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A viewer asks, "what are some signs and symptoms that a parent should look for, or that might
be often overlooked, that indicate mental illness in a child?" Overall, you would want
to be looking for any significant, sudden change in the child's behavior. That can be
a change of friends, their school grades, wanting to attend school. Any kind of significant
change in the way that they want to dress, either dressing all in black, dressing as
a particular character, or, for girls, wanting to dress very provocatively. Another thing
that you would look for would be severe mood swings. Now, with an adolescent, this is sometimes
extremely difficult, because, as we know, with change of hormones and just adolescent
angst, they often have mood swings, but we're talking about severe mood swings or mood swings
that would change frequently during the day. Social isolation would be another indication,
particularly if they had been outgoing and popular previously. Any change in sleep and
eating patterns, either too much or too little. Any change in their interactions with teachers,
or teachers phoning and providing feedback that the child has changed. Questioning their
value in the world. Maybe saying something like 'I'm just taking up wasted space', may
indicate a very depressed or very anxious child. You want to look for a child who is
giving away valued items, things that they worked hard for, very precious to them as
that can often indicate suicide ideation. So, any of these things may, in and of themselves,
be a phase that a child would be going through, but if they last longer than two weeks, you
want to be sure to consult with your doctor. Of course, any of the items on this list that
would be indicative of severe depression or suicide, you would want to get the child evaluated
immediately. Thanks so much for your question.