Covid -19 in all aspects is a Natural Calamity abandoning children to face isolation, loneliness, intense sadness, and anxiety unattended in a room glued to their screens.
Students are severed from classrooms, friends, teachers, and extracurricular activities. They are left to cruise the sea of adolescence without any support.
Some facts about adolescent mental health during a pandemic-
1. 8 in 10 students are struggling with focus in school and avoiding distractions.
2. 3 in 10 students will meet the criteria for anxiety disorders.
3. 2 in 10 students will have some depressive symptoms.
Growing teenagers are developing social and emotional habits important to build and sustain resilience. These involve developing healthy coping mechanisms, learning interpersonal skills, and problem-solving skills. As the world confronts a life-threatening pandemic ’emerging adulthood’ faces situational, technological and cultural challenges affecting their interconnectedness.
Problems faced by youth today –
1. Restricted social environment
2. Unfulfilled emotional needs
3. Excessive use of social media platforms
4. Unexplored sexual identity
5. Critical parenting
6. Education over video conferencing without human interaction
7. Cultural generation gap
Guidelines for Parents
Parental instincts about their children are usually true. If a child exhibits changed behavior or signs of stress PLEASE TALK.
Talking to parents in a similar situation, talking to our friends and relatives whom we can trust, and most importantly talking to a mental health specialist will help. If we can normalize stress as parents, our children will also understand that there can be good times and there can be not-so-good times and we have to deal with them all.
Showing empathy, love, respect, and support before the child’s mental health spirals out of control is important.
Parental stress levels have to be taken into consideration. Not living in isolation and asking for help and support is a step taken in the right direction.
Teenagers and Adolescence have socially complex needs. Unfulfilled needs lead to anger at others, anger at self, aggression, a feeling of entrapment, and emotional detachment.
A multifaceted approach to reducing the stress levels in teenagers is required.
1. Addressing the emotional and mental health needs as early as possible.
2. Avoiding medications and promoting a non-pharmacological approach.
3. Psychological First Aid is quite often enough to address the needs of the child.
4. Respecting the rights of Autonomy and Privacy of the kids.
5. Reinforcing positive behavior.
6. Helping them find a trusted confidant and friend whom they can talk to about pressures at school, at home, and about their emerging sexuality.
7. Preservation of social structures so that they have ample opportunities to learn social skills.
8. Caregiver burden is a reality. As parents, we have to take care of ourselves.
