Impact On Development
How does poor mental health and well-being affect development?
Children and adolescents with mental health problems often display impaired mental health, lower life satisfaction and poorer health-related quality of life as adults.
Physical Development
Intellectual Development
Emotional Development
Social Development
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Physical Development
The growth and development of both the brain and body.
Short-term physical impacts of poor mental health: Depression may cause headaches, fatigue and digestive problems, and anxiety can create an upset stomach or physical shaking. Other symptoms can include insomnia, restlessness and difficulty concentrating.
Long-term physical impacts of poor mental health: Depression has been linked to many chronic illnesses. These illnesses include diabetes, asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, and arthritis. Schizophrenia has also been linked to a higher risk of heart and respiratory diseases.
Intellectual Development
The growth of a child's ability to think and learn.
Short-term intellectual impacts of poor mental health: Poor mental health would cause the adolescent to be distracted in class as they will not be able to concentrate due to possibly thinking about their problems, causing them to miss out on their education.
Long-term intellectual impacts of poor mental health: Untreated mental illness can make a person more vulnerable to victimisation. Mental illness can prevent a person from feeling happy or thinking clearly, and can set off a cyclical reaction of victimisation and, further, post-traumatic stress caused by it.
Emotional Development
Understanding how and why your feelings occur.
Short-term emotional impacts of poor mental health: Negative mental health may cause people to be alienated from their peers because of perceived unattractive personality traits or behaviours. They can also cause anger, fear, sadness and feelings of helplessness if the person does not know or understand what is happening.
Long-term emotional impacts of poor mental health: When mental illness is left untreated, it can lead to long-term issues with emotional stability, behaviour regulation, relationship difficulties, substance abuse, and even physical illness.
Social Development
The process in which a child learns to interact with others.
Short-term social impacts of poor mental health: Mental health problems can cause people to be isolated from anyone they know including people they rely on such as friends and family. This may cause them to feel lonely and sad. This may later lead to depression and anxiety.
Long-term social impacts of poor mental health: Poor mental health can have particularly harmful effects on children and adolescents whose development depends on forming bonds with their family members and peers. In adulthood, this social isolation can lead to family breakdown, divorce, or even childhood neglect.
Support
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