Helping Your Child with Their Mental Health
So, what is Mental Health?
Have you ever had that feeling of a black cloud hovering over you and engulfing every ounce of joy from you? Everybody has experienced something like this at one time or another. This is also true for children and young people.
Mental health is an individual’s cognitive, behavioural and emotional well-being (Mind, 2020). It’s something everyone has – including every child and young person.
It can be challenging for adults to recognise when a child needs support with their mental health issues. Sometimes this is because it can be challenging for a young person to speak out about the difficulties they’re facing, and they may even be very good at masking it from you, their friends and their teachers.
It can be triggered by many things, from exam pressure and relationships to changes in their lives. Mental health impacts everyone. We must take care of our mental health in the same manner we take care of our physical health.
How do I know what to look out for?
Symptoms
- Feeling sad or down.
- Confused thinking or reduced ability to concentrate.
- Excessive fears, worries or extreme feelings of guilt.
- Extreme mood changes, highs and lows
- Withdrawal from friends and family
- Lack of interest in activities
- Significant tiredness, low energy or problems sleeping
How do I help?
Anxiety can be managed through a series of different activities and methods. If we do not tackle these issues head-on, it can lead to many more problems later in life and impact your child’s future. Below are some methods you can try to help you manage your child’s anxiety…
