A person of any age may experience symptoms. mental disorder, even a baby.
Therefore, it is important for parents to abandon the dismissive “children do not have this” and treat the problems and needs of the child with attention.
To help the child in time, you should know what are the causes of neurosis in children, symptoms and treatment, as well as prevent the development of the disease.
What it is?
Neurosis (or, in other words, neurotic disorders) - a set of mental disorders that are characterized by a chronic course.
If you do not start the treatment of neurosis, the patient's condition will worsen, other mental illnesses can occur, such as depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, anxiety disorder.
In this case, neurotic disorders quite well treatable.
Most often, neuroses develop under the influence of chronic stress or an acute stressful situation. They can occur in people of any age, even in small children.
It is important not to confuse neurotic disorders with neurological disorders. Neurological disorders are diseases associated with the nervous system as a whole, the very system through which all body structures work smoothly and accurately.
Types of neurological disorders a huge amount. These include, for example, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, stroke, epilepsy. With some neurological diseases, mental illnesses develop, including neurotic disorders.
In childhood often occurs neurasthenia - a disease related to neurotic disorders, characterized by an increased degree of fatigue, inability for a long time to engage in physical and mental labor, apathy, a feeling of weakness. Another name for neurasthenia is astheno-neurotic syndrome.
Children are most likely to develop neurasthenia when there are factors in their lives that cause regular mental fatigue (a large number of circles, sections, excessive workload at school, too high demands of parents).
There is also a disease called "early childhood neuropathy syndrome"And applies to both mental and neurological diseases.
In children with this disease, there is instability of mood, excessive sensitivity to sounds, lighting, any physical discomfort, anxiety, tearfulness.
When neuroses are usually observed different neurotic reactionsand in children they can be more pronounced than in adults with similar disorders.
Neurotic reactions include such pathological states as stuttering, nervous tics, urinary incontinence, feces.
With certain organic disorders, a child may experience the symptomscharacteristic of neurotic disorders (for example, in diseases of the heart and blood vessels, in bronchial asthma, traumatic and infectious brain damage, hormonal abnormalities).
The mental state of the child is normalized if the organic disease has been taken under control. Such "pseudo-neurotic" disorders are called neurosis-like syndrome.
Therefore, parents who notice signs of neurosis in a child need to consult a doctor as soon as possible, because under the mask of neurotic disorder more serious pathologies may be hidden.
Causes
The main causes of neurotic disorders in children 3-4 years:
- Psycho-emotional shock: the death of a loved one or pet, a severe episode of violence (physical, mental or sexual), a collision with something that may shock (for example, a child could see his mother being beaten, watch a program on TV that does not match his age) own disease Moreover, many young children who go to the hospital acquire fear of doctors and nurses, as they are associated with pain. Every encounter with a doctor adversely affects the mental health of a child who has such fear. Short-sighted parents and caregivers themselves often provoke the development of fear, intimidating the child “by an angry nurse who comes and gives an injection” when he does not obey.
- Chronic intellectual overstrain. Even very young children, due to the whims of their parents, are forced to attend many circles and sections in order to conform to the image of a “gifted child”. Excessive stress affects the psycho-emotional state of children. The desire to develop a child is commendable, but it is important not to go too far.
- Unfavorable situation in the family: divorce, regular scandals, screams, parents having severe alcohol or drug addiction, parents 'love for child abuse, abusive relations between mother and father, serious financial problems, parents' detachment from children, the presence of a seriously ill person in the family.
- Personal characteristics of the child. Sensitive, tearful, and easily excitable children are more likely to suffer from various mental disorders.
All of the above reasons affect the development of neurotic disorders in both preschool children and schoolchildren.
At school age The following factors are added to increase the likelihood of developing neurosis and other mental abnormalities:
- School bullying. Under certain conditions, any child can become an object of harassment from classmates and even teachers. Regular bullying and even beatings make the child’s school life hell. He does not want to attend school, feels helpless, may begin to hate himself. Bulling - fertile soil for the formation of various complexes. Most children who are poisoned for a long time, there are symptoms characteristic of mental disorders, including neurotic.
- Failures in communication with peers, loss of friends, separation from your loved one. Growing up, the child begins to take social contacts more seriously, seeks to find his place in society, to find friends. Therefore, a break in communication with a close friend (due to a quarrel or other circumstances) will be perceived by them as extremely painful. And parting with a loved one for a teenager can cause the development of not just neurosis, but the deepest personal crisis.
- Difficulties in learning, experiences associated with academic performance. Children seeking to achieve better results perceive failure as extremely painful. It is important for parents not to increase the child’s stress by requiring perfect results from him. It is necessary to help him understand that failures are normal and are part of development.
An additional factor that increases the likelihood of neurotic disorders, are hormonal changes in adolescence.
Types of pathology
In addition to the already mentioned neurasthenia, the following types of neurosis are distinguished:
- Depressive neurosis. This is a combination of depression and neurosis, but neurotic symptoms are more pronounced than depressive. Depressed neurosis is characterized by depression, self-hatred, sleep disturbances, appetite, and a diminished interest in the world, but the feeling that there will be only negative in the future is usually absent.
- Phobic neurosis. Phobia is the mainstay of this form of neurosis. Phobias (inadequately expressed fears) may be more than one. Often one phobia is combined with other similar phobias (for example, a child who is afraid of bugs may be afraid of other insects).
Phobic neurosis is often accompanied by panic attacks, a feeling of weakness, sleep disorders, appetite, depression, various somatic symptoms (pain in the head, abdomen, heart rhythm disturbances).
