Mental Health

At Valley Children’s, we believe that health includes not only physical wellness, but mental and emotional wellness, too. We also recognize that mental health is closely tied to physical health – anxiety, stress or depression can manifest in physical symptoms like headache, fatigue and stomach pain or other gastrointestinal issues. Because of this linkage between mind and body, issues with emotional health can be hard to spot and diagnose. That is why it’s important to be closely involved in your child’s emotional well-being, and to make an emotional well-being check-up a part of your child’s regular well child exam. Never be afraid to enlist your child’s pediatrician to help if you are concerned about your child’s mental health.

Literature shows that one in five children will suffer from depression by the end of adolescence, and approximately half of teens with depression are not diagnosed until adulthood. As parents, you are the first line of defense in recognizing changes in your child’s emotional well-being. It’s important to develop an open dialogue with your child early on about their mental health, and allow them to come to you for help or advice.

Look to the resources in this section to help you recognize and understand the many connections between mental and physical wellness and to reduce the stigma society incorrectly associates with mental health.