UBC Mental Health Awareness Club

What may surprise you is that one in five children suffers from mental illnesses interfering with their daily life. According to American Psychological Association this often this goes unrecognized by professionals and parents because they expect them to “grow out” of their problems.

Psychologists have pointed out two symptoms that should be paid careful attention to:
• Extremes or peculiarity of behavior for the age and gender of the child, such as being significantly more hyper, aggressive, or withdrawn
• Sudden, hard-to-explain negative changes in behavior, such as a steep drop in grades

Children are evaluated according to The Child Behavior Checklist and DSM-V for a potential diagnosis. The significance of helping young children manage their emotional and behavioral problems early in life may prevent the development of disorders. As mental illness develops over time not only does it become increasingly difficult to treat but it also causes them to miss out on many childhood experiences.

Source: http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/treatment-of-children-with-mental-illness-fact-sheet/index.shtml
http://www.everydayhealth.com/emotional-health/mental-illness-in-kids-surprising-warning-signs.aspx?xid=tw_depression_20111212_emotional

A recent addition to the DSM-5 clarifies Premenstrual Dysphoric Disorder (PMDD) as a disorder affecting five to seven percent of women of reproductive age. It shares several characteristics with different mood disorders and is most commonly misdiagnosed as Major Depression.

In a study by Girdler and colleagues they found that PMDD has specific measures of stress and pain which make it distinct from major depression disorder due to differences in biological mechanisms. They concluded that these impairments lead to severe distress comparable to those who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, major depressive disorder and panic disorder which cycle on a monthly basis. Although it is distributed throughout a woman’s life they found that some women spend half their lives suffering due to this disorder if left untreated.

Another finding from this study shows those women who have co morbidity of both major depression and PMDD showed lower cortisol levels and greater sensitivity to pain compared to non-PMDD women with depression. They did not find differences between PMDD and non PMDD women who had no prior depression.

Only half of women benefit from current treatment. Its recent addition to the DSM-5 has led to intense research in this area potentially yielding more treatment options as we learn more about the biological mechanisms involved.

Source: http://psychcentral.com/news/2010/03/31/the-difference-between-depression-and-premenstrual-dysphoric-disorder/12485.html