Childhood Mental illness?!
Question: I am researching a topic that hits close to home for me with my own children. So can anyone who has training or experience answer this please.
Do children know that they are or have a mental illiness? meaning that do they know that if they hear voices talking to them or see things that arent there do they know that it is not normal and not from what their parents or others say to them but what do they think of them, do they think they are ok, normal, scarey that they are the only ones, that everyone has this issue or they only think what the adults or caregivers and professionals tell them?
I am looking for what the children really say or have said about such things not what the asults think about them
Answers: I am researching a topic that hits close to home for me with my own children. So can anyone who has training or experience answer this please.
Do children know that they are or have a mental illiness? meaning that do they know that if they hear voices talking to them or see things that arent there do they know that it is not normal and not from what their parents or others say to them but what do they think of them, do they think they are ok, normal, scarey that they are the only ones, that everyone has this issue or they only think what the adults or caregivers and professionals tell them?
I am looking for what the children really say or have said about such things not what the asults think about them
From what I have been told... it really ranges. I think around ages seven or eight, many children start to feel different from others, and I have heard some say that they always knew that something was wrong and wished that adults would have been more open with them (I work in the area of autism spectrum disorders and Aspergers).
Older kids, such as teen-agers - I have limited experience with severe depression and schizophrenia. The kids I knew definitely knew that there was something wrong... they just had no idea what to do about it. They were really suffering.
In my opinion, it is usually better to be open with children. In regards to the degree of insight that children have, particularly about psychotic symptoms, you might try researching key words such as "children," "schizophrenia" or "psychosis," and
"insight."
Hope this helps.
It will very on the individual. Social Workers are excellent resources for the information you are looking for. I suggest you interview some.
Children with mental illness don't know they're sick, they have no point of reference as to "well", they realize, at some point, that they are different and don't fit in.