School pressure, expectations from family and unsafe environments are becoming factors that cause children to fall into mental crisis.
Recently, Children's Hospital 2 (HCMC) received an 8-year-old boy in a state of panic every time the matter of going to school is mentioned. Parents said that he was previously loyal and cheerful, but since he entered grade 3, his personality suddenly changed. Every morning, the child screams, throws things, and cries fiercely when he has to go to school. At the hospital, the child was diagnosed with anxiety disorder due to bullying, being under pressure to study and being afraid of teachers harshly. The silently accumulated stress makes children unable to endure it any longer.
According to MSc. Dr. Nguyen Quoc Cuong, Department of Psychology - Children's Hospital 2, the unit receives about 100 visits per day, of which more than 60% are children aged 6 to 15 with signs of behavioral and emotional disorders such as anxiety, depression, and hyperactivity. Children often do not know how to express their emotions orally, so they express them through behavior such as resistance, laziness to learn, and being easily angry. If parents do not observe carefully and accompany their children, psychological disorders can easily be overlooked or misdygnosed, warned Dr. Cuong.
Psychologist, MSc. Mai Thi Nguyet - Department of Psychology, Children's Hospital 2, said that academic pressure and expectations from parents are common causes of psychological trauma in children, especially during the transition stages. Many parents tend to scold, compare or impose excessive expectations, causing children to feel hurt and pressured for a long time. Many children used to be good students, but when entering a new learning environment, they lost confidence, were depressed, and absorbed. Children may experience symptoms such as headaches, loss of appetite, insomnia, irritability, fear of being blamed... and gradually moving away from their families," said MSc. Nguyet.
According to experts, if not detected and intervened early, psychological disorders will seriously affect emotions, behavior and the ability to integrate into society. Some children have obvious symptoms such as fear of teasing, insomnia, loss of appetite, unwillingness to go to school, poor academic performance, loss of motivation.
MSc. Dr. Nguyen Trung Nghia, Deputy Director of the Mental Health Care Center - Vinmec Times City International General Hospital, noted that many psychological disorders are easily confused with normal behavior with age. Children's psychology changes with each stage of development, causing parents to be subjective. However, if children show signs of sadness, depression, irregular eating, withdrawal from relationships, loss of concentration in studying or self-harm that lasts for two weeks or more, children should be taken to a specialist.
Dr. Nghia recommends: "Sometimes, as long as parents are patient in listening and presenting themselves properly, children can overcome psychological crises without needing specialized treatment".
According to Dr. Cuong, many parents think that their children are just rebellious in their teenage years, but not all changes are due to physiology. When children have prolonged symptoms such as insomnia, personality changes, poor academic performance, loss of connection with family and friends, they need to think about the possibility of psychological disorders. Parents should proactively observe, share, watch movies with their children, play games, chat gently... to detect psychological instability early. The presence and understanding of parents is the most important spiritual medicine for young children, Dr. Cuong emphasized.
