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Childhood Anxiety - How To Deal With It?
Anxiety disorders are one of the important mental health problems affecting children. Children and adolescents with anxiety disorders generally experience intense fear, worry, and uneasiness that can last for long periods of time and significantly affect their behavior and lives.
- Children suffering with generalized anxiety disorder are engaged in extreme, unrealistic worry about their academic performance, sporting activities and everyday life activities.
- Children suffering with social phobias are terrified of being criticized or judged harshly by others and as a result they try to avoid the objects and situations they fear.
- Children suffering with separation anxiety disorder have difficulty in leaving their parents to attend school or any outdoor activity. They stay at their house or a friend's house, or are alone.
Common Symptoms Related To Feelings:
- Initial insomnia.
- Panic attacks.
- Stomachaches.
- Headaches.
Common Symptoms Related To Behaviour:
- Difficulty in separation.
- Repetitive rituals or actions (compulsions).
- Avoid public meetings.
- Freezing in fearful situations.
Anxiety Disorder Can Lead To:
- Continuous problem in attending school.
- Problems related to work and situations.
- Impaired relations with friends and others.
- Develop low self-esteem.
- Alcohol, smoking or other drug use.
What Parents Can Do?
- Give children feelings of safety.
- Talk with your child/children about what happened.
- Encourage children to let out their feelings about the events in healthy ways and give them some tips to express their feelings.
- Go for a mental health professional trained in working with children and adolescents.
- To praise children's appropriate play and are ignore undesirable child behaviors.
How common are anxiety disorders?
In a survey it is found that 13 of every 100 children ageing 9 to 17 experience some kind of anxiety disorder. Girls are affected more than boys. About half of children suffering with anxiety disorders have a second anxiety disorder or other mental, such as depression.
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