Question

About 20% of children are diagnosed with a psychological disorder. Diagnosis and treatment is important to support good mental health throughout life. Select a childhood disorder. Describe the symptoms of the disorder and treatments used to address the disorder you selected.

Answer 1

Children develop social and cognitive thinking abilities that affect their perception and behavioral process. Perception plays a vital role in understanding the attitude, behavior, and personality of children.

Mental behavior influences children’s psychological aspects of thinking, reasoning, and decision-making skills. Mental disorders affect how children respond and handle situations.

Children suffer from several mental disorders because of the following problems:

• Gender discrimination

• Mental harassment

• Physical tortures

• Humiliation

• Physical and mental abuse

For example, Joseph who suffers from depression has trouble organizing his thoughts and thinking clearly. He makes slow decisions in daily activities such as thinking, speaking, learning, and other cognitive learning tasks.

The following mental disorders occur in children:

• Depression

• Anxiety

• Bipolar disorder

• Thought and mood, disorder

• Description of mental disorders in children

Anxiety disorder:

During childhood, children become feared by horrifying and terrifying events such as ghosts, culture shock, group discrimination, and others. Anxiety refers to excessive worrying about continuous thoughts that trigger fear and terror.

Anxiety disorder affects the brain’s perception and change a person’s behavior. Panics and social anxiety disorders form a part of an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disturbs the person’s normal way of leading his life.

Symptoms of anxiety disorder:

Children may show the symptoms of anxiety during early to middle childhood depending on the intensity of the circumstances.

Some common symptoms are:

• Irritation and anger

• Difficulty in maintaining focus and concentration

• Disturbing thoughts

• Changes in perception and behavior

• Lack of problem-solving and decision-making skills

• Inability to apply effective reasoning

• Disturbance in speech

• Increased palpitation and sweating

• Increased fear and excessive worry on minute events

• Difficulty sleeping

• Inability to control stress

Treatment for anxiety disorder:

1. Drugs medication:

• Medicinal drugs such as anti-depressant help to reduce the reuptake of serotonin levels in the neuro-transmitter across the synaptic cell.

• Anti-depressant help to balance the chemicals between neurotransmitter and neuro-receptor.

2. Cognitive-behavioral, therapy:

• Medical practitioners, such as counselors, talk to the patients and listen to their issues.

• The counselor and patient discuss the mental problems to determine the reason behind the trigger of the disorder.

3. Psychotherapy:

• Psychiatrists use counseling techniques to change the perception and thought of the patients by engaging effectively.

• They work to change the behavior and personality of the patients.

4. Combining medicinal drugs and cognitive-behavioral therapy:

• Cognitive-behavioral therapy along with medicines proves to be successful in treating the anxiety of children.

• Effective use of therapy and medicines helps to change the children’s perception and behavior.

5. Physical exercises:

• Walking, running, swimming, and other physical activities help to strengthen the metabolism and enhance the brain’s muscles.

• They help to improve the cognitive learning and change the perception and behavior of children.

6. Yoga:

• Yoga therapy helps to build concentration and brainpower of the children.

• It improves mood and thought patterns.

7. Community development programs:

• Children can engage in community programs such as volunteering, teaching, and other social activities.

• They help to distract the fear and change the perception and thought patterns of the children.