Does your child have a mood disorder ? No doubt , manyparents of teens and tweens would emphatically answer , “ yes ,” without waiting to hear more . AccordingtoEileen Schneider , a clinical social workerwith apractice in Tenafly , “ the defining factorofamood disorder is that it is asignificant disturbance in one ’ s emotionalmake up that is persistent ; sortofhow someone sees the world .” Dysthmia ( persistent depression ), major depression , bipolar disorder ( the cycling between depression and more elevatedmoods ) and disruptive mood dysregulation disorder ( apersistent angry , irritable mood with frequent temperoutbursts ) are all examplesofmood disorders . Anxiety and depression can be manifestations of mood disorders .
Schneiderexplains that in order to
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treat and cope with mood disorders , it is importanttolook at their origin .
“ Mooddisorders can be caused from an imbalance of brain chemicals that regulate mood as well as environmental factors . Repeated and serious stress is known to seriously affect mood . This could be something like the death of a close family member , divorce , asudden move , etc .,” she says . “ Thisisnot to say that every child who experiences these changes will develop amood disorder , but if the child is having trouble coping and doesnot have the support of aparent or outside help , the combination of several factors and the repeated stress could lead to amood disorder .”
She says there is also ageneticcomponent with mood disorders and certain childrencould be predisposedtotheir development .
“ Living with aparent with amood disorder is also achallenge ,” she says . Teachers may be the first ones to
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notice signs that achild has amood disorder . Dr . Jen Altman , aclinical psychologist with aprivate practice in Ho-Ho-Kus , acknowledges that “ because teachers see so many different behaviors , sometimesitisdifficult to understand what is driving aparticular behavior , but if it is taken together with anumber of different factors , teachers can notice certain signs .”
For example , she says , there may be achange in academic functioning – any kind of drop in grades or change in attitude toward learning .
“ There may be achange in the quality of classroom functioning – isthe child no longerparticipating ? The student may seem more distractible , distracted , morefatiguedand irritable . The child may be over-reacting to situations or may be lethargic , exhibiting muchlower energy than usual ,” she says . “ Socially , these children might isolate themselves ; theymay not want to communicate or
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18 FEBRUARY / MARCH 2017 | ( 201 ) FAMILY |
201magazine . com |