Posts Tagged ‘ADHD’

Common Mental Health Problems in Children

Saturday, February 26th, 2011

By Christina Taylor

Physical health problems like fever are easily recognizable. But when it comes to mental health problems, parents usually could not easily identify the problem but they can learn to recognize the symptoms. Thus, parents need to pay more attention if their children are showing signs of excessive anger, fear, sadness or anxiety.

A common mental health problem that children can experience is depression. It is a serious medical illness that involves the brain. It is not just a feeling of being sad. But people who have depression will have it all their lives. It is persistent and it can interfere with everyday life. So how can parents know if their child has depression? Signs of depression are sadness, loss of interest or pleasure in activities the child used to enjoy, change in weight, difficulty sleeping or oversleeping, energy loss, feelings of worthlessness, and worst, thoughts of death or suicide.

Parents with depression should also be more observant of their children’s feelings. Because depression can run in the family and this can usually start between the ages of 15 and 30. This is also more common in women.

Another mental health problem is fear and anxiety. Children may feel anxious before a test or to walk down a dark street. But this is a useful form of anxiety. This can make your children become more alert or careful. This also does not last long and will often end as soon as they are out of the situation that causes anxiety. But there are also anxieties that do not go away and gets worse over time. Children with anxiety have chest pains or nightmares. They may even be afraid to leave home. There are different types of anxiety disorder: panic disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, phobias and generalized anxiety disorder.

A third common mental health problem is behavior disorders. It is natural that kids misbehave sometimes, but this kind of disorder is more than just doing mischief and rebellion. Kids with behavior disorder will have a pattern of hostile, aggressive or disruptive behaviors for more than 6 months. Signs that parents should pay attention to are harming or threatening themselves, or other people or pets; damaging or destroying property; lying or stealing; not doing well in school, skipping school; early smoking, drinking or drug use; early sexual activity; frequent tantrums or arguments; and consistent hostility towards authority figures.

Another problem is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD. Signs of ADHD are inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. This behavior can last more than six months and causes problems at school, at home and in social situations. This is also more common in boys than in girls.

These behaviors can have a great effect to the lives of children and the people around them. These behaviors can disrupt daily life at home, at school or in the community. Parents who have children with signs of mental health problem should get them checked by a professional to stop the problem from getting worse.

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How ADHD Can Affects Mental Health of Children Younger Then 7?

Monday, February 1st, 2010

Signs and symptoms of ADHD

Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity are the key symptoms of ADHD. Get easily distracted Hyperactivity involves moving around, jumping, and climbing when others are seated.

The child cannot sit still and behaves at par than others. A doctor may adopt various medications in various doses to see the benefits of it on the child and his responsiveness to it. Children with ADHD carry a thin version of brain tissue from their genes in the areas associated with brain attention Environmental factors such as smoking and alcohol during pregnancy have a potential link with ADHD A small percentage of children with brain injury show signs of ADHD

What other illness can exist with ADHD?

Parents being the main support for the child require good education and knowledge of the treatment along with the doctor to help child come out of this mental health problem. Children have difficulty in focusing and forget things fast. Children with this kind of mental disorder have impaired functioning in home, schools, and relationship with their peer groups.

Difficulty in organizing and following instructions Have difficulty processing information and get easily bored. However certain environmental factors, nutrition and brain injury cannot be disregarded. Every child has different temperaments and personalities. ADHD can also coexist with bedwetting, substance abuse, sleep disorder, and other mental health disorders.

Behavioral therapy attempts to change behavior patterns of the child helping him to focus, organize, react positively to his goals, and receive awards for the same. ADHD is a mental health disorder that needs supervision and support.

How can ADHD be treated?

Children with ADHD can have other illness like: Learning disability mental health disorders like depression and Bipolar disorder Conduct disorder where a child can lie, or resort to stealing Oppositional defiant disorder where a child is over rebellious and refuses to obey orders of an adult.

Specialists and mental health professionals achieve in treating the child by developing an individualized long-term plan where the goal is to help the child control his behavior and the families to create an atmosphere where this is possible.

