Today is “Children’s Mental Health Awareness Day.” Some of you may remember that I suffered from an eating disorder in my late teens. I have also suffered from depression a great portion of my life and it wasn’t until my early 30’s before I was diagnosed.
According to a report published by the Public Health Agency of Canada, “Twenty percent of Canadians will personally experience a mental illness during their lifetime.” One-in-five Ontario youth already struggle with mental health issues. (Children’s Mental Health Ontario) and about one in five American children has a mental disorder. Mental illness can be fatal.
An estimated 20 percent of children and adolescents have mental, behavioral, or developmental disorders—yet only one third of them receives treatment. (U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services)
According to Statistics Canada: CCHS 2003, Teenagers between the ages of 15 to 24 are the least likely to use any resources for problems concerning their mental health.
Did you know that half of all lifelong mental disorders begin before age 14. Children suffer from all kinds of mental illness such as Anxiety, depression, schizophrenia, personality disorders, eating disorders etc
According to a report published by Statistics Canada, Suicide is the second leading cause of death among teenagers aged 15 to 19. The American Association of Suicidology reports that 1 million young people attempt suicide each year.
The U.S. Surgeon General, Report on Mental Health suggested that most children who suffer from depression also have another mental disorder. Almost one-third of six to twelve year old children diagnosed with major depression will develop bipolar disorders within a few years. (Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)
“Of the Ontario children and youth who were interviewed through the Brief Child & Family Phone Interview in 2004, the most prevalent mental health issues were: Oppositional defiant disorder, Self-harm, ADHD, Depression, Conduct disorder, Separation anxiety and Anxiety (general) (kidsmentalhealth.ca).”
“Eating disorders have the highest mortality rate of all mental illnesses.” Eating disorders are most prevalent in adolescent girls aged 15-19, yet there have been cases seen in children as young as 10. A Mellin, Scully and Irwin, Paper presented at American Dietetic Assoc. Annual Meeting, in October 1986 reported that at least 46% of 9-year-olds had restricted eating.
According to National Institute of Mental Health statistics, nearly one-quarter of U.S. adults will suffer from an anxiety disorder. But did you know that research indicates that anxiety disorders effect about 13% of children aged 9-17. Panic attacks can interfere with a child’s schoolwork, and relationships, but children with anxiety or panic disorder can lead normal lives if they receive treatment.
ADHD, one of the most common mental disorders in children and adolescents, affects as many as 2 million American children. (National Institute of Mental Health)
Today everyone should understand that mental illness does effect children. It is a disease that can be diagnosed and effectively treated.
Visit Children’s Mental Health Ontario to learn more about children’ mental illness.
This post was compiled with facts from:
Understanding Statistics on Eating Disorders
Statistics Canada. “Canada Yearbook 1999.”
U.S. Surgeon General, Report on Mental Health
A report on Mental Illness in Canada
Facts on Children’s Mental Health
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24 responses so far ↓
Wrote: May 9, 2008 at 6:58 am
Sorry for my absence! Decorating and wedding anniversary things have really eaten my time recently!!
Now. A lot of the issues you mention here are also by-products of the society we live in. Fast foods and adverts galore for it mean kids eat nothing but unhealthy foods if their parents are not willing to make them eat something else.
I have a friend who is on anti-depressants. I dont feel that he should be. I have seen him, and he just doesnt like social situations. He is shy. Not depressed. He just likes to be on his own. I used to be like that. But then, you also have the people who genuinely are. But I think Dr’s are all to often ready to prescribe a pill rather then prescribe a course of action.
Society and the people that let various people (magazines, fast food etc) get away with making people believe that they have a problem when often they dont need to be sorted out. Then, and realistically only then, will we be able to help those genuine cases who are often left by the wayside needing help but never getting it because a hypocondriac is taking up the time of the Dr.
Does anyone agree with this?
Wrote: May 9, 2008 at 12:42 pm
I believe with the fact that illnesses such as these do start with young pepl. They typically will have a parent that immediately puts them on something. If it doesn’t get fixed (and, I say get to the root of the problem to find resolve), then this leads to a future full of despair.
RE: Depression
I have always suffered from depression and still believe I will write a section in my book about this – would increase my sales simply because of the demand for understanding. There’s so much to be said about diet, exercise and though I don’t believe in meds, in some more severe cases, I believe they can help get the problem under control. The issue is simply this: not everyone needs to turn in this direction and end up relying on it for a quick-fix. Then they fall right back into the same trouble they found themselves in prior to getting on a drug. This subject becomes very deep when all factors are considered, so this is a tidbit to let you know I like your article.
