What Children’s Mental Health Looks Like and How to Achieve It

How can you tell the difference between behavior that is expected and potential indicators of a children’s mental health condition developing? While there is no simple test to discover whether or not a mental illness or if particular thoughts and actions are typical behaviors of a person, or rather the result of a physical illness.

Understanding children’s mental health can be very complex. While each individual will display particularities of a mental health condition in their own manner, there are common signs of mental illness.

The degree of children’s mental health and that of adults and adolescents is revealed by different indicators according to the development stage. We will familiarize ourselves with the signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents before looking at children’s mental health.

Signs of mental illness in adults and adolescents

In younger individuals between ages 10-19 and adults, there are several common warning signs of mental illness, and these include:

• Difficulty understanding or relating to others.
• Trouble concentrating and learning, or experiencing confused thinking.
• Extremely low emotions.
• Heightened and constant worry or fear.
• Extreme mood swings such as euphoria and sadness.
• Feeling tired and low energy despite oversleeping.
• Difficulty falling or staying asleep.
• Changes in eating habits and weight as you either eat more from increased hunger or much less from loss of appetite.
• Making excuses not to see friends or attend social events.
• Abuse of intoxicating substances such as alcohol or drugs.
• Inability to notice any changes in the way you feel or behave.
• Seemingly unrelated aches and pains throughout your body.
• Thoughts about death or an increased interest in dying.
• Inability to effectively perform routine activities or handle everyday problems.

Children’s mental health

Unfortunately, mental health conditions may also be identified in young children, and as children as still learning how to identify and discuss thoughts and emotions, experts look at their behavior for symptoms of children’s mental health. These may contain the following:

• Numerous nightmares.
• Regular incidents of disobedience or aggression.
• Noticeable changes in school performance.
• Common temper tantrums.
• Severe levels of worry or anxiety that lead to fighting to avoid bed or school.
• Overly energetic and restless behavior.

It is perfectly normal for children to feel a full range of emotions, including fear and worry and also fear and hopelessness. During times of development, such as the toddler years, little children can become very distressed if separated from their parents, even if the environment is fun, safe, and meets their needs.

Fears and worries are fairly typical of children, but when looking out for children’s mental health note the occurrence of ongoing or severe fear and sadness as these may be linked to anxiety or depression.

It is well known that anxiety and depression affect many children in the United States. Two pre-pandemic studies of individuals 3-17 years between 2016 and 2019 found that 9.4 percent had been diagnosed with anxiety while 4.4 percent had been diagnosed with depression.

The trend that was noticed earlier has continued to climb. In 2003, 2007 and 2012 studies investigating the prevalence of anxiety or depression in people aged 6-17 years found an increase from 5.4 percent, 8 percent, and 8.4 percent, respectively.

How anxiety becomes an established pattern

There are two main reasons that a child may become diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. Firstly, by not progressing to the point where they outgrow the fears and worries typical of young children, and secondly when they have so many fears and worries that these interfere with the normal activities of growing up such as play activities, home, or school.

Different forms of anxiety disorders in children include:

• Separation anxiety is when children are very scared and timid when separated from their parents.
• Having a phobia and being terrified about particular objects or circumstances such as a dog, a bee, or visiting the dentist.
• Expressing fear of school or other places where people gather.
• General anxiety can be expressed by worrying incessantly that bad things may happen in the future.

Physical manifestations that accompany sudden repeated incidents of surprisingly intense fear that lead to shortness of breath, a rapid heartbeat, feeling light-headed, experiencing muscle tremors, and sweating.

While anxiety is communicated through body language and words of fear and worry, children often express it through irritability and anger. Troubled sleep and bodily aches and pains can also be experienced by children such as fatigue, headache, or a tummy ache. Of course, children do not always share their concerns and if they keep their worries to themselves, then the symptoms may not be noticed.

Symptoms of depression in children

Every child will be sad and weep at some point in their young life, however, it is important to watch out for sad feelings or disinterest around things that were previously a source of fun for them. Linked to this may be expressions by the child that they feel hopeless or helpless and if this feeling persists they may be diagnosed with depression.

Children’s mental health battles with depression can be seen in these behaviors:

• Changes in sleeping and eating patterns – either more or less than normal.
• Simply not wanting to join in fun tasks and activities.
• Feeling irritated, sad, and hopeless a significant portion of the time.
• Having fluctuating energy, so either being sluggish or restless and tense most of the time.
• Finding it very difficult to focus and listen to instructions.
• Showing signs of self-injury and other self-destructive behavior.

Suicide is something not often spoken about, but it is a significant risk in those 10-24 years old, and if this is something that at all concerns you then certainly ask a counselor about youth suicide prevention.

While some children may not be open about their depressive thoughts and feelings and may not even appear sad, look out for instances when they get into trouble or act in an unmotivated fashion. This may lead to the child being labeled as a troublemaker or lazy, which does further harm to their self-image.

Treating children’s mental health

It is recommended that you approach your child’s primary healthcare provider to discuss your concerns and have your child evaluated. A medical professional is trained and experienced to look for symptoms of anxiety and depression that may be exacerbated by trauma or other conditions.

A therapy plan that is suited for the child and the family can be drawn up by a mental health professional who will also discuss different types of behavioral therapy available, such as child therapy and family therapy. In circumstances where the children are young, the involvement of the parents in the treatment is fundamental.

A healthy body helps build a healthy mind

Healthy diet and habits are important for every child and more so for those struggling with depression or anxiety. Here are some ideas for how to change the trajectory of the child you are concerned about:

• Including a wide range of foods in a healthy eating plan. These will be nuts, seeds, lean protein, beans, peas and lentils, whole grains, vegetables, and fruit.
• Age-appropriate daily physical activity.
• Ensuring the child gets the age-appropriate amount of sleep each night.
• Mindfulness and relaxation techniques have been used very successfully in young and older children.

Christian counseling for children’s mental health

If you’re looking for additional help for children’s mental health beyond this article, please browse our online counselor directory or contact our office to schedule an appointment. We would be honored to walk with you and your loved one toward a place of healing and hope.