兒童和青少年心理健康 | Child and Adolescent Mental Health

當某些心理疾病的症狀在兒童或青少年時期出現時，若能及早接受正確的治療，通常效果會更顯著。以下是美國國家心理健康研究院（National Institute of Mental Health）整理的兒童與青少年的心理健康警訊徵兆列表。

若年幼的兒童出現以下情況，可能有助於進行心理評估與治療：

• 經常發脾氣或長時間處於強烈易怒狀態

• 經常談論害怕或擔憂的事情

• 無明確醫療原因下，頻繁抱怨胃痛或頭痛

• 動個不停，無法安靜坐下來（除非是在看影片或玩電子遊戲時）

• 睡眠過多或過少，經常做惡夢，或白天看起來很睏

• 對與其他小孩一起玩沒有興趣，或在人際互動上有困難

• 學業表現困難或成績突然下降

• 因為害怕發生壞事而重複某些動作或一再檢查東西

若較大的兒童或青少年出現以下情況，可能有助於進行心理評估：

• 對曾經感興趣的事物失去興趣

• 精力低落

• 睡眠過多或過少，或整天看起來很疲倦

• 越來越傾向獨處，並避免參加朋友或家庭的社交活動

• 過度節食、過度運動，或害怕體重增加

• 有自傷行為（如割傷或燒傷皮膚）

• 吸菸、飲酒或使用毒品

• 與朋友或獨自從事高風險或具破壞性的行為

• 有自殺的念頭

• 出現精力異常高漲、活動力增加且睡眠需求明顯減少的時期

• 認為有人要控制自己的思想，或聽到別人聽不到的聲音

若您注意到孩子出現上述情況之一，建議及早尋求專業的心理健康評估與協助。

資料來源：https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/child-and-adolescent-mental-health

Symptoms of certain mental disorders often present themselves in an individual's childhood or adolescence, and the earlier one receives the correct treatment, the more effective it will be. Below is a list of childhood and adolescent warning signs extracted from an article by the National Institute of Mental Health.

Young children may benefit from an evaluation and treatment if they:

• Have frequent tantrums or are intensely irritable much of the time
• Often talk about fears or worries
• Complain about frequent stomachaches or headaches with no known medical cause
• Are in constant motion and cannot sit quietly (except when they are watching videos or playing videogames)
• Sleep too much or too little, have frequent nightmares, or seem sleepy during the day
• Are not interested in playing with other children or have difficulty making friends
• Struggle academically or have experienced a recent decline in grades
• Repeat actions or check things many times out of fear that something bad may happen.

Older children and adolescents may benefit from an evaluation if they:

• Have lost interest in things that they used to enjoy
• Have low energy
• Sleep too much or too little, or seem sleepy throughout the day
• Are spending more and more time alone, and avoid social activities with friends or family
• Diet or exercise excessively, or fear gaining weight
• Engage in self-harm behaviors (such as cutting or burning their skin)
• Smoke, drink alcohol, or use drugs
• Engage in risky or destructive behavior alone or with friends
• Have thoughts of suicide
• Have periods of highly elevated energy and activity, and require much less sleep than usual
• Say that they think someone is trying to control their mind or that they hear things that other people cannot hear.

If you notice that your child exhibits any of the above symptoms, it is recommended that you seek professional mental health assessment and assistance as soon as possible.

Source: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/child-and-adolescent-mental-health