of her child’s personality (Shutterstock)
Sickness of the Century
And mental health specialist Manal Mahmoud confirmed – to Al-Jazeera Net – that depression has become a “disease of the age” even among children and infants of all ages.
She revealed that there are cases of infants between one and two years old who show symptoms that reflect the onset of depression, and usually result from not meeting their needs properly or changing their daily routine in a way that reduces their sense of security.
However, – on the other hand – the same specialist preferred not to call what affects children under three years of depression.
She told Al-Jazeera Net by phone, “As a psychologist and behavioral changer, I cannot absolutely describe depression as a child under 3 years of age. Rather, it is a severe disorder in the child’s mood that may rob him of his happiness.”
She added, “It is natural for a child to have mood swings between joy and sadness, but when he reaches the stage of depression, this means that there is a major and painful event that has occurred in his life, such as the death of a parent, the death of his pet, or his moving from one country to another and the separation of his friends who are emotionally attached to them, or his moving from one school to another without rehabilitating him psychologically.”
Parents should be more concerned about the feelings and needs of their children (Shutterstock)
boot policy
In this regard, the mental health specialist called on parents to be more attentive to the feelings and needs of their children, and to adopt a “preparation approach” for any decisions or radical changes that occur in the family, so that the children feel that they are part of the decision.
In the case of infant mood swings, the specialist stressed the need for parents to devote time to play with the infant, focus on its development and emotional communication, in addition to introducing it to the outside world and not leaving it to phone and television screens and distraction games.
She pointed out that some children and infants work on self-harm through their games or deliberate hysterical crying as tools “to alert their parents that there is something that needs their intervention or attention, and to express their volatile mood.”
Do not let your child feel that he is the reason for your argument (Pixels)
Symptoms and methods of treatment
Through her specialization in treating mood swings in children and some of them going through depression, the mental health specialist monitored a number of symptoms that she asked parents to notice and track in the event of any mood changes in their children.
She told Al-Jazeera Net that symptoms of depression in children begin with isolation from the outside world and the social environment, as well as unwillingness to engage in any sporting activity, and crying continuously for no apparent reason.
She also indicated that some children suffer from sporadic pain in the body, whether in the abdomen or the body, as well as vomiting, and sometimes diarrhea or constipation in an exaggerated manner, and when examining the child, all medical results are sound.
Accordingly, the mental health specialist urged parents to respond quickly to such changes and their impact on the child’s personality, and to talk with the child to find out the reasons without blaming and ignoring his feelings.
She also said, “The mother must be fully aware of her child’s personality and whether there are emergency circumstances that made him suffer from some of the aforementioned symptoms, or is her child basically moody.”
And the mental health specialist confirmed that many therapeutic methods have proven successful in helping children get out of their depression, thanks to their nature being “practical personalities” and it is possible – through behavior modification systems, discovery of skills and art therapy – to get the child out of his depression quickly.
She explained that in the most difficult cases of depression, the family environment and the parents’ focus on aspects that the child needs has a positive effect on his mental health and mood without resorting to any drugs.
2023-07-31 08:29:56
#age #child #immune #depression #prominent #symptoms #Mirror
