BOBBEE BEE:MENTAL HEALTH IS IMPORTANT

Mental Health is how we think, feel, and act as we face life’s situations. It is how we look at ourselves, our lives, and the people in our lives. It is how we evaluate options and make choices. Like physical health, our mental health is important at every stage of life.

Mental health includes how we handle stress, relate to others, and make decisions.

Mental health can impact the daily life and the future of a young person. For example, schoolwork, relationships, and physical health can be affected by mental health. Caring for and protecting a child’s mental health is a major part of helping that child grow to become the best he or she can be.

Like adults, children and adolescents have mental health problems that interfere with the way they think, feel, and act. These problems are real and painful. They can lead to school failure, family conflicts, drug abuse, violence, or suicide.

Mental health problems often limit young people’s current and future ability to be productive. In addition, these problems can be very costly to families, communities, and health care system.

Sometimes a young person has a mental health problem that severely disrupts his or her ability to function at home, in school, or in the community.

This child or adolescent is said to have a “serious emotional disturbance.” Usually the impaired emotional, behavioral, and mental functioning continues for a year or more. In some cases, the impairment last for a shorter period of time, but its severity is high or life-threatening.

Oddly, however, an estimate two-third of all young people with mental health problems will never get the help that they really need.

Most often, children’s and adolescents’ mental health problems are not recognized for what they are—and appropriate help is not sought.
The stigma about mental health problems keeps many people from asking for help. Stigma also causes isolation and discrimination for many young people and their families.
Punishment is often incorrectly used to solve these problems within the home, at school, or in the juvenile justice system.

Good information about children’s mental health problems is not available to many people who work with and care for children and adolescents. In addition, culturally competent and child-focused mental health services are not yet available in every community.

Sometimes, there is not a good match between the family or problem and the provider or service that is offered.

 

When a serious emotional disturbance in a child or adolescent goes untreated, it can have grave personal, social, and economic impacts on the child and his or her family. The child may experience major problems interacting with others, fail in school, act out or show violent behavior, or have additional or more severe mental health problems as an adult.

The family may incur high medical bills and the community also pays if the child becomes involved in the juvenile justice system.

Most of all, the child pays if he or she doesn’t get help.

Raising public awareness about children’s mental health issues may lead to earlier recognition of possible mental health problems. Identifying these problems when they first appear may help to keep them from getting worse later.

Please read our new series of children's book as we introduce Bobbee Bee "The Hater" as we attempt to help our children deal with some of these mental health issues. Our books can be purchased at www.authorhouse.com, www.bn.com, www.walmart.com, and www.target.com The titles include "In the Mind of Bobee Bee," and"Larry Long Legs featuring Bobbee Bee "The Hater"