Signs of Possible Mental Illness in Children

Joseph Kenan, a psychiatrist in private practice in San Francisco, California, has been working in mental health care for over 15 years. During that time, he has worked as a forensic expert in psychiatry, addressed mental health barriers to employment, and worked with over 20,000 patients. In his line of work, Joseph Kenan has experience working with both adults and children. Working with children in this area poses some unique challenges.

Identifying mental illness in children is a challenge since kids experience many ups and downs behavior, mood, and social activity as they age. Further, symptoms of certain disorders vary as kids age. Due to the challenge associated with identifying mental illness in children, kids are left undertreated since their conditions can go ignored and unseen.

Generally, signs of mental health problems in children continue for multiple weeks at a time. In terms of behavior and emotional changes, kids with mental conditions seem sad or cry a lot. They have repeated tantrums, get worried easily, or become distressed when separated from their parents. Young children in the preschool and elementary and grade school may also display hyperactivity beyond that of their peers and become extremely disobedient.

Other signs in mental illness in kids include outbursts or irritability, talking about death, hurting oneself or talking about it, and having trouble paying attention.

Beyond emotional and behavioral changes, there are also physical signs of mental illness that parents must pay attention to. These changes also continue for multiple weeks at a time and can include changes in eating habits. This may include not eating or throwing up after eating. Naturally, alterations in eating habits lead to weight changes. Physical pain that isn’t caused by clear medical issues can be another possible sign of mental illness.