Stress, anxiety, depression, behavioral problems on the rise in children, says expert

By Shalini Bhardwaj
New Delhi [India], October 11 : Since the Covid19 pandemic, mental health has become a buzzword and has also affected children, said experts.
Psychotherapist and expert at Mental Health Foundation Bhavya Raj Arora said, "Stress, anxiety, depression and behavioural addictions are becoming prevalent among children now more than ever. The lockdowns took away opportunities for peer-learning and peer support, which are essential for child development and their self-development."
She said, "The reason behind such mental health issues is also competition on social media." She added, "The increasing pressures of being better than the rest, screen exposures, social media, disconnect with parents and increasing demand to perform in this hustle culture could be a few such reasons."
According to Bhavya Arora, if a child has mental health problems it becomes difficult for parents to identify the problem.
"The best way to identify if someone's facing a mental health challenge is to observe their functionality: are they able to function with day-to-day tasks? Keep a note of their distress: Do they seem more distressed or troubled than usual? How long have they been feeling this? If it is two weeks or longer, we recommend touching base with a mental health professional. How different is the child's behaviour from what we generally consider normal?" the expert said.
Giving an example she said, "It should be okay to sit without phones for half an hour. But if you observe that your child has been getting distressed beyond what's normal and how they would have acted earlier- getting agitated, irritated or even violent, touch base with a mental health professional. This example applies to all other areas of their lives too. With friends, family, social interactions etc."
The expert said that the role of using mobile phones is one of the reasons for the exaggerated mental health problems in children. "Social media has certainly created a lot of pressure on young adults to perform. Children are constantly trying to one-up reel lives which hampers their mental health in real life," Bhavya Raj Arora said.
"Not just that, as humans, our bodies can neither biologically adapt to constant stimuli all the time nor are we psychologically evolved to consume so much information each day. Both of which are significantly detrimental to children's mental health," she said.