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Mental Illness in Children

About 20% of American children suffer from aor  understanding  their  symptoms.
diagnosable mental illness during a given
year, according to the U.S. Surgeon General.How  Is  Mental  Illness in Children Treated?
Further, nearly 5 million American children
and adolescents suffer from a serious mentalMental disorders are like many medical
illness (one that significantly interferesillnesses that require ongoing treatment.
with  their  day-to-day  life).Although much progress has been made in the
treatment of adults with mental disorders,
Which Mental Illnesses Are Most Common inthe treatment of children is not as well
Children?understood. Experts are still exploring which
treatments work best for which conditions in
Children can suffer from the following mentalchildren. For now, many of the treatment
illnesses:options used for children, including many
medications, are the same as what is used to
• Anxiety disorders: Children withtreat adults. The most common treatment
anxiety disorders respond to certain thingsoptions  used  include:
or situations with fear and dread, as well as
with physical signs of anxiety (nervousness),• Medication: Many mental illnesses can
such  as  a  rapid  heartbeat  and  sweating.be effectively treated with medications. The
medications often used to treat mental
• Disruptive behavior disorders:disorders in children include antipsychotics,
Children with these disorders tend to defyantidepressants and antianxiety drugs,
rules and often are disruptive in structuredstimulants  and  mood  stabilizing  drugs.
environments,  such  as  school.
• Psychotherapy: Psychotherapy (a type
• Pervasive development disorders:of counseling) addresses the emotional
Children with these disorders are confused inresponse to mental illness. It is a process
their thinking and generally have problemsin which trained mental health professionals
understanding  the  world  around  them.help people deal with their illness, often by
talking through strategies for understanding
• Eating disorders: Eating disordersand dealing with their symptoms, thoughts and
involve intense emotions and attitudes, asbehaviors. Types of psychotherapy often used
well as unusual behaviors, associated withwith children are supportive,
weight  and/or  food.cognitive-behavioral, interpersonal, group
and  family  therapy.
• Elimination disorders: These
disorders affect behavior related to the• Creative therapies: Certain
elimination of body wastes (feces and urine).therapies, such as art therapy or play
therapy, may be helpful, especially with
• Learning and communication disorders:young children who may have trouble
Children with these disorders have problemscommunicating  their  thoughts  and feelings.
storing and processing information, as well
as  relating  their  thoughts  and  ideas.What Is the Outlook for Children With Mental
Illness?
• Affective (mood) disorders: These
disorders involve persistent feelings ofWhen treated appropriately and early, many
sadness  and/or  rapidly  changing  moods.children can fully recover from their mental
illness or successfully control their
• Schizophrenia: This is a serioussymptoms. While some children become disabled
disorder that involves distorted perceptionsadults because of a chronic or severe
and  thoughts.disorder, many people who have a mental
illness are able to live full and productive
• Tic disorders: These disorders causelives.
a person to perform repeated, sudden,
involuntary and often meaningless movementsIt is very important to seek treatment for
and  sounds,  called  tics.your child if they are displaying any
symptoms of mental illness. Without
Some of these illnesses, such as anxietytreatment, many mental disorders can continue
disorders, eating disorders, mood disordersinto adulthood and lead to problems in all
and schizophrenia, can occur in adults asareas of the person's adult life. People with
well as children. Others, such as behavioruntreated mental disorders are at high risk
and development disorders, eliminationfor many problems, including alcohol or drug
disorders, and learning and communicationabuse, and violent or self-destructive
disorders, begin in childhood only, althoughbehavior,  even  suicide.
they can continue into adulthood. In rare
cases, tic disorders can develop in adults.What Research Is Being Done on Mental Illness
It is not unusual for a child to have morein  Children?
than  one  disorder.
To date, most research on mental illness has
What Are the Symptoms of Mental Illness incentered on mental disorders in adults.
Children?However, the mental health community has now
begun to focus on mental illness in children.
Symptoms vary depending on the type of mentalResearchers are looking at childhood
illness, but some of the general symptomsdevelopment in terms of what is normal and
include:abnormal, trying to understand how factors
affecting development can have an impact on
•  Abuse  of  drugs  and/or  alcoholmental health. The goal is to try to predict,
and ultimately, prevent, developmental
• Inability to cope with daily problemsproblems that could lead to mental illness. A
and  activitieskey part of this research is the
identification of risk factors -- factors
• Changes in sleeping and/or eatingthat increase a child's chances of developing
habitsa mental disorder. In addition, the mental
health community is calling for additional
• Excessive complaints of physicalresearch on medications used to treat
ailmentschildren  with  mental  disorders.
• Defying authority, skipping school,Can  Mental Illness in Children Be Prevented?
stealing  or  damaging  property
Most mental disorders are caused by a
•  Intense  fear  of  gaining  weightcombination of factors and cannot be
prevented. However, if symptoms are
• Long-lasting negative moods, oftenrecognized and treatment is started early,
accompanied by poor appetite and thoughts ofmany of the distressing and disabling effects
deathof a mental illness may be prevented or at
least  minimized.
