How Does Social Media Impact Anxiety in Teens with ADHD?
For many of us, social media is an integral part of our daily lives. However, while it has numerous advantages, it can also cause major mental health problems such as diagnosed anxiety, sadness, and sleep disturbance, particularly in women with ADHD. The pandemic's social isolation predictably resulted in widespread sentiments of loneliness, despair, and apathy among adolescents at the peak of their social skills development, and the unsettling repercussions of closed schools and canceled activities continue to linger.
According to a new study of 1,187 careers, half believe their adolescent's "friendships and/or other relationships have deteriorated" in the last two to three years, and that their child is still unmotivated to participate in sports, clubs, or other activities - even now that the school year is back on track. The pandemic's abrupt and severe disruption of children's social development has thrown a long shadow, particularly on those with ADHD who may already struggle to make and keep friends.
It has become comparatively easier now to fight ADHD with the right counseling and instructions from professionals. Some ADHD Psychiatrists also provide ADHD assessments online , which you can avail of from the comfort of your home.
Social Media: A Lifeline or a Distress?
During the pandemic, social media offered a lifeline for many children who were cut off from friends and activities. Surveys suggest that, 72 percent of kids with ADHD aged 10 and up use social media nowadays. Anxiety, melancholy, sleep issues, and depression were among the 35 percent who reported negative mental health effects. These bad effects are around 70% higher than in adolescents who do not utilize social media.
According to the poll, 15 percent of adolescents with ADHD who use social media have eating problems, and 14 percent had participated in self-harm. For young ladies with ADHD who use social media, the situation is even grimmer. Almost half of these girls' careers reported negative mental health impacts from their children's social media use, with 21% having eating disorders and nearly 18% engaged in self-harm.
According to caretakers, 58 percent of girls with ADHD have been bullied on social media, and 44 percent have been bullied through text messaging. "My daughter was bullied online, her account was hacked, and pornographic images of my daughter were disseminated online," a 15-year-mother old's in Canada explained. "My daughter went from being a successful, happy, and healthy singer, dancer, and actor to withdrawing from everything."
As many as 42% of survey respondents stated their child had experienced trauma, and 63% said their child was currently receiving mental health care; more than half reportedly began therapy during the pandemic. Still, a majority of careers claimed long waiting lists; schedule, cost, and insurance restrictions; and a lack of local physicians have made it "challenging to very difficult" to receive care.
"The mental health system is completely broken," a mother of a child with ADHD, anxiety, despair, and an eating issue stated. "
Protecting Your Child's Mental Health
1. Make certain that your youngster uses technology and social media in a healthy manner.
Here are some expert-recommended strategies
2. Keep an eye out for indicators of cyberbullying.
Some expert-recommended strategies to deal with cyberbullying:
3. Practice trauma-informed care at home.
Pay attention to the four Rs of trauma-informed care: