Teen Mental Health Crisis: A heart-wrenching case has come to light from Indore, Madhya Pradesh. Here an 11th class student committed suicide by hanging herself in the room of her house. Before taking this dreadful step, the student made 1 painting. In one painting, the setting sun is seen along with the picture of mountains and in the other painting, the student herself is seen saying bye-bye. The family members had gone to their work when the student took the suicide-like step. Initial police investigation has revealed that stress could be the reason for the student’s suicide. Till now, many such cases have come to light, in which people ranging from small children to teenagers are embracing death due to stress, anxiety and depression. Now the question is what could be the reason for such a dreadful step at a young age? Let us try to understand this from experts.
Nehal Bansal, counseling psychologist from Indore and founder of I Hear You told StuffUnknown. That the student’s paintings showed that she wanted peace. The landscape of sunset and sunrise represents peace and relief. As for the second painting, painting a person from behind can be a sign of feeling unseen or unheard. People often draw pictures of themselves from the past when they are teenagers, when they feel they are being misunderstood, ignored, or isolated from family and friends. This shows that they are now turning their backs on the world and are tired of trying. You cannot see the face in this painting and this may indicate difficulty in expressing emotions. Many girls braid their hair when they are worried, because it makes them feel organized.
Why are mental problems increasing at a young age?
Psychologist told that there can be many reasons for mental problems at young age. Nowadays the environment of homes has changed and access to social media has increased. Children read many such things on social media, about which they are not able to talk openly with anyone. Teenagers are not able to talk to their parents about their stress, due to which anxiety occurs. Children nowadays have exam pressure, career pressure and sometimes there is also the relationship angle. There is also a thinking gap with the parents at home, due to which they do not feel comfortable. Apart from this, the environment of the school also affects. A child sits alone and is often ignored.
According to experts, there can be three main reasons for mental problems in children and teenagers. The first could be a relationship angle. If there is a boyfriend-girlfriend and there is a breakup, then mental health can deteriorate. Problems can arise when there is career stress. During adolescence, children become worried about their looks. Many times they become victims of body shaming. Children get trolled on social media. This also has a bad effect on the minds of children. In such a situation, parents should keep a special eye on their children. If any kind of warning sign is seen, help from a medical professional should be sought.
How to identify children’s problems?
According to psychologists, if a child is sitting alone at home or school, is having trouble sleeping at night, heartbeat is suddenly increasing, hands and legs are trembling or is feeling very scared, then these can be warning signs of mental problem. Many times children develop phobia, which can cause fear. Many times children are harassed, about which the child is not able to talk. Due to this, mental health also gets ruined and in severe cases, children take terrible steps like suicide.
How to protect children from these problems?
Nehal Bansal told that parents should keep a special eye so that the mental health of the child does not deteriorate. If the child appears to be in any trouble, the parents should talk to him openly. Many times the child is troubled by stress and anxiety and he has no one to talk to. In such a condition, he feels alone and even takes dangerous steps like suicide. If warning signs appear, parents should seek professional help. If the child has any kind of problem, then the help of a mental health counselor or psychologist should be taken. Many times the problem is solved with talk therapy.