•  Frequent  outbursts  of  anger
Mental  Health:
• Changes in school performance, such
as  poor  grades  despite  good  effortsMental  Illness  Basics
• Loss of interest in friends andMental illness is any disease or condition
activities  they  usually  enjoyaffecting the brain that influence the way a
person thinks, feels, behaves and/or relates
• Significant increase in time spentto others and to his or her surroundings.
aloneAlthough the symptoms of mental illness can
vary from mild to severe and are different
•  Excessive  worrying  or  anxietydepending on the type of mental illness, a
person with an untreated mental illness often
•  Hyperactivityis unable to cope with life's daily routines
and  demands.
•  Persistent  nightmares
What  Causes  Mental  Illness?
• Persistent disobedience or aggressive
behaviorAlthough the exact cause of most mental
illnesses is not known, it is becoming clear
•  Frequent  temper  tantrumsthrough research that many of these
conditions are caused by a combination of
• Hearing voices or seeing things thatgenetic, biological, psychological and
are  not  there  (hallucinations)environmental factors. One thing is for sure
-- mental illness is not the result of
What  Causes  Mental  Illness?personal weakness, a character defect or poor
upbringing, and recovery from a mental
The exact cause of most mental disorders isillness is not simply a matter of will and
not known, but research suggests that aself-discipline.
combination of factors, including heredity,
biology, psychological trauma and• Heredity (genetics): Many mental
environmental  stress,  may  be  involved.illnesses run in families, suggesting that
the illnesses may be passed on from parents
• Heredity (genetics): Mental illnessto children through genes. Genes contain
tends to run in families, which means theinstructions for the function of each cell in
likelihood to develop a mental disorder maythe body and are responsible for how we look,
be  passed on from parents to their children.act, think, etc. But, just because your
mother or father may have a mental illness
• Biology: Some mental disorders havedoesn't mean you will have one. Hereditary
been linked to special chemicals in the brainjust means that you are more likely to get
called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmittersthe condition than if you didn't have an
help nerve cells in the brain communicateaffected family member. Experts believe that
with each other. If these chemicals are outmany mental conditions are linked to problems
of balance or not working properly, messagesin multiple genes -- not just one, as with
may not make it through the brain correctly,many diseases -- which is why a person
leading to symptoms. In addition, defects ininherits a susceptibility to a mental
or injury to certain areas of the brain alsodisorder, but doesn't always develop the
have  been  linked  to some mental illnesses.condition. The disorder itself occurs from
the interaction of these genes and other
• Psychological trauma: Some mentalfactors -- such as psychological trauma and
illnesses may be triggered by psychologicalenvironmental stressors -- which can
trauma, such as severe emotional, physical orinfluence, or trigger, the illness in a
sexual abuse; an important early loss, suchperson who has inherited a susceptibility to
as  the  loss  of  a  parent;  and  neglect.it.
• Environmental stress: Stressful or• Biology: Some mental illnesses have
traumatic events can trigger a mental illnessbeen linked to an abnormal balance of special
in a person with a vulnerability to a mentalchemicals in the brain called
disorder.neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters help
nerve cells in the brain communicate with
How  Is Mental Illness in Children Diagnosed?each other. If these chemicals are out of
balance or are not working properly, messages
As with adults, mental illnesses in childrenmay not make it through the brain correctly,
are diagnosed based on signs and symptomsleading to symptoms of mental illness. In
that suggest a particular disorder. However,addition, defects in or injury to certain
this process can be especially challengingareas of the brain also have been linked to
with children. Many behaviors that are seensome  mental  conditions.
as symptoms of mental disorders, such as
shyness, anxiety (nervousness), strange• Psychological trauma: Some mental
eating habits and outbursts of temper, canillnesses may be triggered by psychological
occur as a normal part of a child'strauma suffered as a child, such as severe
development. Behaviors become symptoms whenemotional, physical or sexual abuse; a
they occur very often, last a long time,significant early loss, such as the loss of a
occur at an unusual age or cause significantparent;  and  neglect.
disruption to the child's and/or family's
ability  to  function.• Environmental stressors: Certain
stressors -- such as a death or divorce, a
If symptoms are present, the doctor willdysfunctional family life, changing jobs or
begin an evaluation by performing a completeschools and substance abuse -- can trigger a
medical history and physical examination.disorder in a person who may be at risk for
Although there are no laboratory tests todeveloping  a  mental  illness.
specifically diagnose mental disorders, the
doctor may use various tests, such as X-raysCan  Mental  Illness  Be  Prevented?
and blood tests, to rule out physical illness
or medication side effects as the cause ofUnfortunately, most mental illnesses are
the  symptoms.caused by a combination of factors and cannot
be  prevented.
If no physical illness is found, the child
may be referred to a child and adolescentHow  Common  Is  Mental  Illness?
psychiatrist or psychologist, mental health
professionals who are specially trained toMental illnesses are very common. In fact,
diagnose and treat mental illness in childrenthey are more common than cancer, diabetes or
and teens. Psychiatrists and psychologistsheart disease. According to the U.S. Surgeon
use specially designed interview andGeneral, an estimated 23% of American adults
assessment tools to evaluate a child for a(those ages 18 and older) -- about 44 million
mental disorder. The doctor bases his or herpeople -- and about 20% of American children
diagnosis on reports of the child's symptomssuffer from a mental disorder during a given
and his or her observation of the child'syear. Further, about 5 million Americans
attitude and behavior. The doctor often mustadults, and more than 5 million children and
rely on reports from the child's parents,adolescents suffer from a serious mental
teachers and other adults because childrencondition (one that significantly interferes
often have trouble explaining their problemswith functioning).



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