Well done and great “Bib”
Wrote: May 9, 2008 at 1:57 pm
Hi Rose, it is disturbing indeed that even these days mental illness is misunderstood. Dementia is often publicly interpreted as an elderly problem, but maybe there are links between ADHD, clinical depression and dementia.
Wrote: May 9, 2008 at 2:40 pm
There seems to a rise of children on ritilin and anti-depressants. Mental illness among children is scary and I can’t imagine how hard the decision would be for a parent to have to decide whether to give your child meds to control their behavior or not. I know an elderly man (he is now 70) who has been diagnosed biploar about 3o years ago, however many of his close family whom were with him while he was a youngster often feel the diseases traces back to his childhood.
Wrote: May 9, 2008 at 2:40 pm
Rose, what a helpful and great post. I don’t think enough is written about this and I agree, that children who have a mental illness, are at risk of developing even further problems in the future.
Thank you for sharing this post with me. I am coming back later to read some of your links to it as well. I am glad that they were able to diagnose you finally.
Wrote: May 9, 2008 at 3:18 pm
I’m prone to depression. I’ve never taken meds for it, though I’ve seen people in the past.
Hope this one gets through…
Wrote: May 9, 2008 at 4:45 pm
Great post eye opener Rose, 1,000,000 deaths due to suicide, that’s wild, a lot of the problems with eating disorders are thanks to all the thin models on TV, I new someone who commited suicide, I didn’t know that he was diagnosed with a chemical imbalance of the brain, literally wasn’t in his right mind.
Wrote: May 9, 2008 at 5:10 pm
I believe there are many people who suffer from mental disorders, but I believe the numbers to be blown out of proportion. I think we live in a world now where problems are medicated away. Although this may help people cope with everyday life, I think a dependency on any drug is a terrible thing, unless it is a drug necessary to prolong life.
I myself suffered from depression as a youth and I am happy to say that I’ve gotten past it without medication. People need to find real answers to their problems. Medication only pushes them aside. There is no one remedy to cure the world’s mental issues, and I think it is sad that the medical and pharmaceutical communities have the mentality that everyone needs to be on meds.
I also believe I have ADD… but who doesn’t?
Wrote: May 9, 2008 at 5:43 pm
I have witnessed psychiatrists tossing medication at kids like it was candy, “oh, don’t like this one, try this one. This flavor not good, try that.”
That is a bit of an exaggeration, but medicine is like auto mechanics, so many symptoms fit so many different things they have to experiment. And they do!
I honestly believe sleep, exercise, and nutritious food would solve many many mental “problems”. Most of us can tell the difference in our personalities when we change one of those things, some times great differences. My son was a brat when he didn’t get enough sleep, better when he did, and so on. (As am I.) Blood sugar levels greatly affect people.
Not to say medicines don’t have a place, but changes in the above and behavior modification deserve a chance!
But more importantly, pointing out that kids and teenagers do and can have problems, which you have done here, Rose, is an important step to take. Without awareness, no progress is made – and without awareness, those that have genuine mental illness related problems rather than those caused by things that can be controlled, will never be reached or found.
Wrote: May 9, 2008 at 9:56 pm
Great post, Rose. I’ve suffered from depression for years, and I had an eating disorder in the 1980s. I’ve been on and off medication, and am currently not taking any. Diet and exercise seems to be working.
Thanks for the email.
Wrote: May 9, 2008 at 10:02 pm
I think a lot of this has to do with the growing lack of parenting. Many parents don’t try to positively shape their child’s growing mind, which results in children that are unable to cope with daily life.
Also I think one of the reasons the numbers are so high is because parents expect perfection from their kids. Many think “Oh no, my kid isn’t acting like everyone else. There must be something wrong with her.”
Parents need to realize that all children are different. When a parent forces the idea of a mental illness on a child, the child will start to believe that there is something wrong with them self.
Wrote: May 10, 2008 at 8:28 am
I didn’t realize that so many children had some sort of mental illness.
I do have to agree with some of the others about nutrition and sleep. I think the first treatment should be changing the diet and sleep habits, perhaps along with some counciling. Then, if that doesn’t work try adding meds.
I feel that too often meds are thrown at people to solve problems that may have another solution. You aren’t going to heal the problem unless you get to the roots and I believe that counciling can do this. Meds just cover it up.
