Be sure to watch Dr. Kanner this Monday, November 16th @ 8:20am discuss this segment live on San Diego 6 News In the morning.
Over this past week, many professionals have blamed the Fort
Hood shootings on a failure to see the "warning signs" exhibited by Dr. Hasan. Some of these included angry statements
about the government, giving items away, and him appearing somewhat strange as
compared to previous times in his life.
From a clinical point of view, these are signs of a person in some sort
of distress and addressing these when first noticed would have perhaps
prevented the loss of innocent lives.
However, most people do not know what to look for considering such
warning signs in their friends or co-workers based on the fact that they are
not mental health providers.
Therefore, educating people about what to look for in others is a very
important practice to help keep things safe whenever possible. As emotional disturbance comes from the
inside worlds of people, where others do not have access,and the public is placed
in a position to what is “observable” to determine if a particular behavior is
a “warning sign”. Obviously, people
who are closer to a person will be in a better position to make such a
determination, but some signs are fairly visible to the attentive viewer. Such acute signs might include:
1.
Strange thinking or behaviors
2.
Poor judgment
3.
Withdrawn and isolative
4.
Finalistic thinking and actions
5.
Impulsive behaviors
6.
Social, occupational, or educational problems
But, what about kids?
Do they follow the same patterns as adults or not? Sometimes yes, but sometimes no, and
parents and adults need to know what to look for as "warning signs" in kids too.
Dangerous games, failing grades, drug and alcohol abuse,
habitual rebellious behavior, and in the worst case, teenage suicide, are
all examples of “warning signs” that a “tween” or adolescent are in trouble,
and that their behavior is not normal as compared to what is considered
expected for a teenager. The old adage that “kids will be kids” can be a
dangerous assumption if one does not fully understand what is considered
“normal” versus abnormal behavior when considering a middle or high school-aged
boy or girl. As psychologists, psychiatrists, and psychoanalysts, we
speak of the typical processes of separation and individuation as children and
adolescents alike consciously and unconsciously attempt to separate themselves
and be psychologically independent from their adult counterparts by
acting and doing things differently in efforts to feel less dependent and more
grown up, but the degree and extent to which course might take must consider
individual differences based on both the personality and particular conflicts
each child and adolescent endures.
Another important consideration is that by definition, adolescents tend to feel
normally invincible and their judgment tends to be commonly inconsistent based
on the influences of strong feelings of aggression and sexuality which puts
great stress on their consciousnesses. Coupled with peer influences, pressure
to do well in school, and a more or less self-centered view of the world based
on their general sense of vulnerability, decisions are often half thought
through and mistakes happen from time to time. When this happens, most
“good” parents set limits and the behaviors calm down, until the next periodic
time of “not thinking” occurs. However, occasional poor judgment is far different
than consistent investments in self-compromising behaviors which tend to place
this group of children into frequent states of peril. When this happens,
we see these choices as symptoms of something much larger inside of the
adolescent causing disturbance and subsequent maladaptive behaviors.
Exactly what is going on inside of these particular children needs more
investigation to determine for example as whether or not they are depressed,
going through a rough developmental period, or withstanding an even more
debilitating personality disturbance. However, it takes an invested
parent who is observing their child on a daily basis and who has some sense of
what is considered normal or not, to make the determination as to whether or
not their child needs help.
In most cases, when parents find that their child is going down a less than
optimal pathway, they intervene and talk with their child and then if there is
a lack of change, they get them some help. This is why most adolescents
are not either depressed or failing out of high school. Parents however,
need to constantly be on alert as to how their child is managing his or her
lives during these critical years. We all know that most adolescents do not
talk openly to their parents for those same reasons of wanting to be “on their
own”, but their behaviors usually speak loud and clear as to how they are
really feeling about life and themselves. Very few children who are
really suffering have a lack of presently symptoms that can be identified by
anyone outside of the boy or girl who has the knowledge of normality
versus abnormality and pay attention to their children. Symptoms are
basically anything that is evidence of something self-compromising to a child
or adolescent, but the top most common ones are as follows:
1. failing grades in school
2. habitual risk-taking behaviors
3. daily negative self-statements
4. a absence of friendships
5. evidence of self-injurious activities (i.e. cutting)
6. poor hygiene after age 12
7. school behavior problems
8. trouble with the law
9. consistent oppositional attitude towards all adults
10. evidence of drug and alcohol paraphernalia
Limits placed on these issues by parents help children in elevating
their self-esteem and subsequently helps them better manage their
feelings which at this stage feel out of their control. When a parent
helps, these noted symptoms often subside, and the risk of their actions
intensifying lessen. However if a parent fails to identify such problems
and fail to get them some help if their best efforts fall short, their child
will continue to suffer and their problems may intensify leading to some
sort of crisis which can then hurt the entire family
and those of others.
Follow Dr. Kanner both on our website here at San Diego6.com and at www.kanner.tv
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Dr. Keith Kanner/ Morning Show HostYour Family Matters
San Diego 6 News In The Morning
San Diego Living Show
2008 Winner: IMedia Parenting Award for Television - Disney, Inc.
2009 Winner: Man Of The Year In Medicine & Healthcare - ABA
Host/Extra Life Changers - EXTRA TV
Anchor/Host: Dr Kanner & Kompany - WSRadio-San Diego
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8253 Ronson Road, San Diego, CA 92111
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