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Mental health is often a grey area. We all know how to take care of our physical health and can recognise and support others when they are having issues. Mental health on the hand is more difficult to understand as the symptoms are harder to detect and are sometimes hidden.
It’s just as important and should take priority as when it’s bad, it can be debilitating and affect motivation. Here are a few ways in which you can support your child with theirs according to a group of school councillors.
Counselling
It can be hard for children to open up about their problems and while you love and care for them, they may feel afraid to talk to you. Sometimes an external person is needed, that can offer support without the fear of judgement. Counselling is a great way for children to do this and is delivered by those that are trained.
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is an avenue that you can explore. It’s a way of managing the difficult feelings that children may experience with their mental health such as stress and low feelings. It looks to redirect their attention and reconnect them with the world around them. Breathing exercises are an example of mindfulness and there are many more techniques that can offer relief when feeling overwhelmed.
Set A Good Example
The example you set will affect the way that your child deals with things as you’re their role model. Whether you suffer from mental health or not, you can demonstrate a commitment to look after it by carrying out self-care and mindfulness when you feel like you need to.
It’s a Spectrum
Mental health also works on a spectrum and it’s important for both you and your child to acknowledge this. Some days it may be okay while on others it may be really difficult for them to go about their day. Knowing and understanding where they sit on that spectrum from day to day can help you to best support them. That means having conversations and paying attention to the different signs that they are displaying.
Visit The Doctors
Thanks to the internet, there are lots of helpful resources out there. There are many different techniques that you can try as mentioned earlier but they may not necessarily work. Further support may be needed in the form of therapy or medication which is where an assessment with a GP can help.
We hope that this gave you some helpful information on how to support your child with their mental health. For more content like this, take a look at our blog where we have various parenting guides.