Wrote: May 10, 2008 at 12:06 pm
Edward, how can you say that? My parents were not to blame for my eating disorder or are they to blame for my depression. Like heart disease or diabetes, mental illness can happen to anyone- any age at any time. Parents are one of the best resources to help to combat any mental illness, but they are not to blame.
Wrote: May 10, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Robert- Medication are sometimes needed to treat mental health conditions . While the medications do not cure mental illness, they can help a person function day to day. Congrats for not needing medication to cure depression. I bet many people wish they could function without it, however everyone has a different story.
Marcia, I agree. I had hoped my post would raise awareness and people would recognize that children do suffer from mental illness.
Sy- you really confused me with your post. What does fast food have to do with anorexia? I DON’T agree with all you said.
Wrote: May 10, 2008 at 3:20 pm
I suffered from Borderline Personality Disorder and Major Depression Disorder. I also still struggle with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder caused by molestation as a young teenager.
The statistics show that one out of four girls are molested and one out of seven boys are molested by the time they are 18. Also 8 out of young boy who are molested will molest as adult and the reason is not known. These are Unites States statistics.
Anorexia and Bulimia are rampant, because being thin is being shown as what is good and acceptable to teenagers. Those who are overweight are mercilessly teased and put down.
Marilyn Monroe, a movie star in the 50’s and 60’s was a size 14. Karen Carpenter of the Carpenters singing group in the early 70’s had anorexia and brought this problem to the forefront. No one had heard of Anorexia until she passed away from a heart attack when she was slowly adding weight.
To me, I certainly understand why our grandchildren’s generation is struggling with mental problems.
Wrote: May 10, 2008 at 3:22 pm
My step daughter ,44 ,is at this time in a hosp. in a lock down ward with anorexia. She is also bi-polar and a couple others that I can’t pronounce.She has had this problem since she was 14 but she went on to get 2 masters degrees and taught elementary school for 14 years.She was an excellent teacher and the children loved her and learned from her.She came to live with us 10 yrs ago when she collapsed and shut herself down ,she does nothing but stay in her room and lay on her bed watching tv or sleeping. She is a compulsive spender and when she gets her disability check she devides it up into the 4 weeks so she can pay her bills and then have a set amount for spending money each week. She does this to restrain herself from spending it all at one time.Listening to childhood stories I can see the depression starting and becoming aggressive as she got into puberty but nobody saw it or believed there could be anything wrong with their child.These diseases of the mind are not something to get attention,they are real but most parents seem to take the attitude that it will pass in time.They are just lengthening the fuse for the time when it goes off. Your report is a must read, it should be posted in all hospitals,doctors offices and school bullitin boards.I can only say from living with it that it will never go away and all the pills in the world are not the cure.My stepdaughter weighed 94 lbs wnen she went to her doctor 3 weeks ago,the last time she was in for 10 weeks, one of these days she may not be able to come home.Parents if you notice anything unsual in the way your children behave or their eating habits change, get help!!! Thats when it starts, as children! You may be saving their lives.
Wrote: May 10, 2008 at 6:10 pm
Rose- I’m not saying that parents are always the cause, but a negative upbringing with cause mental illness. Speaking from my own personal experience, I know that a lot of my psychotic and suicidal tendencies are the product of my chaotic childhood.
Parents can be one of the most positive and helpful influences in a child’s life, but they can also be one of the most negative and destructive ones as well.
Wrote: May 10, 2008 at 6:23 pm
Edward, you gave the impression that mental illness was caused primarily by family factors. Thank you for coming back and posting what you meant.
Wrote: May 11, 2008 at 4:28 pm
This is really WAY outside of my expertise, but here are my honest thoughts.
I have mixed feelings on this.
I’ll start from the premise that there must be a range of mental illnesses, just as there are a range of physical illnesses. Not all physical illness needs medication and I would expect that to be true of mental illness as well. I also think it is hard to tell when someone truly needs medication, along the lines of “if the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail.” At least a couple of antidepressant medications have themselves been linked to suicide.
I have to say I probably inherited a mental illness or two from my Mom (or maybe just some bad mindsets—not sure of the difference), and struggle not to pass them on to my children. I find it hard to believe that parents have no effect whatsoever on shaping the minds of their offspring—that is what parents do. They can shape their minds both positively and negatively at the same time. Of course I’m not saying that as an adult, blaming one’s parents is going to solve anyone’s problem—it probably won’t.
