Anxiety and depression are two of the most commonly diagnosed mental disorders in children, according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). While just over 4 million Americans aged 3-17 have been diagnosed with anxiety and/or depression, public awareness of these numbers is lacking.
Neva Hebert, a Jenningsbased licensed professional counselor, said emotional disturbances in youth are often mistaken as simple bad behavior. The average child does not know how to express that they feel worried or sad. Those emotions instead manifest in other ways, she said.