School phobia is a psychological problem

shreya is 11-years-old and shows remarked symptoms of headache and fever just before going to school. after being absent from school for seven days, she is fine. but when she has to go to school the next morning, she suddenly develops new symptoms of vomiting, nausea, headache and fever. all tests done show normal reports. shreya has now been absent from school since the last eight months.kamal aged nine and a half suddenly stopped going to school after his summer vacations. he sleeps by two in the night and wakes up only at twelve. he is scared to go to school and has been absent for ten months now. twelve years old aditi is on leave from school since the last seven months. when she is dropped to school by her parents, she cannot see her mother leave, she says. in a months time, gorav gupta, consultant neuropsychiatrist has four such cases. the sudden spurt in cases that he described as those of conversion disorder, is alarming. "panic stricken parents are approaching doctors because of examination time when finals are to be taken by a child to get to the next class. a medical application would no longer work. since these children have been away from school for nearly the whole year, not taking the finals would mean loss of one academic session," explains gupta. what is surprising is the fact that when these kids were taken to school forcibly, they fell ill and spent the entire day in the sick-room. conversion disorder results when anxiety builds up to such an extent that the defence mechanism of the body is unable to handle it. the anxiety then takes the form of a physical problem, whereby the real problem gets displaced by it. though the underlying cause is entirely different, the physical problem gains precendence over it. it is in the subconscious mind that the actual problem remains. the signs that indicate that it is not really a physical problem are: • symptoms do not pin-point towards a particular illness, thus confusing doctors and patients. • repeated investigation reveals normal results. • symptoms do not respond to appropriate medication. • undue attention of parents towards the child. "there are no medications for this. the problem is entirely psychological manifesting itself through physiological symptoms," says gupta. lack of parental attention, non-adjustability to the stress of modern life, and unhealthy competition amongst the peer group are some of the reasons that could lead to conversion disorder. meanwhile, it is the parents who need to attend to a child’s needs and ensure that he or she attends school without any psychological problems. proper love and attention can help a child overcome this pschosis.