Health Tip: Mental Illness Warning Signs

(HealthDay News) — Determining if a child’s troubling behavior is “part of growing up” or a sign of a mental health problem can be difficult.

Parents should contact a mental health professional if symptoms last weeks or more and interfere with the child’s daily life, says the National Institute of Mental Health.

Warning signs of a mental illness may include:

1. Minimal interest in things that the person once enjoyed.

2. Low energy.

3. Too much or too little sleep.

4. Self-harming behaviors.

5. Smoking, drinking or drug use.

6. Excessive exercise or diet.

7. Thoughts of suicide.

8. Risky or destructive behavior.

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