Riyan, 16, of Pulwama, was forced by his parents to live a life of discipline and never allowed him to watch television and participate in extra-curricular activities.
This promoted him to avoid his family and not participate in family’s activities.
Finding him a laidback and stoic character, his parents took him to a psychiatrist where he was diagnosed for depression.
“I counseled his parents and told them to let their son be,” says Head of the Department of Psychiatry, Government Medical College, Dr. Muhammad Maqbool. “He improved after his parents gave him that space.”
However, he says parents should neither be more strict with their kids nor lenient.
While Riyan’s parents taking interest in their son finally helped him overcome a depressive phase in his life, in case of Saima, 18, it were her parents who became a cause of her acute depression.
Saima had obstinate determination to do a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) but her father wanted her do an MBBS, which she could not come to grips with.
Riyan and Saima are not exceptions in today’s Kashmir.
A growing number of boys and girls in the Valley are facing such problems.
“Some parents forcibly push their kids to a career, which sometimes they are neither capable of nor enthusiastic to pursue,” Dr. Maqbool says.
According to him, syllabus in schools and strictness at homes should be reduced.
“It only leads to stress, nothing else,” he says. “Moreover, there should be an awareness program at school.”
Dr. Maqbool says hormonal changes also lead to depression.
Kashmir’s sole Psychiatric Hospital receives a large number of patients, which are handled only by five psychiatrists.
Assistant Professor in Clinical Psychology, Dr. Sadaqat Rehman says, “Nowadays there is too much competition and parents’ expectations are high due to which children are prone to depression.”
However, she says sometimes parents could not fulfill the demands of their children, which could also lead to depression.
“Depression is treatable,” Dr. Sadaqat says. “We do their counseling and they get motivated.”
She says these youngsters sometimes share certain things with counselor that they never share even with their parents.
“We keep the things confidential and build a rapport with them,” Dr. Sadaqat says.
Kashmir University has not conducted any study over the issue.
Head of the Department of Sociology at the University, Prof. Aneesa Shafi says, “The department has not conducted any study about the issue but we can say that the present generation is definitely more prone to depression.”
Prof. Aneesa the students have the school pressure and from parents also.
A lecturer at the Department of Psychology, University of Kashmir, Dr Sahar-ul-Nisa Haroon says whenever a child feels alienated and does not behave like other children, these are the symptoms that lead to depression.
“Parents should support them in that case and the child should be given more time and attention,” she says.
Doctors at Shri Maharaja Hari Singh (SMHS) also cite academic stress, domestic violence, death of one of the parents or both and physical or sexual abuse as causes of the depression.
One of the noted psychiatrists in Kashmir, Dr. Arshad Hussain says, “Usually, academic pressure is the main reason that causes depression amongst children.”
He advises against pressurizing students.
“Although parents should motivate their kids to study, they should not pressurize them,” Dr. Arshad says. “Every child cannot go through the same system of education. Parents should help them grow and advise them properly.”
Doctors also advise having counselors at schools.
“Schools lack counselors and counseling, which is very important for children,” doctors says.
They say orphaned kids were more prone to depression and that everyone needed to play a role in that respect.
Fighting between parents is also considered one of the reasons for depression among children.
According to Dr. Yasir, another reason that could lead to depression among children was lack of time from parental side in the cases where both the parents are working.
He says parents should balance their time and manage their kids, which is very important for them.
Doctors say this year they had seen around 500 children with depressive illness due to different reasons.
REFERENCE:
May 10, 2016.Depression among youth.Rising Kashmir.retrieved from
