Effects of Mental Disorders in Children

Soile Tuovinen^*
*Correspondence: Soile Tuovinen, Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland, Email:

Introduction

Reaching developmental and emotional milestones, as well as acquiring good social skills and how to manage when challenges arise, are all important aspects of mental health in childhood. Children who are mentally healthy have a higher quality of life and are better able to thrive at home, at school and in their communities. Mental illnesses in children are defined as significant changes in how children learn, behave, or handle their emotions, which create discomfort and make it difficult for them to get through the day. Many youngsters have anxieties and worries from time to time and they may act out in disruptive ways. A mental condition may be diagnosed if the symptoms are severe and persistent and they interfere with school, home, or play activities.

Description

Mental wellness is more than just the absence of mental illness. Children without a mental disorder may perform differently than children with a recognised mental problem and children with the same diagnosed mental disease may have different strengths and limitations in their development, coping and quality of life. Both understanding how well children are doing and identifying specific mental diseases are methods to comprehend mental health as a continuum.

The importance of mental health to overall health cannot be overstated. Mental illnesses are long-term health problems that generally don't go away completely. They can endure a lifetime. Children with mental illnesses might have difficulties at home, at school and in developing friendships if they are not diagnosed and treated early. Mental illnesses can also obstruct a child's healthy growth, resulting in issues that can persist into adulthood.

Because normal childhood development is a process that involves change, it might be difficult to comprehend mental health issues in children. Furthermore, the symptoms of a condition may vary depending on a child's age and youngsters may not be able to express how they feel or why they are acting in a particular manner. Other reasons may also deter parents from getting help for a kid who is suspected of having a mental condition. Parents may be anxious about the stigma around mental illness, the usage of drugs and the expense or logistical obstacles of treatment, for example [1-3].

A mental health condition can presently be identified in an estimated 20 million of our country's young people. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), one in every five children in the United States between the ages of three and seventeen has a mental, emotional, behavioural, or developmental disability. Many more are at danger of developing a condition as a result of risk factors in their biology or genetics, as well as risk factors in their families, schools and communities, as well as peer pressure. Mental health specialists are in high demand to give the best possible culturally appropriate care based on scientific data, clinical competence and the child's unique features. However, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, only around 20% of these children who require treatment receive proper assistance from mental health specialists.

Youth with mental health illnesses frequently provide challenges to parents and siblings as a result of their conduct and they are sometimes singled out and blamed for family misery and disturbance. Because parents and caregivers don't know how to help their children or themselves, family connections are frequently strained. The parent-child bond is strained, which might lead to marital strife. The difficulties may have an impact on the family's relationships with relatives and social network, isolating the family from potential sources of help. This pattern of poor family connections can sometimes lead to social isolation [4,5].

Conclusion

Some students with mental illnesses have a hard time excelling in school. It's seldom because they don't want to be successful. Instead, their disorders' behaviours, thoughts and emotions obstruct their ability to perform well. Even if the root of the difficulty may be connected to their mental health, these issues frequently result in disciplinary proceedings at school.

Acknowledgement

None.

Conflict of Interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

References

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