Stories of poor mental health among children and teenagers are sadly prevalent today, including young people going through depression, anxiety and even death by suicide. Mental health challenges occur on a continuum, so it is important to be aware of developing issues.
Adults should pay attention to subtle indicators, including changes in behavior, a drop in grades, withdrawal or clinginess, fear of being alone and loss of interest in previously enjoyed activities. Although these signs can occur in anyone, and it can be difficult to determine whether they point to deeper mental health challenges, their persistence and lack of intervention may lead to serious problems.
Hope Wambi
Some warning signs requiring immediate attention, include talking about wanting to die or self-harm, physically harming oneself, experiencing hallucinations and showing severe anger or violent behavior.
The World Health Organization defines mental health as a state of mental well-being enabling people to cope with the stresses of life, realize their abilities, learn well, work well and contribute to their community.
Globally, mental health challenges are common among school-going adolescents, with a prevalence of 50.2% and 43.6% for depression and anxiety disorders, respectively. Mental health challenges among young people also have been exacerbated by access to social media due to the widespread availability of technology.
Social media puts a lot of pressure on young people, especially from peers related to body shaming, success and popularity pressure, cyberbullying, unhealthy comparisons and competition. Children also are exposed to various adverse conditions, including violence like corporal punishment and domestic abuse, academic pressure and emotional challenges, all of which can contribute to mental health problems.
Unfortunately, there is still a lot of stigma associated with mental health challenges. This, coupled with disempowering language, often leads those who are struggling to avoid seeking help. There also is sometimes a limited understanding of mental health, which should be seen as analogous to physical health, which we all need to take care of.
“We have learned there are some practical tips schools, parents and adults can learn to nurture the positive well-being of children and adults.”
At Raising Voices, we acknowledge the cause-effect relationship between mental health and violence and, having implemented violence prevention programming for more than a decade, we have learned there are some practical tips schools, parents and adults can learn to nurture the positive well-being of children and adults.
We also have developed a guide to help adults and children destigmatize mental health, empowering them with basic skills to identify mental health challenges and respond appropriately. We have learned that nurturing mental well-being involves being intentional about taking care of the mind, body, spirit and heart.
Care of the mind: This includes reading, journaling, learning new skills and being mindful about not dwelling on negative thoughts, which can be detrimental. Negative thoughts can lead to negative emotions, which can lead to negative actions.
Care of the body: Taking care of the body includes maintaining good physical health by getting adequate sleep, eating healthy food and engaging in physical exercise.
Care of the soul: This includes nurturing a good relationship with one’s supreme being and deepening one’s religious affiliation. The most common ways of doing this include fasting, prayer, meditation, listening to uplifting music and reading sacred texts, among others.
Care of the heart: This may involve building healthy relationships and fostering a sense of belonging within a community. It also includes practicing laughter, gratitude, forgiveness (both for yourself and others) and maintaining a strong family and support system.
Hope Wambi serves as a program coordinator at Raising Voices in Uganda working to prevent violence against children and is a Public Voices fellow with The OpEd Project.
