What happens when you suspect your child may be struggling with her mental health? Often, asking your daughter what is going on can be a dead end. This isn’t your fault; your child may not know how to communicate what she is experiencing. This is especially true regarding her mental health. That is why it can be crucial to know the warning signs that your child may need help.
As a parent or caretaker, it can be alarming when your daughter begins to negatively alter her behaviors, routines, or even mannerisms. It may seem minimal at first, but as you begin to see negative consequences from these changes, it becomes increasingly disconcerting.
It is important to know how to spot “red flags” when it comes to your child or teenager’s mental health. In doing so, you will better equip yourself with the knowledge you need to take on the next step. That next step may be getting outside help. We here at Clearview Girls Academy want you to know that we will be there for you when you need it.
You Are Not Alone
If you think you and your daughter are alone with these mental health struggles, think again. Statistics regarding adolescent mental health shed a light on the high prevalence of these struggles.
According to a study conducted by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), “[B]etween 2016 and 2020, the number of children ages 3-17 years diagnosed with anxiety grew by 29 percent and those with depression by 27 percent. The findings also suggest concerning changes in child and family well-being after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.” These increases are significant, and due to the COVID-19 pandemic, they are continuing to rise.
The important thing to remember here is that your daughter’s mental health issues are not your fault. Many factors can affect our mental health, many of which are out of our control. What is not out of our control is being able to recognize the signs of adolescent mental health struggles and taking the right actions to resolve them.
Red Flags: Warning Signs of Mental Health Issues
If we can think back for a moment and remember how difficult being a child or teenager often was, it can go a long way in decerning the difference between “normal” adolescent behavior and mental health “red flags.” After all, many of us were probably pretty wild and argumentative in our teenage years, but that did not constitute any significant mental health concerns.
Here are a few of the warning signs of mental health struggles, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). The institute also distinguishes between younger and older children because there are slight variations.
For younger children, warning signs include:
- Frequent tantrums or increasing irritability
- Often talking about unfounded fears or worries
- Showing little interest in playing with other children or having difficulty making friends
- Beginning to struggle academically or experiencing a recent decline in grades
- Having a repetitive and unjustified fear that something bad may happen
Some of the warning signs for older children and teenagers include:
- Losing interest in things that they used to enjoy
- Exhibiting low energy
- Dieting or exercising excessively for fear of gaining weight
- Engaging in risky behaviors such as substance use or sexual activity
- Expressing thoughts of suicide
These are just a few of the warning signs to watch for. If you notice any of them consistently, it may be time to seek outside help. Noticing a problem is one thing, but doing something about it is what really counts.
Taking Action and Getting Help
We understand that addressing your daughter’s mental health struggles can be scary. This is especially true when these struggles begin to affect the rest of the family and bring unrest into the home. You may feel at the end of your rope and believe you have nowhere to turn. We want you to know that there is a solution and we here at Clearview Girls Academy can help.
When you heed those warning signs and seek help, a center like ours can use that information to create an individualized plan to help your daughter recover. We have a vast array of tools and resources that can help make that possible.
Our Professional Staff
We have a highly regarded professional staff that can help your daughter get the therapies she needs to begin addressing her struggles. We will get to the root cause underlying her issues so that we can treat her on a deeper level.
Fostering Optimal Development
We also have the resources that will help her grow as a young woman. She will learn to communicate better through her interactions with our other students. She will reclaim her goals of academic achievement with our fully accredited middle school and high school curriculum. She will also learn new coping skills whether it be through our holistic therapies or our spiritual offerings.
We know that your daughter may be struggling right now. We know you may be struggling as well. Let us take that struggle off of your hands and help you all get on the right path of recovery.
It seems that more children are struggling with their mental health than ever before. Although adolescence has always been a difficult time, the statistics on this current generation of adolescents reveal an epidemic of mental health problems. That is why if you suspect something is wrong, it is important to get your child the help she needs as soon as possible. One of the ways you can do this is by being able to spot the warning signs of mental health issues before they manifest into bigger issues. Your ability to spot these signs can enable your daughter to receive the help she needs. For more information, please call Clearview Girls Academy at (888) 796-5484.
