According to a ground-breaking national study conducted recently, hundreds of thousands of Australian children and teenagers are experiencing serious mental health issues, but their parents are ill-equipped to provide them with the support they need, if indeed they know a problem even exists. Many parents are completely unaware as to what’s going on with their children emotionally and mentally.
Experts warn of a serious and impending mental health pandemic among young Australians, and claim the recent study must serve as a serious wake-up call for Australian parents, as well as medical professionals such as doctors.
They also claim there’s a distinct and very real need for more governmental services, as well as private clinics that provide ADHD assessments for children in Sydney and other cities, to help young people deal with mental health issues such as anxiety and depression, the two most common mental health issues among young people today.
At Least One in Ten Australia Children Experience Mental Health Issues
The statistics of the recent survey are extremely worrying. Experts claim that as many as one in ten children, some as young as four years of age, suffer from mental health issues, something ADHD specialists in Sydney, who use neurofeedback to help patients train their brains, have been aware of for some time now.
It also found many young Australians have inflicted bodily harm upon themselves, and that one in 13 children aged between 12 and 17 years of age has seriously considered suicide. One in 20 young Australians are so serious about ending their own lives that they have already selected a place to do it.
Australian Parents Unaware of Their Children’s Feelings
At present, it would appear as though many Australian parents are somewhat unaware of their children’s emotional and mental state, and a high percentage may be surprised to learn that their children are not as ‘happy’ as they believe them to be.
According to the chief investigator on the research project, which is the biggest of its kind so far on the subject of child and teenage mental health in Australia and the first to look into the prevalence of anxiety disorders among Australians, many young Australians are going through, what he believes to be, a period of significant emotional distress. And in most cases, their parents aren’t aware of their feelings.
Changes in Mental Health among Young Australians
The survey has also highlighted changes in mental health issues among Australian children and teenagers. Compared to a similar study conducted in 1998, it shows that the nature of the mental health issues identified among young Australians has changed over the years.
Among the findings were that major depression issues are now far more common among older teenagers, and that anxiety disorders and depression are more prevalent across all age groups surveyed. However, on a more positive note, ADHD was less common among young Australians than in 1998, which is thought to be because of the number of specialist ADHD clinics operating in Sydney and other major cities.
