Depressed children likely to excel in sports, arts: psychiatrist

Jammu, May 17 (UNI) Adolescent children suffering from stress disorder or aggressive depression, are likely to perform extremely well in the fields of sports and art, an expert claims.

''Children who drive recklessly, speak forcefully and do not mix in social circle, can -- if properly guided -- perform extraordinarily well in sports,'' Prof (Dr) Jagdish Chander Thapa, a psychiatric consultant with the Government Medical College here told UNI.

A majority of adolescent children suffer from 'aggressive depression', which needs proper attention and guidance, Dr Thapa said. ''They have self-developed aggressiveness in them and can put aggressive efforts in whatever they perform, which is a prime factor of doing well in the fields of arts and sports,'' he emphasised.

The number of people suffering from stress disorder has increased manifold in the past one decade, he said, underlining that the over-expectation of parents and teachers have worsened the problem among children.

''The age group children between 15 to 20 years is highly vulnerable to anxiety, particularly due to educational related stress, he said, adding that more than 70 per cent of children are found suffering due to depression due to one or the other reasons.

He highlighted that the adolescent is a stage when they ''explore things.'' ''They can not tolerate failure because of high self-esteem, which causes anxiety,'' he said.

The psychiatrist said more than 70 per cent of children are being found suffering due to depression, which as the major reason behind teenagers attempting suicides.

He urged parents and teachers to respond positively when they observed signs of depression in children, such as over-reacting, shying away from family interaction or disobeying.

Dr Thapa, however, noted that children, who participate in sports activities or other competitions, consequentially learn a technique of working under stress conditions. ''This is because of the fact that they have learnt how to respond to failure or conditions of stress,'' he added.

UNI