Children can feel lonely for several reasons. A misunderstanding at home, an argument with a friend, a feeling like they don’t belong in school cliques, or not being able to go to playdates. Anything can trigger this feeling and we are certain you understand why that's concerning.
As parents, we want to ensure that our kids never feel like they are alone. More so in this new endemic world, that's full of uncertainty.
This is all the more necessary in Singapore where talking about mental health can still be taboo for quite a few. In an atmosphere like this, kids may not be able to communicate what they are going through mentally. This can make it difficult for many to open up about mental illness in children.
And that isn't restricted to teens alone, even Generation Alpha is smart enough to understand when they don't like something but find it difficult to open up to their close ones.
To top it off, the pandemic only created more opportunities for us to question our mental health status. Children experiencing sudden isolation away from their friends and their favourite places began to make them feel lonelier than ever.
A study from The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, published by Elsevier has thrown caution that the feeling of loneliness in children may lead to them developing mental health problems.
Loneliness And Its Impact On Kids
Researchers found a potential association between lonely kids and their mental state using data from past 60 studies. The data was related to isolation, loneliness and mental health among youths between the ages of four to 21 years old.
Researchers concluded the kids experiencing loneliness showed symptoms of mental illnesses such as depression and anxiety upon growing up.
“This rapid review of what is known about loneliness and its impact on mental health in children and young people found that loneliness is associated with both depression and anxiety. This occurs when studies measured both loneliness and mental health at the same point in time; when loneliness was measured separately, when depression and anxiety were measured subsequently, up to nine years later,” said Dr Maria Loades, lead author of the study.
The findings showed that lonely children are three times more likely to have depression. This could possibly last for years after growing up. They also found that this could be due to the duration of their loneliness instead of its intensity.
Signs Your Child May Be Suffering From A Mental Illness
As we said earlier, children can develop mental health disorders at any age. Be it, Gen Z or Gen Alpha, kids struggling with mental health will show signs that parents and caregivers need to pick up on.
Here are some signs to look out for that parents need to watch out for:
- Withdrawing themselves from social interactions
- Persistent sadness for over two weeks or more
- Tendency to hurt oneself or talk about it
- Talk about death repeatedly or self-harm
- Extreme irritability or emotional outbursts
- A dramatic change in mood and behaviour
- Weightloss
- Sleeping difficulty
- Lack of focus and concentration on the given tasks
- Avoiding going to school or falling sick too often
What We Can Do To Help About Mental Illness In Children
Re-connecting with their friends and having social interactions with people outside of the family could help in decreasing loneliness. It will therefore prevent any mental health problems from developing.
Although, even after isolation, some children may still find it difficult to return to their regular social life. They can continue to struggle with their feelings of loneliness.
“It’s key that children and young people are allowed to return to activities such as playing together, even if outdoors, as soon as possible, and that they are able to resume attending school, which gives them a structure for their day, and provides them with opportunities to see peers and to get support from adults outside of the nuclear family,” said Dr Loades.
To further support children's mental health, Dr Loades suggests "the government target children’s wellbeing in public health messaging." She also added keeping in contact with people through technology could be beneficial.
Extra support from schools could also help ease children. Schools will need to ease them back to the old life when it comes to returning to school and interacting again with peers.
Be it children and young adults struggling with anxiety or depression, do not be afraid to seek help either from friends or family or professionally. Let us all help in reducing mental illness in children.
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