As the school year starts, parents should keep an eye on their child's mental health — no matter their age, experts say. Here are 5 things to keep in mind.
, an app designed to connect students with mental health resources. He says, don't shy away from the hard questions with your kids – ask them about the challenges they're facing, too.
Things like changes in sleep, increased irritability, increased weight gain or changes in appetite can signal to clinicians that there may be an underlying issue. But for incoming college students, he adds,"a lot of those things can naturally happen ... with students going away from home for the first time."
The increase in anxiety and mental health issues isn't solely a result of the pandemic. The number of students struggling with mental health has been rising for years, says Sarah Lipson, an assistant professor of public health at Boston University. She helps leadof hundreds of colleges around the country to get a better picture of student mental health.
While the past two years have been especially challenging, Lipson says not to belittle students' feelings by explaining them away with the pandemic. In an academic year where there is a push for normalcy some students may not be ready to return to business as usual.