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Children and Mental Illness
Although the age of onset for some mental illnesses is in later adolescence or adulthood, many children also suffer from one form or another of mental illness. The following are signs that your child may be experiencing the symptoms of a mental illness:
In older children and pre-adolescents
- Substance abuse
- Inability to cope with problems and daily activities
- Change in sleeping and/or eating habits
- Excessive complaints of physical ailments
- Defiance of authority, truancy, theft and/or vandalism
- Intense fear of weight gain
- Prolonged negative mood, often accompanied by poor appetite or thoughts of death
- Frequent outbursts of anger
In younger children
- Change in school performance
- Poor grades despite strong efforts
- Excessive worry or anxiety (e.g., refusing to go to bed or school)
- Hyperactivity
- Persistent nightmares
- Persistent disobedience or aggression, frequent temper tantrums
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