What Are the Signs of Unhealthy Amounts of Stress in Children?
You know your child best. All of their mannerisms and quirks are quite familiar to you.
However, lately, your child has been experiencing stress, and things seem different. They are acting out in ways that you have never seen before.
Of course, you are worried. Yet, there is no way to avoid the stress. Most likely it’s related to school. Children often experience stress due to academic performance, homework, etc. However, it could be that your family is dealing with a major situation, such as an ill family member, or even divorce.
So what can you do?
The first step you can take to help your child is understand the signs of unhealthy amounts of stress in kids. Consider some.
Change in School Performance
One indicator that your child is struggling with an unhealthy amount of stress is when you observe changes in school performance. If they were earning A’s and B’s in school but now those grades have slipped, that’s a warning sign something is going on.
It may be that your child is so distracted by what’s causing the stress that they can’t focus on their schoolwork. That makes sense. For instance, if someone in your family is facing a serious illness, everyone in the family will know. Especially your child! And it's natural that they would be thinking more about that family member than school.
Obsessive Thoughts
Another sign of stress in your child is when they have obsessive thoughts connected to the stress. Obsessive thinking occurs when you just can’t get that thought out of your head—you hyper-focus on that thought. The result is that your performance in other areas of your life decreases.
Using the above example of an illness in the family, your child may be obsessing over their loved one and their health. It seems as if they are always distracted, with their thoughts somewhere else. Or maybe they are constantly asking you questions about their loved one's condition. Those are indications of obsessive thinking.
Nightmares
Children who are under stress may have more frequent and frightening nightmares. Dreams are one way the human brain processes information. If your child is facing a lot of stress, that stress can manifest itself in the form of unpleasant dreams.
Of course, nightmares are scary, especially if they happen frequently. In response, your child might refuse to go to bed. Or it takes a very long time for them to fall asleep because they don’t want to dream. When you see taking place, the possibility that your child's stress level is way up is very real.
Behavior Changes That Are Out of Character
Typically, your child is likely happy and cheerful. They love to laugh, have fun, and have a generally pleasant disposition. But suddenly something’s different. Now you are seeing behaviors that are uncharacteristic for your child.
For example:
Angry outbursts
Yelling or having a tantrum
Being physically aggressive to you or others
Keep in mind that if your child lashes out one time that might not be a sign something is wrong. However, if it is happening frequently and those behaviors are a departure from their typical behavior, then it’s time to be concerned.
Why Are All These Things Happening?
Even adults have trouble with managing stress. Children will have even more difficulty. They may not understand what they are feeling or experiencing. Yet, they often do know that it isn’t good.
Humans also experience stress because of things in their lives that they can’t control. For children, the only way they may be able to feel somewhat in control is by yelling or acting out, even though this is not healthy behavior. Instead, it is a cry for help!
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It’s difficult to see your child struggle with stress. But there are steps you can take to help. Encouraging your child to talk about their feelings is helpful. As does teaching them healthy ways to cope with stress.
But it’s also important that your child gets professional support. If you would like to find out how Child Therapy with Journey Mental Health can help, please feel free to contact us.