Mental issues are the common problem amongst infants. For instance a new mother may feel that her child in not bonding well with her, foster children may have difficulty settling into their new family and environment or a baby keeps crying all through the night. Whatever be the reasons, it clearly signifies that the child is suffering from mental health issues.

During their growing years, children need to be socially and emotionally bonded with their families. This helps them to develop attachments and trust in the world. Apart from this, it also makes the child feel secure and safe. The life development stage of an infant is the most crucial stage in their lives.

What are the reasons for Mental Issues in Infants?

A toddler or an infant may suffer from mental issues due to a lot of reasons. It is scientifically proven that a child’s emotional and social competence level depends in the relationships that they experience in the early years of their life.

Lack of Early Nurturance: One of the reasons for infants to develop mental health issues can be lack of nurturance. In this busy world, when both the parents are working, it is very difficult to spend time with the child. The child may feel left out and this can affect the functioning of the brain.

Mental Trauma: Any negative events occurring in a child’s life can hamper their psychological levels. Incidences like domestic violence, natural disasters, negligence, accidents etc can affect the social and emotional stability in infants. In their growing years, infants need to be nurtured with love and affection, rather than negligence.

Lack of Interpersonal Interaction: The first 4 years of a child is a crucial phase. It is here that they learn to trust and develop secure attachments with their parents. Sometimes parents become too much involved in their own emotional problems that they neglect the crucial stages of their child. This leads the child further away from his parents since he feels neglected and unloved.

How do you know an Infant is suffering from Mental Issues?

Like all diseases and disorders, the mental health of a person comes with certain symptoms. Toddlers who suffer from mental issues display some signs of discomfort or displeasures. Some of the symptoms are as follows:

• Lack of interaction amongst other children
• Tantrums and Aggression in later life
• Difficulty in communicating
• Being aloof all the time

How to Overcome Such Mental Issues in Infants?

Bringing infants out of their mental health problems requires a great deal of effort from the parents’ side. Cooperation from both the parents can help the child to get back his confidence and fight against this issue.

 The treatment to overcome these issues is as follows:

Interaction Guidance: This treatment helps in evaluating the relationship between the infants and their parents. The child and the parents will be made to do some activities together, so that the child can interact more with his parents. This will help to get the infant out of his shell and bond more efficiently.

Parent Infant Psychotherapy: In this treatment, the mother of the infant is questioned about her own relationship with her parents. By doing so, the therapist gets to know what is causing the emotional barrier between the child and his mother and how this can be overcome. When the mother gives more importance to her child, the child becomes more attached to her and can easily overcome his mental health issues.

Theraplay: This is a therapy directed at the infants and their parents. In this treatment the child is involved in a lot of fun filled activities with his parents so that he can develop his self esteem and improve upon his trust. This treatment is based upon the five natural qualities namely: Engagement, Structure, Challenge, Playfulness and Nurture.

Conclusion

Understanding the necessities of infants when they are growing up can help eliminate a lot of mental health disorders and issues. They will learn the meaning of trust and love and will be happy all the time. Love and affection are the two vital ingredients that will help in their life development.

Mental Issues in Infants is a post from: Mental Health

 Brief introduction to vitamin absorption

Nutrients absorption is essential for body functioning and the essential mental health. Due to illnesses, use of processed food, sedentary lifestyle, and aging, the essential nutrients do not get sufficiently assimilated.

 This improper assimilation of nutrients in the blood stream leads to vitamin deficiency. The fundamental path to vitamin needs is absorption. Absorption in the body takes place through the enzymes. The enzymes are needed for the proper digestion of the nutrients in the stomach and the digestive tract. Absorption does not take place in the body without these enzymes. These enzymes also enhance mental health and capacity.

 Benefits of vitamin B1 and its importance for mental health:

 Vitamin B1 is one of the eight vitamins present in vitamin B complex group and it is also called as is thiamin. The chief characteristic of vitamin B1 is its ability to convert the carbohydrates into energy. This energy is required for proper functioning of heart, nervous system and muscle system of the body.

 Vitamin B1 is particularly essential for the brain in terms of mental health and very useful for concentration and focusing. Vitamin B1 deficiency is usually associated mental symptoms which include fatigue, confusion and psychosis.

The severe deficiency of vitamin B1 causes Korsakoff Syndrome and Wernicke’s Ddisease. In both the cases, the common symptoms include short term memory loss and mental confusion. Vitamin B1 is very important to prevent the brain damage and it improves mental health and brain functioning.

 What is the use of vitamin B12 and its relation to mental health?

The neurotransmitters are metabolized by the brain to perform the activity of producing serotonin. Vitamin B12 plays a vital role in its production. Vitamin B12 deficiency leads to a number of mental health problems like demyelinating myelopathy, depression, Alzheimer’s or dementia. This vitamin maintains a positive mood with the help of neurotransmitter norepinephrine.

The deficiency in B12 absorption exhibits depression and neuropsychiatric symptoms. Vitamin B12 plays a major part to produce serotonin which is essential to maintain the emotional health.

