STORIES ABOUT KIDS

A mental health problem is when you don't feel good about yourself, your family, friends and/or school. It causes you to have bad thoughts and feelings about your body, feelings and behavior. Read about Mark, Kelly, Jason and Melissa. They're kids just like you, but each of them is dealing with a mental health problem.

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Mark

The past few weeks, Mark has been very unhappy nearly all the time, and he can’t really say why. Even when he’s around a lot of people, Mark still feels sad and lonely. He used to love going to school, playing with his friends, and playing his favorite sport, soccer. Lately, Mark just wants to sleep all day and spend time alone in his room. His teachers are worried because Mark daydreams in class and his grades are falling. He even skips soccer practice. At home, he doesn’t really talk or watch TV, and during dinner, he plays with his food and doesn’t feel like eating.

Depression has taken over Mark’s life. Depression is when sadness goes on for a long time. Sometimes depression may run in the family, or can be caused by problems at home or at school. Depression can even happen when there is a death in the family.

Sometimes a person with depression doesn’t know they are depressed and it takes the friends and family to step up and help. If you think you or someone you know has depression, talk to a parent, teacher or school counselor and get the help.

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Kelly

Kelly used to love food and never watched what she ate. Lately, she’s cut back so much that she’s not eating much at all. At lunch she counts her calories before eating. Then, as soon as she gets home from school, she exercises for hours. Kelly is losing so much weight that her clothes are falling off her body and she weighs a lot less than someone of her age and height. No matter what people tell her or how much more weight she has lost, Kelly still feels fat and sees herself as fat.

Kelly’s friends are worried because she is so thin, and is always tired and feels sad most of the time. They talked to Kelly’s mom who took her to a doctor. The doctor said Kelly has an eating disorder.

There are different ways people try to control their body size and weight that can cause long lasting problems. When a person focuses too much on their body and spends a lot of time worrying about their weight and how much they eat, he/she has an eating disorder and needs help.

If you think you or someone you know has an eating disorder, talk to a parent, school counselor or teacher. Eating disorders are serious and can be very dangerous if they are not taken care of right away.

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Jason

Jason is a smart kid, but his teacher Mrs. Baker thinks he is a troublemaker and doesn’t try in school. In class, Jason doesn’t pay attention. He’s always squirming in his chair, running around the classroom, talking and playing with the other kids while Mrs. Baker explains the lesson.

Many times, Jason talks over Mrs. Baker and yells out the answers instead of raising his hand and waiting his turn. He almost never finishes his class work, and if he does, he gets much of it wrong because he didn't follow the directions. Jason is also doing poorly in school because he often loses his homework and forgets to do his homework.

These behaviors were causing Jason a lot of problems and made him unhappy. What Jason didn't know is that he has Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder or ADHD.

Talk to a parent, school counselor or teacher if you or someone you know are having problems like Jason.

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Melissa

About half the kids with ADHD also have a learning disability. Melissa has the most common

learning disability is called dyslexia. That’s when you have trouble reading and writing.

When Melissa reads it looks like this:

On ceupo n a tim e, the rew as alit tl e gi rlnam ed Sue.

But other kids with dyslexia might read the same sentence differently than how Melissa does. Other kinds of learning disabilities are:

§ Dyscalculia – trouble with math

§ Dysgraphia – trouble with writing

Kids with learning disabilities are not any less smart than other kids. They just need some different ways of helping their brains understand information they are trying to learn.

If you think you or someone you know has a learning disability, let a parent, teacher or school counselor know. They can teach you ways to learn and cope with your learning disability. They can teach you ways to learn and deal with your learning disability. If you let your parents and your teacher know, they’ll find ways to help you. There are special laws that tell schools how to help kids with learning disabilities. It is important to get help so you or your friend can learn and do well in school.

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