I also find it hard to believe that poor nutrition has no effect whatsoever on mental health as you seem to be suggesting—Google it!
All that aside, I am shocked that 1 million young people attempt suicide yearly (in the U.S?) and agree more should be done to prevent this, including medication when warranted.
Wrote: May 11, 2008 at 4:56 pm
No where have I suggested that poor nutrition doesn’t have an effect on mental health. But, I don’t blame my parents for the eating disorder I had. I blame media and myself for giving it to the image that I had to starve myself to be beautiful.
Wrote: May 11, 2008 at 5:20 pm
Theolinda, thank you for sharing your story with us. I will keep your step daughter in my prayers.
Wrote: May 12, 2008 at 10:13 am
Hi Rose, this is such an important topic, thanks for opening it up.
Looking back now, I can see when I fist developed depression I was about three. I remember so clearly what went through my mind just before I tried to end it all. I was so little I didn’t know what suicide was, but I did know that death meant you go back to heaven. And thats what i wanted more than anything so I jumped off a building.
I never tried anything like that again, nor will I.
I was diagnosed with all sorts of things – including epilepsy -then undiagnosed, then re diagnosed and so on.
I’ve spent a lifetime working on my ‘issues’ and I have to say its a full time freaking job.
I will also admit, I was very anti meds. My father had mental illness and he took pills and when he took the pills, he was no longer himself, and he hated it. There are also serious issues in my family history of drug abuse, and I really didn’t want to tempt the fates.
I’m very suspicious of big pharma and I’d rather do yoga, eat well and sleep right. But does anyone really know how hard it is to get out of bed to do the downward facing dog when all you really want to do is sleep?
I was finally faced with a choice, take the high road and stay pill free and possibly die, or take the easy way out, pop a pill a day and slowly re learn what its like to have a brain that is happy, fed, and firing properly.
I’ve read a few comments here from people who don’t believe in medication. I used to be one of them. But since I began my low dose anti anxiety medication : the anorexic tendancies are gone! The brain farts are less and less, the crushing anxiety that triggered my depression is managed. I can sleep through the night, the PTSD flashbacks and intrusive thoughts are still a pain, but I can live through them now.
I don’t know what we can do to help children who show signs of mental stress, but I can make a few suggestions:
Treat every child you have, or deal with- with respect and gentleness. Children need to know they have a place and purpose in the world beyond being a punching bag for someone elses rage issues.
Re think the whole _Oh they are just after attention – thing. Of course kids are after attention, they were created to need our attention in order to develop properly.
Remember an angry kid isn’t necessarily a bad kid. They may actually have good reason’s to be angry.
And finally – help them develop a vocabulary so they can express their inner thoughts. High violence and low vocabulary skills have been linked. Its something to do with frustration.
Thanks Rose, for caring.
Hazel.
Wrote: May 12, 2008 at 3:38 pm
Rose,
I would like to commend you for all the work you have done for many issues, especially like this one which you have brought to the forefront.
You really are making a difference in many peoples lives. Thank you for that Rose.
Many Blessings,
Merriam
Wrote: May 12, 2008 at 10:43 pm
Thank you for increasing the awareness for mental illness in children. I don’t know the causes or reasons but this reminder will help me keep my empathetic and sympathetic side open to those who may be trying to reach out for help.
Growing up, I was surrounded by a younger brother who was diagnosed as “bipolar” and battled with depression for years after. (I think that may have to do with an incident during a summer where he stayed with some monks to study or because his older siblings of four sisters all left the house and he had no support or anyone close he could confide in. Anyway, there’s not a single person or thing to blame; it could have been a lot of little things that added up.)
My second sister was on Zoloft and other medications for years.
I had social anxiety disorder and still struggle with it to an extent today. My blog is my release; a way for me to “connect” with others without being in a “live” social situation. I think my anxiety developed out of depression; I had no one in my life at that time (no family or close friends; I worked full-time and was in college full-time. Probably to keep myself busy) and when I had allowed myself to get so withdrawn from life, I didn’t want to reach out because I didn’t think anyone would understand. So I was on Paxil for treatment … until I moved to CA and I think what worked for me was the sunshine and the relaxed attitudes of the people in the beach cities. I could just be myself and with the help of my husband, my self-confidence increased.
Anyway, I think each case is different. Every person is special and unique. There’s no single cause or solution. I think all I can do is be open and supportive because I think only they (those affected) can figure out what works best for them; what they want and need, especially with a little help and guidance (whatever it may be, drugs, family, or sunshine).