- Logoneurosis. The best known name for logoneurosis is stuttering. It is often observed in children of different ages. May occur after psycho-emotional upheaval. In such cases, it is accompanied by other neurotic symptoms.
- Thermoneurosis. This is a condition in which a person's temperature rises amid a deterioration in mental health. Frequent symptom of neurotic disorders in children. But it is important to remember that an unreasonable rise in temperature can be a sign of hidden infections, disruptions in the hormonal background, abnormalities in the mechanisms of thermoregulation, so a child with an unreasonable fever or subfebrile condition should be examined.
- Hypochondriacal neurosis. With hypochondria, a person begins to suspect dangerous diseases and feels discomfort at the thought. He seeks to be examined or, on the contrary, fears in panic that his suspicions will be true. He may even feel the symptoms characteristic of a disease he suspects, but in fact he is healthy. It is more common in adolescents, but can also be observed in younger children.
- Neurosis of obsessive states. In this neurosis there is a clear cycle consisting of obsessions (obsessive anxious thoughts) and compulsions - certain rituals that are performed in order to get rid of the obsession.
This disease is often combined with other mental disorders.
Symptoms and signs
Since there are a lot of varieties of neurotic disorders, a child may experience the most unusual symptoms, and only a specialist will be able to understand them and make the correct diagnosis.
Symptoms that may indicate that a child has a neurosis:
- excessive irritability;
- emotional instability (mood changes too often, and any, even a minor event can change it to the exact opposite);
- sleep problems (the child hardly falls asleep, wakes up from any rustling, complains of drowsiness);
- appetite disturbances;
- high degree of fatigue;
- deterioration of cognitive abilities (the child is more difficult to concentrate on the lesson, he remembers the information worse, his performance may decrease if he is in school);
- excessive sensitivity to various stimuli (the child expresses dissatisfaction when in contact with bright light, loud sounds and is difficult to tolerate any physical discomfort);
- touchiness;
- tearfulness;
- anxiety, fear;
- apathy;
- somatic symptoms (various pains, heart rhythm disturbances, diarrhea, constipation, drops in blood pressure, weakness, dizziness);
- decrease in self-confidence.
Also, a child with a neurosis decreases stress resistance, so it is extremely difficult for him to cope with everyday difficulties.
Hazards and consequences
Children suffering neurosis not able to fully develop: their motivation decreases, cognitive abilities deteriorate. A prolonged neurosis can seriously complicate the child’s adaptation process in society.
Against the background of neurotic disorders, other mental abnormalities often develop, as a result the child becomes deeply unhappy, lacking the strength and desire to do something.
Also mental illness undermine somatic health baby His immune system will weaken, chronic diseases may appear, which worsen his quality of life even more.
Diagnostics
At the first signs of neurotic disorders it is important to consult a pediatrician, and he, after hearing the complaints and examining the child, will determine which specialists need to be sent to him.
Among them are usually:
- neuropsychiatrist;
- psychiatrist.
If a child has symptoms characteristic of certain somatic diseases, he may be referred to cardiologist, gastroenterologist, endocrinologist and other doctors.
Also shown holding comprehensive examinationwhich may include:
- magnetic resonance imaging;
- computed tomography;
- electroencephalography;
- Ultrasound of the organs against which there have been complaints;
- electrocardiogram.
The list of examinations may increase or decrease, depending on the symptoms present in the child.
When it is obvious that the symptoms are not related to somatic pathologies, the child will be given a clear diagnosis. Diagnosis and treatment of neurosis is usually performed by a neuropsychiatrist and / or psychotherapist.
Treatment
How and what to treat neurosis in children? Like most other mental illnesses, neuroses are treated with psychotherapeutic and medical methods.
In this case, psychotherapy is more important than drug support, especially in cases where the neurosis is expressed slightly.
It is extremely important to identify and, if possible, eliminate the prerequisites for development neurosis (for example, transfer the child to another educational institution, reduce the number of circles and sections, change attitudes towards him), because otherwise the treatment will not show significant effectiveness.
In the treatment of neurosis in children are actively used:
- family psychotherapy;
- different types of art therapy;
- pet therapy (communication with animals);
- cognitive behavioral psychotherapy (especially in the case of older children).
Drug therapy is predominantly symptomatic. The drugs are selected individually, based on the age, health and symptoms of the child. Often prescribed drugs from the following groups:
- Antidepressants (Zoloft, Prozac, Hypericum extract). Effectively reduce anxiety, normalize mood, improve sleep, appetite.
- Sedatives (preparations based on valerian root, Novo-Passit, herbal preparations). Helps to normalize sleep and reduce the severity of emotional instability.
- Benzodiazepines (Clonazepam). Used for severe anxiety.
Dr. Komarovsky believes that the basis of the treatment of child neurosis is the identification and elimination of the causes causing it. However, he emphasizes that it is extremely difficult to identify the causes of child neurosis without the help of a specialist.
Disease prevention
Top Recommendations:
- it is important that the child grows up in a benevolent, loving and trusting environment;
- it is necessary to provide him with food containing a sufficient amount of healthy substances;
- it is necessary to monitor the mood of the child in order to identify abnormalities in behavior and well-being in time.
If a child grows up in a benevolent and peaceful family, feeling that he is loved and appreciated, the likelihood that he will develop mental illness, fairly low.
How to recognize the first signs of systemic neurosis in children? Find out from the video:
