Posted On Wednesday, June 19, 2013 at 09:48:16 AM
A few weeks ago, clinical psychiatrist Dr
Amod Borkar was faced with a kind of patient that he would have
considered unusual a few years ago, but not anymore. At 15, the boy was
already a worrying case — a school bully so disturbing that he had
already been forced to change his schools.
As he studied his patient further, Borkar realised that the teenager was from a well-to-do family and so addicted to junk food and soft drinks that he had already developed juvenile diabetes. “He hardly drank water and survived on the cold drinks he filled in his water bottle.
As he studied his patient further, Borkar realised that the teenager was from a well-to-do family and so addicted to junk food and soft drinks that he had already developed juvenile diabetes. “He hardly drank water and survived on the cold drinks he filled in his water bottle.
He initially started forcing other school children to form gangs and
coaxed them into fights. Gradually, he moved on to fighting with other
children until finally, one day, he seriously injured a schoolmate with
his compass box near the eye.
The reason for his violence was not the environment in which he grew up, but fluctuating sugar levels. He was subsequently put on medication and asked to modify his diet,” said Borkar.
In an alarming revelation, city psychologists and psychiatrists say they are observing an upward trend in violent tendencies among youngsters aged between 10 and 20 years. These cases, they say, have doubled in the past two years to comprise 40 per cent of the cases coming in. In yet another case, a 13-year-old boy had developed violent Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
The boy, being overweight, would pick up his classmates and friends and spin them in the air and on occasion, even threw them in the air, hurting them. Fed up with his behaviour, his parents confined him to the house.
During this period, he started playing video games for hours together. “Sometimes, he stayed up till as late as 2 am, playing video games. One day, he managed to get out of the house. He immediately picked up a big stone and hit an elderly pedestrian, inflicting head injuries on him.
After much probing, it emerged that his violent behaviour could be traced to extreme hormonal changes and altered metabolic rate due to obesity,” adds Borkar. Also, staying up late had disturbed his biological clock.
To treat him, his aggression had to be diverted to outdoor activities and he was referred to an endocrinologist. Psychiatrists are putting this behaviour down to three main reasons — mental stress due to changing environment and challenging life, physical stress due to sedentary lifestyles and change in diet, and chemical stress due to mental and physical stress which causes frequent fluctation in hormonal levels.
The violence manifests in many ways — explosive temper tantrums, breaking things, setting them on fire, cruelty to animals which is the most common and frequent, destruction of property, beating or bullying peers, forming gangs. Between the ages of 15 and 20, this scales up to attacking with weapons, deliberate self-harm and opportunistic rioting.
Psychologists also point to the unnaturally early development of the amygdala, located in the centre of the brain and controlling fear and emotions.
Dr Anaya Nisal, a clinical psychologist, said, “These days, kids are losing emotional control. Social pressures and other physiological factors are taking a toll on their bodies. Their frustration levels are increasing. Unable to handle this, they are increasingly indulging in violent practices.”
According to clinical psychologist, Dr Meena Borde, “I get at least two to three new cases of this kind every week. The main causes are overloaded schedules, stress related to studies, increasing expectations of parents, dietary factors, increasing competition.
Besides, socialisation these days has gone down, and mostly takes place just over the Internet, thus adding to the frustation.” Borkar said environmental, psychological and physiological factors are causing the amygdala to develop prematurely. “This has caused an imbalance in brain development.
The kids do not know what is wrong and right and give in to their impulses,” he said. Besides, Dr Nikit Krasar, a clinical psychiatrist says nuclear families are also causing these problems as parents of kids in such families are overprotective of them.
Vijaya Bendre, another clinical psychologist said, “ I too get such cases at least four or five times a month.”
The reason for his violence was not the environment in which he grew up, but fluctuating sugar levels. He was subsequently put on medication and asked to modify his diet,” said Borkar.
In an alarming revelation, city psychologists and psychiatrists say they are observing an upward trend in violent tendencies among youngsters aged between 10 and 20 years. These cases, they say, have doubled in the past two years to comprise 40 per cent of the cases coming in. In yet another case, a 13-year-old boy had developed violent Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).
The boy, being overweight, would pick up his classmates and friends and spin them in the air and on occasion, even threw them in the air, hurting them. Fed up with his behaviour, his parents confined him to the house.
During this period, he started playing video games for hours together. “Sometimes, he stayed up till as late as 2 am, playing video games. One day, he managed to get out of the house. He immediately picked up a big stone and hit an elderly pedestrian, inflicting head injuries on him.
After much probing, it emerged that his violent behaviour could be traced to extreme hormonal changes and altered metabolic rate due to obesity,” adds Borkar. Also, staying up late had disturbed his biological clock.
To treat him, his aggression had to be diverted to outdoor activities and he was referred to an endocrinologist. Psychiatrists are putting this behaviour down to three main reasons — mental stress due to changing environment and challenging life, physical stress due to sedentary lifestyles and change in diet, and chemical stress due to mental and physical stress which causes frequent fluctation in hormonal levels.
The violence manifests in many ways — explosive temper tantrums, breaking things, setting them on fire, cruelty to animals which is the most common and frequent, destruction of property, beating or bullying peers, forming gangs. Between the ages of 15 and 20, this scales up to attacking with weapons, deliberate self-harm and opportunistic rioting.
Psychologists also point to the unnaturally early development of the amygdala, located in the centre of the brain and controlling fear and emotions.
Dr Anaya Nisal, a clinical psychologist, said, “These days, kids are losing emotional control. Social pressures and other physiological factors are taking a toll on their bodies. Their frustration levels are increasing. Unable to handle this, they are increasingly indulging in violent practices.”
According to clinical psychologist, Dr Meena Borde, “I get at least two to three new cases of this kind every week. The main causes are overloaded schedules, stress related to studies, increasing expectations of parents, dietary factors, increasing competition.
Besides, socialisation these days has gone down, and mostly takes place just over the Internet, thus adding to the frustation.” Borkar said environmental, psychological and physiological factors are causing the amygdala to develop prematurely. “This has caused an imbalance in brain development.
The kids do not know what is wrong and right and give in to their impulses,” he said. Besides, Dr Nikit Krasar, a clinical psychiatrist says nuclear families are also causing these problems as parents of kids in such families are overprotective of them.
Vijaya Bendre, another clinical psychologist said, “ I too get such cases at least four or five times a month.”
Source: http://www.punemirror.in/index.aspx?page=article§id=62&contentid=2013061920130619094829465d2ec4d53
