Happy Childhood does not guarantee a person will be free from Depression 행복한 유년 시절, 정신 질환 면죄부 아니다

 

It is widely known that disadvantaged childhoods can increase the possibility of mental illness after becoming an adult. Then, will a person who had a happy childhood have no mental health problems in the future? Unfortunately, there is no such guarantee.

A new study has found that both positive and negative childhood experiences emerge as anxiety and other mental health disorders as kids enter adulthood. Therefore, it is up to one's ability to adapt to or not adapt to unexpected situations that can affect mental health.

 

The study was conducted by the University of South Australia in collaboration with the University of Canberra. The results of a study on how childhood experiences are related to mental health after becoming an adult are published in Current Psychology.

 

In Australia, nearly half of the population suffers from mental illness at one point in their lives. It is estimated that 314,000 children aged 4 to 11 (about 14%) will be diagnozed with mental illness among them. The Australian government's annual spending on mental health services is estimated at $9.9 billion, about $400 per person.

 

The study reaffirmed that people who experienced negative and unpredictable childhoods are more likely to suffer from mental health diseases such as depression, anxiety, paranoia and schzophrenia. On the other hand, children who grew up in stable and protected conditions were also at risk of experiencing anxiety symptoms in adulthood.

 

According to Bianca Carl, a senior researcher at the University of South Australia, the study shows the indiscriminate nature of mental illness, while also realizing that there are potential risk factors for all children. "This study shows that mental health is not only determined by childhood experiences, and children who grow up in happy families can still have mental health problems," he explained.

 

"I think our expectations of the environment and our ability to adapt to the situation when those expectations are not met can affect the experience of pain," Mr. Carl added. In other words, if you learn to adapt to childhood changes and cope when things don't go your way, you will be better able to cope with stress or other risks that worsen your mental health.

 

For parents, it is important to make sure that their children have a happy and safe childhood. This, however, does not imply that kids raised carefully like plants in greenhouses are also exposed to same kind of risks. It's best to avoid all the well-established risky factors that can lead to psychological instability in the future, as all kids must learn about medical first-aids in their primary schools. As always, prevention is better than the cure.