What effect can untreated mental health symptoms have on a child's stress response?

Untreated mental health symptoms can significantly impact a child's stress response, contributing to a hypersensitive reaction to stress. When a parent or caregiver exhibits untreated mental health issues, this can create an environment filled with heightened anxiety or instability. Children in such environments often internalize the stress exhibited by their caregivers, leading to an overactive stress response system.

As a result, the child may become more reactive to stressors that they encounter, responding with increased anxiety or distress in situations that might be trivial for other children. This hypersensitivity can affect their overall emotional regulation, impair their ability to cope with stress, and lead to difficulties in social interactions and performance in school or other activities. In essence, exposure to untreated mental health symptoms in caregivers models maladaptive responses to stress for children, which can hinder their emotional development and resilience in dealing with life's challenges.