THE Sidra Medicine Child and Adolescent Psychiatry team will be attending several school and community events over the coming months, to raise awareness about mental health and ways in which Sidra Medicine can help.
These events include the 4th Annual Symposium of Community Mental Health Services in Qatar which started on April 19; the Renaud Academy's workshop on 'Autism: Seeing the Spectrum differently' on April 25 and a joint day-long symposium in collaboration with American School of Doha. This is in addition to the presentation Qatar Foundation (QF) school meetings where staff from all QF schools come together to share expertise.
One of the key messages the team hopes to share with the community is the need for more awareness and education about teen depression. Depression is one of the most common mental health problems among adolescents and begins during early teenage years. It is a biological disorder that is triggered by external events, making adolescents especially vulnerable as they are going through hormonal changes, increased pressure and expectations associated with adulthood. By the end of their teen years, 20 percent of adolescents would have experienced at least one depressive episode.
Sidra Medicine Division Chief (Child and Adolescent Psychiatry) Ahsan Nazeer suggested that parents should look for changes in function and behaviour. This includes a drop in grades, increased incidents of social conflict, withdrawal from the social scene and patterns of anger and irritability.
"It is crucial to be aware of these signs and speak with your children. When your child knows they are being heard, they are more likely to open up. This also gives parents a greater chance to positively intervene and establish the best form of treatment with their healthcare provider. In addition to therapy and medication, which should be advised by a trained and licensed physician, complementary life changes, including regular sleep patterns, a healthy diet and exercise, have been shown to improve depressive symptoms," he said. (TNN)