Herbert Lewis, Guest ColumnistAlthough we may not readily admit it, most of us living in Jamaica today are experiencing a very stressful period. Most people experience distraction, restlessness and impulsiveness at one time or another. I believe it is a part of the human condition. The everyday task of getting up, getting dressed and ready for a day's work, being productive while you are there and everything in between, can wreak havoc on our mental clarity and focus. Busy roads, fast-moving, sometimes slow-moving traffic, and drivers cutting in and and out, can all lead to stress or anxiety attacks which one considers disruptive to one's driving.
It may be time to learn more about what is happening and consider your options.
As adults, some of us have been able in one way or another to cope with what is causing us stress. But not all of us are able to deal with the kind of stress experienced as a result of the high incidence of crime and violence in our country at this time. But do we realise who among us are suffering from serious stress? It is a mighty large number of our children of all age groups.
manifestation of experience
I recently witnessed a situation
at a supermarket in which a mother had a very difficult time controlling her little boy of about six years old. He was running down each aisle and literally scraping things off the shelves. The poor woman could not run fast enough to catch and restrain him. When she did catch him, he laid on the ground and threw a tantrum. She took him outside and was able to calm him. I spoke to the woman to find out if she had any idea why her son was behaving the way he did. She told me that he was a nice child and that she had noticed a change in him since he had witnessed an incident in which his father was involved in an accident and the other driver threatened to kill his father with a cutlass.
She went on to explain that since the incident he did not sleep well, he had started to wet his bed at nights, he cried whenever his father started preparations for work and he did not enjoy his meals as he used to. A nurse who saw what had happened and heard the woman's story, advised her that her son was experiencing a high level of stress and advised her to have a doctor see him.
In a subsequent discussion on crime and violence a few days later, the discussion centred on what effect this mother was having on the economy. The effect on foreign investment, tourism, productivity, job creation and so on were the major concerns. This vein of discussion continued until one of this country's very prominent medical doctors joined the group who was having the discussion. In his usual courteous way and his soft spoken manner, he introduced himself for the benefit of those who did not know him.
He mentioned his age and then proceeded to indicate that he had been practising as a medical doctor in Jamaica for the past 37 years. His first question was where was the foreign investment going to come from if we continued to experience this same level of crime. "More importantly," he continued, "has any one stopped and given any serious thought to the effect that crime and violence is having on our children? The goodly doctor says that in all his 37 years of practice, he has not seen more stress-related cases than he has seen in the last few years. Children of all ages and from all walks of life and communities outnumber adults, according to the doctor.
Many of adults think of childhood as a happy time of stress-free days. But
most children will tell you that stress
can make their days miserable just like the adults' experience.
However, unlike adults, children do not have the skills to deal with stress in a productive way. In this respect, parents should be careful to seek help from professionals before the situation gets out of hand. Children are frequently afraid of upsetting their parents or teachers so they don't always tell them how they feel, but if we are observant enough, we will realise that children are more affected than we would imagine. Parents who can afford to pay for counselling can be of much help to their children, but of great concern are the poorer families among us who lack the resources to seek professional help.
There is a school of thought out there that stress in our children is a major contributing factor to the poor grades which are obtained by many of our students who have been sitting exams. One experienced counsellor is bold enough to make reference to the fact that many of our children with very poor grades here in Jamaica do so very well in institutions abroad (in less violent and stress-free environment). Again, what is the hope for the poor among us who are trapped in war-torn communities?
frequent indicators
I am not a psychologist, but I have had some exposure to the subject during my studies. I have learnt that reactions to stress
vary with the child's stage of development, ability to cope, the length of time the stress continues, intensity of the stress and the degree of support from family and friends. It is said that the two most frequent indicators that children are stressed are change in behaviours and regression of behaviours. Children under stress change their behaviour and react by doing things which are not in keeping with their usual style.
We have been seeing some strange behaviour by children these days. Parents are also under stress and so many don't have the time to notice what is happening to their boy or girl. May I suggest that those of us who observe changes in our friends' children think about bringing this to the parents' attention. Initially, some may not take too kindly to what we may observe, but at least it will present them with the opportunity to observe for themselves and take action before it is too late. When our children witness murders in their communities, in their schools, on play fields it can stress them. Likewise, when there is no peace and harmony in the homes, they are even more stressed because home should be their haven a place where they should be running to for love and shelter from the cruel outside world.
Herbert Lewis is an industrial relations specialist and past president of the Jamaica Employers' Federation.
