Mental Illness in Children: How to Tell If Your Child Needs Professional Help

Go into any classroom, and you are sure to find at least a handful of kids that have been diagnosed (not necessarily by a qualified professional) with ADD or ADHD. You will also probably find a child who suffers from depression, anxiety, or another disorder. Children everywhere are being labeled as having these illnesses, while many children that do need help are overlooked. In this article I will discuss 3 of the most common mental disorders found in children.

Depression

Once thought of as an adolescent or adult condition, more and more children are coming up being clinically depressed. In fact, up to 3 percent of children and 8 percent of adolescents are afflicted with this disorder (www.childhooddisorders.com). Depression in children is presented in slightly different ways than in adults, which may be one reason it is often overlooked.

Children suffering from depression may: pretend to be sick, want to stay home from school, cling to a parent, misbehave in school, experience a loss in appetite, or have changes in sleep patterns (www.mentalhealth.com). These are only some of the more common symptoms, and as is true with any of these disorders, a child may exhibit some or all of these symptoms, but this does not warrant a diagnosis by the parent.

If you are concerned that your child may be suffering from mental illness, seek medical or psychological help as soon as possible.

Treatment for depression may include psychotherapy, individual counseling, family counseling, or possibly medication, such as an anti-depressant. Many of these medications are not approved for children under 12, however. Only your doctor can make this determination.

ADD/ADHD

The most publicized mental disorder in children is ADD/ADHD, Attention Deficit (Hyperactivity) Disorder. This condition is over diagnosed in the United States. Conversely, many children who do suffer from this disorder go ignored because they do not fit the "typical" ADD mold. ADD is said to affect 3-5% of American children (www.childhooddisorders.com).

Symptoms for ADD include: developmentally inappropriate levels of attention (inattentiveness), distractability, and impulsiveness (www.childhooddisorders.com). Children with ADHD have the component of hyperactivity. To warrant a diagnosis of ADD/ADHD, the child must exhibit these problems in at least two areas in life (school, home, church, etc.).

Treatment usually involves medication. Medications commonly used are stimulants such as Ritalin, Adderall, and others. Straterra is marketed as being one of the only non-stimulant medication for ADD/ADHD. Behavioral modification at home and school are important. Psychotherapy is very helpful, although many children do not receive it.

Eating Disorders

Eating disorders are affecting children at earlier and earlier ages. Children as young as 5 years old have been reported to exhibit symptoms of an eating disorder. There are 2 major classifications of eating disorders. Anorexia Nervosa and Bulimia Nervosa. Patients who do not meet all the criteria for either of these two disorders may be diagnosed with Eating Disorder NOS (Not Otherwise Specified). Recently, another disorder has been recognized: Binge Eating Disorder.

Anorexia is often misunderstood as just "not eating." This is usually not true, and oversimplifies a complication illness.
Symptoms include:

• Resistance to maintaining body weight at or above a minimally normal weight for age and height
• Intense fear of gaining weight or becoming fat, even though underweight
• Disturbance in the way in which one's body weight or shape is experienced, undue influence of body weight or shape on self-evaluation, or denial of the seriousness of the current low body weight
• Infrequent or absent menstrual periods (in females who have reached puberty)

(www.mentalhealth.com).

Bulimia is the other major eating disorder affecting children and young adults today. This usually involves binging on food, and then "purging" it in some way to rid themselves of the unwanted food. Patients with bulimia are often of normal weight and appear to eat normally in public, so this disorder often goes undiagnosed for years before brought to medical attention.
Symptoms include:

• Recurrent episodes of binge eating, characterized by eating an excessive amount of food within a discrete period of time and by a sense of lack of control over eating during the episode
• Recurrent inappropriate compensatory behavior in order to prevent weight gain, such as self-induced vomiting or misuse of laxatives, diuretics, enemas, or other medications (purging); fasting; or excessive exercise
• The binge eating and inappropriate compensatory behaviors both occur, on average, at least twice a week for 3 months
• Self-evaluation is unduly influenced by body shape and weight

(www.mentalhealth.com).

If a person does not fall into either of these two categories, the may suffer from Binge Eating Disorder, or Eating Disorder NOS.

Treatment for eating disorders vary. For more severe cases, hospitalization is sometimes required. If patient is compliant with treatment and is making progress, therapy can be performed on an outpatient basis. There is no proven-to-be-effective medication for anorexia, although some sauces has been found in bulimia patients with antidepressants (in conjunction with therapy, of course).

All eating disorders are potentially very serious and can be fatal. If you suspect your child or teenager is suffering from an eating disorder, seek help as soon as possible.

These are only three of many disorders afflicting children and teens today. I purposely left autism out, as it is more accurately classified as a developmental disorder. There is information on this condition on www.mentalhealth.com or www.autism.org. along with hundreds of other sites. Anxiety, bipolar, and other disorders are also present in some children. The three disorders that I talked about, though, are the most wide-spread and misunderstood in today's society. If your child or any another young person you know exhibits some or all of these symptoms I described, this does not necessarily mean that the child suffers from the disorder. Only a psychologist, mental health counselor, psychiatrist, or other trained professional can truly diagnose someone with a mental disorder or illness. This article is only meant as a guide and starting place in your search for mental health. I hope that I have helped to explain and clarify these disorders.