Low Tension Level – Division of Energy
Everyone possesses a certain amount of psychic energy to use in dealing with the everyday demands and stresses of life. In normal development there is a certain amount of stress but because of an absence of major conflicts which tend to drain energy, the individual has more than enough to keep things in perspective. Consequently, the division of energy usually results in what we call positive behavior symptoms.
For instance, in school the child, will exhibit (more often than not) behaviors that include, good concentration, responsibility with school work, consistency, age appropriate attention span, flexibility, appropriate memory, high frustration tolerance, appropriate peer interaction , organization and an appropriate ability to focus on tasks. One will hear these comments from teachers and notice many at home when the child is involved with homework. It is also important that it is kept in mind that not every child who is conflict free will exhibit these symptoms all the time. Only become concerned if patterns of behaviors reflect a potential problem.
If the child is conflict free, one will also notice certain positive behavior patterns at home. These will include (more often than not), normal strivings for parental approval, resiliency, willingness to reason, willingness to try, appropriate judgment and normal responses to discipline. Again keep in mind that these patterns may vary to some degree during adolescence and still be within “normal” limits.
If the child is not experiencing any major problems, he/she will usually have little difficulty falling asleep. While they may have problems waking up, as many of us do, it will not interfere in their ability to get to school. A problem like this is only serious when it affects one’s ability to function, usually referred to as a functional impairment. Such would be the case if a child could not get up every morning and was consistently late to school. This type of symptomatic behavior might be a signal of a more serious problem.
Socially, the child will (more often than not) maintain social interactions; show a willingness to try new social experiences and treat his/her peers appropriately.
High Tension Level – Division of Energy
However, when serious conflicts arise, the available energy must be “drained away” to deal with the conflicts like white blood cells to an infection. Since energy must be drained away there is less available energy to keep things in perspective.
When a parent or teacher observes a pattern of behaviors similar to these, he/she should automatically become aware that some serious problem may exist. These symptoms are not the problems but an outgrowth of a serious problem. It is therefore very important for the parent to try to identify what the problem or problems are so that treatment can take place.
If it is suspected that some difficulty exists, one should not hesitate initiating a referral or consultation with the school psychologist or contact a local therapist for a consultation. Like an “infection”, waiting too long will only aggravate the situation.
Consequently, when such serious problems or conflicts arise, they will drain off energy normally used for home and school. As this energy is drained away to deal with these serious issues, negative symptomatic behavior patterns will develop. Such symptoms should indicate to you that a problem exists and needs to be defined as soon as possible. These negative behavior patterns, indicating the presence of conflict/s will be observed in many areas of the child’s life.
For instance, at school the child may now exhibit negative symptoms like inability to focus on task, procrastination, disorganization, denial, irresponsibility, inflexibility, projecting the reasons for problems on everyone and everything else, selected forgetting, daydreaming and so on.
At home a parent may observe oversensitivity, over-reactions, forgetfulness, unwillingness to venture out, unwillingness to reason, stubbornness, lying, exaggeration and possible somatic complaints such as stomach aches, headaches and so on. You may even begin to notice changes in the child’s sleeping patterns. He/she may have great difficulty falling asleep since tension interferes with relaxation and may even begin to sleep walking or other signs of restless sleep. In the morning you may find extreme resistance in getting up which may result in lateness or absence. More frequent nightmares may also be a signal of some unresolved inner conflicts.
Socially, one may observe the child withdrawing from social situation, constantly finding fault with peers, being unwilling to try new social experiences, express social fears or beliefs that no one likes him/her and so on.
Remember, that such symptoms only occur as a result of a deeper undefined problem. Once the problem is identified and resolved, the negative symptomatic behavior will dissipate since the tension will be alleviated. If caught early, most of these issues can be resolved in a relatively quick period of time. However, also be aware that even though the problem may be identified, many months or years may have passed and will result in a longer treatment period.
If therapy is required be aware that it can be a long term process, especially if the problems have been around for a long period of time. However, you can tell if your child is making progress in therapy by the reduction of the negative symptomatic behavior patterns. As a child begins to verbalize the issues and find better ways of coping, the tension becomes diminished. As the tension is reduced the need for symptomatic behavior is also reduced. Therefore, a reduction in the frequency, duration and intensity of negative symptoms will mean that the child is getting stronger and may be on the right track.
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