Expert says children, young adults most mentally fatigued as pandemic rages on

A notforprofit trust called VCAN and the Nair Hospital came together as part of the latterrsquos centenary year initiative for a virtual social sanchar or interactive talk show recently The topic was lsquoYoung Minds in Troubled TimesrsquoIt featured expert Dr Alka Subramanyam associate professor psychiatry BYL Nair Hospital on the challenges that children and youth face as the Covid19 outbreak wears on Her talk had a doff of the hat to youngsters who had shown an ingenuity that adults struggled to in coping with the social interaction gaps brought on by the outbreakVCAN works to establish linkages with the government authorities and citizens Indrani Malkani trustee VCAN said at the outset ldquoDuring the pandemic we have experienced mental health problems either amongst ourselves or seen a loved one struggle Now after 15 years lockdown restrictions have led to mental stress and fatigue It is unsurprising that the youngest amongst us have been hit the hardest Children and young adults have to cope with an increasing set of challenges If we are to make robust mental health care a reality for young minds we need to be well educatedrdquoBoth sidesWhile technology has bad press at times Dr Subramanyam handed it to technology which was why she said ldquoWe were still connecting through the outbreak There would be wider gaps everywhere if we did not have tech The positive side here is certainly more than the negative Youth has spent considerable time on digital and social media as they could not attend school or college These are not just for studies There you learn values and discipline You have physical activity and social networking You learn the art of negotiationrdquoCoping mechanismThe expert acknowledged that youngsters did invent some impressive ways to lsquomeetrsquo in cyber space She said ldquoDuring this pandemic we saw children become extremely innovative Parents came to us saying my child is spending so much screen time I am afraid he or she is becoming addicted We instead found adolescents would call their friends and say let us watch a movie together So each one is in their own home and they are all connected to a movie watching together This is a way to connect it was ingenious These were some coping social mechanisms which were brilliant Initially because of the novelty of the situation the first six to eight months were greatrdquoShe went on ldquoOver time fatigue has set in Abuse both mental and physical violence took place affecting the most vulnerable children and elders Child helplines were flooded with calls They cite statistics showing a definite uptick in violence against childrenrdquoSocial beingsShe stated there are children who have never been to school She said ldquoWe have younger children who now think this is normal We have to work very hard to see that they learn to socialize with each other Experts have set guidelines about how schools can reopen In the time that they are in school the focus should not be academics Academics can be the focus online In school there should be emphasis on projects perhaps that foster socialization If we have vaccines coming for children and if we teach them COVID apt protocol we have to overcome this fear as parents and understand that it is important for them to go out nowrdquoThe doctor said ldquoWhen you are vaccinated you are protected to a large extent We are fortunate now that the pandemic may change its face it is going to be a virus like any other Once the vaccines come for them we must encourage children to be vaccinated and then they can go outrdquoShe stressed being dismissive about a childrsquos mental problems is callous at best and can be dangerous at worst She explained ldquoWe have to stop thinking how can a child be sad have depression It can happen It is important you recognize it and treat the child If a child or adolescent voices suicidal thoughts do not laugh it off It may have been said in rage or there is no intention of acting upon it Let the professional decide This means you have heeded the red flag and acted upon itrdquo Words of wisdom for both these times and beyond the pandemic