Inadequate serotonin levels in the body lead to problems with sleep, emotions, mood, sexual desire, and headaches. The brain requires adequate B12 to produce neurotransmitters in the body which is achieved by proper dietary intake.

What are the basic exercises required to enhance brain power?

• Mental exercises to enhance brain power: Exercising the brain improves neuron cell growth. Mental exercises include playing card games, doing cross word puzzle, philosophical arguments, doing mental mathematics which all proves to improve mental abilities. It is recommended for the children to indulge themselves in such brain game activities.

Other mental activity includes performing and learning memory techniques, doing things that are creative and imaginative, writing your own lyrics to a song and singing. The children normally develop the skills as they grow up.

• Physical exercises to enhance brain power: Indirectly physical exercises improve the functioning of the brains. Physical activities assist proper blood flow to the heart. It means better blood supply carries enough oxygen needed to the brain.

Regular physical activity increases brain power. Basketball, badminton, golf, soccer playing improves brain function. Coordination and precise timing activities like playing instruments, drawing and painting improves the mental health drastically. Meditation betters both mental and physical function. These activities can be even more helpful if adopted during the childhood days.

Physical activity and mental functioning are interconnected with production of neurotransmitters.  Neurotransmitters lead to increased physical activity and it aides the body in producing more volumes of brain chemicals required for memory and mood improvement, and function.

Physical activity directly affects the power of the brain which produces the necessary chemicals required for the proper functioning of the body. Exercise raises the antioxidant activity and maintains healthy brain cells.

All the vitamins in the B family are important for proper brain functioning. More particularly vitamin B12 and B1 play a major role in brain functioning and improving the mental abilities.

Food intake rich in vitamin B12 and B1 protects your nervous system and keeps your brain healthy. Vitamin B12 helps your body to get energy and enhances the brain cell functions. It is a key vitamin for good memory and thinking. Basic vitamins are required by the body for better life development and mental health wellbeing.

All about Basic Vitamins and Exercises is a post from: Mental Health

 There are no specific classifications related to the child development because there are many factors like the physical, emotional and mental health associated with the growth of a child. These three major factors are interlinked and one cannot exist without the other. Even if one of them stumbles the others factors will be affected.

In child development it is essential to find out the possible problems at the early stages so that it can be treated at the right time which can help the child grow and function normally.

The most common disorder of the brain which affects child development at the first stage is autism. Autism is a neurological development disorder which affects the social development, mental health, expressive abilities and communication skills of a child even till the adult years.

In other most common disorder of childhood is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder which is otherwise called as ADHD. The children exhibit hyperactivity in their working behavior.

How to deal with ADHD in child?

You’ll need to first assess them for their levels of hyperactivity. One of the foremost methods of helping the child in this condition would be to develop the technique to communicate positively.

The main aim of treatment is to help the child learn to control themselves and act in right behavior. Teach the child step by step to change their attitude and behavior and act normal. This way it helps the mental health development in a child who is suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

What is the correlation of child development and ADHD?

These two are very closely interlinked with one another. More so, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can determine the path of child development. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder has substantial strangling effects on the essential functions of the brain which are responsible for memory, organized thinking, reasoning, and emotional stability. The child’s developmental phases are affected by this disorder.

This behavioral disorder has a very bad effect on the mental heath of the child. In the early phase a confused pattern of child development and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may be noted.

The retired with ADHD exhibits the symptoms which include excitability, irritability, and it is often very difficult to soothe and comfort them. They are very sensitive to sharp sounds and sights, extremely distracted, irritable, and they often cry. These babies have altered sleep patterns which affect their mental health in the early stages.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in toddlers exhibit conniptions. They have difficulty understanding the condition and are unaware about how to tackle frustrations. Therefore, they become very emotional and conniptions are the only way to express their feelings.

The child’s development is affected because of altered sleeping pattern. For normal developmental processes to happen in a child, regular sleep pattern is very essential.

This disorder even affects the development of social skills in a child. In this situation it is very painful to witness the difficulty through which they go through.

The self esteem in a child with this disorder is lowered as they are not able to cope with the social norms. This type of extended frustration leads to depression. Identify the symptoms at the early stages and provide proper intervention to help child development.

What is the treatment management for ADHD?

• Medication: Psycho stimulants are given for children and adults with this disorder. These stimulants allow brain neurons to function normally. They help the neurons fire correctly which otherwise slowed down and impaired.
• Self management: This is little difficult but with the help of the parents and proper organizing, it can be eventually achieved. Planning and organizing things help to extenuate some of the exasperating aspects of this disorder.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder groups and behavioral therapy:

This behavioral therapy helps to fight complex neurological problem which affects the mental health of the child. Psychological counseling helps a lot in this problem to recognize the symptoms and gain control over oneself. Proper intervention at early stages helps the child development processes to a very large extent.

Child Development and ADHD Management is a post from: Mental Health