Page 12 - 2021 - 05 - second edition CCS InTouch - outlines_Neat

School Counsellor okay to feel, then we can coach them on
Update how to express them appropriately.

By Mrs. T. Schinkel RP, MC:AT 3. KNOWING WHEN THE EMOTIONS ARE
CONCERNING OR SIGNIFICANT | Parents
often ask “Is this behaviour or feeling con-
SINCE THIS pandemic started, not only cerning or normal?” First, consider where
has our physical health been impacted but your child is at developmentally. Is this age
the global impact on mental health has ris- appropriate? Next, consider if their emo-
en. Now that it has been over a year, re- tions are overwhelming, persistent and/or
search trends are starting to emerge and are interfering with their daily functioning
we are seeing the effects on mental health, and if so, it may be helpful to seek out pro-
especially in our children and youth. fessional support.

YOUTH ARE IN CRISIS • Are the emotions persistent? Do the When we feel regulated and calm, we can
• Suicide attempt rates increased feelings last all day/every day/con- regulate our kids. This is called co-regula-
• Eating disorders increased stant? tion, and this is especially when children
• Use of Kids Help phone increased • Are they prolonged? Do they last for are young (ages 0-10) because they have
• Rise in substance use/abuse weeks or months? not learned how to regulate themselves
• Apathy, depression, low motivation, • Are they intrusive? Do they interfere yet. This is tough work because that
isolation with activities? Loss of interest, ap- means, we need to check our emotions
• Increased anxiety, heightened fear, petite, or energy? before responding to our kids.
health related anxiety •
• School absences unrelated to Some other red flags: We may not always get this right, in fact, it
COVID-19 1 • School refusal/school avoidance may feel like we stumble a lot through this!
• Panic attacks Admitting a mistake and correcting it can
This may alarm you, or it may be some- • Poor sleep at night, which can lead go a long way in modelling to our kids how
thing you are well aware of. In either case, to distraction/lack of focus at school to work through the difficult things.
awareness can help us, as long as we • Health anxiety (focus on various
have accurate information and then steps somatic complaints; headaches, In addition, routines and structure make a
to know what to do in response to this stomachaches, pains) big difference and offer stability and pre-
awareness. The following are some steps • Persistent low mood dictability, which is so helpful to our overall
you can take: • Lack of interest in things/Lack of mental health. Continue to offer comfort,
motivation/Lack of energy stability, routine, care, and fun.
1. UNDERSTANDING MENTAL HEALTH • Isolating self from peers
| We all have mental health and having • Significant weight loss/gain 5. CONNECTING TO OUR FAITH AND OUR
good mental health means that we expe- • Easily overwhelmed/stressed COMMUNITY | We can lament together
rience a full range of emotions, even the • Emotionally numb that our world is suffering, our children are
uncomfortable ones. For children, some suffering, we are suffering. This is hard.
common emotions that have significantly 4. REGULATING OURSELVES | This can COVID-19 is not going away and we hav-
increased this past year, for good reasons, be the hardest thing! In Dr. Laura en’t yet seen all the effects. We have hope
are anxiety and depression. We all expe- Markham’s book Peaceful Parent, Happy and when that hope is hard to see in our
rience anxious and depressed moods at Kids, three tips are identified for peaceful “fog,” it is so important to reach out to fami-
times. It is also natural for our children to parenting: regulate yourself; foster con- ly, friends, faith leaders, and mental health
feel these, especially with all the contin- nection; coaching, not controlling. professionals.
ued changes, lack of consistency, and the
restrictions of this past year. We are all weary, even adults, and we feel We all have limits and when things are too
the effects on our mental health. It’s okay much, it’s okay to ask for help!
2. GIVING OPPORTUNITIES TO EXPRESS to feel tired and burned out. We have ex-
AND VALIDATE ALL EMOTIONS | So of- perienced a very challenging year and it When Moses’ hands grew tired, they
ten we want to fix, correct, push away the continues. took a stone and put it under him and he
negative emotions. When kids are sup- sat on it. Aaron and Hur held his hands
ported in recognizing that all emotions are Take care of self, so you can take care of up—one on one side, one on the oth-
others. Implement boundaries, breaks, pri- er—so that his hands remained steady
oritize activities, show gratitude, pray, stay till sunset (Exodus 17:12).
1. “The other side of COVID-19: Mental health active and exercise, develop interests,
challenges prevalent in youth”, Hamilton
Health Sciences connect. Let’s hold each other’s arms up!

12 inTouch June 2021