Lockdown has bought up a mixture of emotions for us all. Here are some tips to carry us through the lockdown.
Since the first lockdown in March 2020 children & young people (CYP) have had to experience something out of the ordinary, just like adults. This shows that CYP mental health needs to be monitored and taken care of just the same as adults. CYP have adapted to the new changes that the government has put in place, however levels of anxiety and depression has increased. Statistics have shown that rates of likely mental disorders have increased since 2017. In 2020, 16.0% children aged 5 to 16 years were identified as having a probable mental disorder, increasing from 10.8% in 2017. The increase was evident in both boys and girls. This is a significant increase, parents and professionals now have a duty to support CYP to manage and monitor their mental health. Statistics have shown that over 64% of CPY do not get the support they need and result in having suicidal thoughts.
Anxiety is one of the most common mental conditions CYP experience. Anxiety is typically described as an emotion that is triggered from feeling quite tense, scared or worried about something. This can cause restlessness, feeling on-edge, trouble sleeping or lack concentration, avoiding or withdrawing yourself from situations and having a loss of appetite. Symptoms can manifest in different ways as we are all different.
The best way to manage these feelings is firstly to acknowledge it is present. Depending on how your child communicates drawing can be a great tool to get them to express how they feel. If they are able to express themselves through conversation then that should be encouraged. Once you have an understanding of how they feel, you can direct them to someone within the profession of mental health care such as a counsellor to seek guidance to work w