Knowing What to Look For: What Are the Signs?

Recognizing signs early can help you get support when needed. Here are some behaviors to watch for:

• Personal Hygiene: Your child stops taking care of their hygiene or grooming.
• Appearance Changes: Your child’s appearance changes for no clear reason, like sudden weight loss or gain.
• Mood Swings: They go from feeling very sad to angry or irritable quickly.
• Withdrawal: They pull away from friends, family, or activities they used to enjoy, like sports or clubs.
• Increased Irritability: Your child has more frequent and intense outbursts of anger or frustration.
• Sleep Changes: They have trouble falling asleep, get nightmares often, or start sleeping too much.
• Appetite Changes: Your child’s eating habits change a lot, like losing their appetite or overeating.
• Concentration Issues: They have trouble focusing on tasks, or their grades start dropping.
• Worry or Anxiety: Your child seems more anxious or worried than usual, even about things that others might not find stressful.
• Physical Complaints: They often complain about headaches, stomachaches, or other physical problems without a clear medical reason.
• School Behavior Changes: There are sudden behavior problems, a drop in performance, or conflicts with teachers and classmates.
• Acting Younger: Your child starts doing things they did when they were younger, like sucking their thumb or wetting the bed.
• Risk-Taking: They start doing things that are dangerous or overly risky.
• Substance Use: Experimenting with or using drugs or alcohol.
• Trouble Expressing Feelings: Your child has a hard time talking about their feelings or becomes unusually quiet.
• Self-Harm or Suicidal Thoughts: Any talk of self-harm or suicide should be taken seriously, and professional help should be sought right away.