Many children with ADHD are able to control their behavioral structures when they get individual attention and are allowed to enjoy in playful activities. This mental illness is diagnosed between the age of 3 to 6 by a mental health specialist or a pediatrician.

The disorder can have long-term adverse effects in adolescence and adulthood if not treated on time. Many studies state that like many other mental health disorders genes are a vital cause for ADHD. Teachers, doctors, family and therapists all play a vital role in the child’s treatment and you being a stronger advocate to your child should take advantage of all the support available and help the child navigate towards success.

ADHD cannot not be compared or related with other disorders. It is a neurobehavioral disorder, which affects the mental health of the children globally before seven years of age. Mental Health – Individualized Attention can prevent ADHD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD is the most common psychiatric disorder diagnosed in children.

A specialist focuses on the child’s behavior patterns, the environment he is used to, his family history, and his performance in school as well as in other outdoor and indoor activities. ADHD can be effectively managed but cannot be cured.

Children with this kind of mental health disorder can only be diagnosed if the symptoms persist for more than six months or to a greater degree. Behavioral therapy and medication is considered very effective in treating ADHD but requires close monitoring by the specialist as well as the family. It is very normal for children to possess these behavioral patterns but those with ADHD, these mental health behaviors are severe and occur very frequently.

Children are constantly in motion Talk non-stop and have difficulty in doing quite activities Cannot sit at a dinner table and jump around Impulsivity involves: Reacting quickly without thinking Blurting out inappropriate comments Being impatient Interrupting conversations very often

How can ADHD be diagnosed?

Inattention exists due to the following: The child is Daydreaming or is not bothered about the surroundings and is in his own world.

What Is An ADHD Mental Disorder?

Friday, July 17th, 2009

ADHD mental disorder is not the obscure condition many experts thought it was in the early 1980’s. In fact today it is widely accepted as a real condition backed by a mountain of research both in the areas of psychology and biology. But what is an ADHD mental disorder and if diagnosed what are some of the challenges this disorder can present?

ADHD mental disorder impacts both children and adults. For adults facing the challenges of ADHD (inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity/restlessness) the problem more than likely began when they were in preschool or in the early years of elementary school. It is estimated that about 10 percent of school aged children struggle with an ADHD mental disorder, and boys are about three times more likely to be affected as girls. Follow up research points to a continuation of symptoms into adulthood with somewhere between 30 and 80 percent of children who were diagnosed with ADHD mental disorder carrying it forward into adulthood. As a result somewhere around 5 percent of adults face the daily challenges associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

For years the causes associated with the condition were all over the map. Some of the ones most often mentioned were bad parenting, moral defectiveness, where one grew up, brain damage, and exposure to toxins but with the advent of brain scan technology along with a little luck we now know that the once elusive ADHD mental disorder is largely due to biological factors, rather than environmental ones, such as where you grew up. Brain imaging studies of people with ADHD have discovered differences in the part of the brain associated with the control of voluntary movements. Since these types of biological factors tend to be inherited, you have a much greater chance (five times) of having the condition if one of your parents or a member of your immediate family has ADHD. In fact one recent study came to the conclusion that and ADHD mental disorder has a higher risk of being inherited than any other psychiatric disorder. Now let’s move on to the potential problems this condition can cause.

In adults attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can pose serious problems due to the impact of inattention or distractibility. Money problems, family problems, and frequent job changes can wreak havoc and lead to the secondary symptoms of low self esteem and worry or the co-occurring condition of depression.

In children there school work may be messy, with careless mistakes abounding, and an absence of considered though. This probably has lot to do with the 80 percent academic underachievement rate seen in school age children. Additionally, there symptoms if left untreated may have an affect on their ability to learn the basics of reading, writing, and math thus creating an environment for problems in the future.

What Next? When the symptoms of ADHD mental disorder are identified finding help should be the number one goal. In this pursuit many parents of ADHD children and adults alike have found answers in the form of natural ADHD remedies. Whether you are worried about the side effects posed by prescription drugs for ADHD or you want to get to the root of the problem rather than just suppress symptoms, ADHD alternative treatment methods will deliver powerful, lasting results.