What Are The Symptoms Of Anxiety
Anxiety can have an impact in several different ways it can affect your child emotionally and cause the child to worry about things, and it can also impact them physically, causing your son or daughter to complain of stomach aches. It can impact your childs behavior, and cause him/her to avoid situations, constantly seek reassurance, and become overly dependent on you the parent. Anxiety is a problem when it becomes excessive and extreme, relative to the situation. In fact, anxiety can impact us in six ways:
- Affect: Emotionally and physically
- Excess and Extreme: Excessive and extreme in relation to the situation
- Functioning: Impacting how your child manages each day
With my daughter, it started when she was very young. Lights, dogs, bees, clothing, and large family gatherings set her off, even before she couldnt communicate with us, and then in kindergarten, the separation anxiety kicked in, which later led to stomach aches and school refusal. Sometimes its not as obvious to spot. Anxious youth are often quiet and well behaved, and thus frequently go unnoticed by their parents, teachers, and coaches.
Physical Symptoms
In some instances, a child may complain of stomach issues, and after seeing a doctor, the family will find out that it is in fact, anxiety. When my daughters anxiety was at its worse, she would complain of stomach issues each night before bed. Some examples of physical symptoms that a child with anxiety may exhibit include:
Behavioural Symptoms
When Should I Seek Help For My Child’s Anxiety
If anxiety is having a significant impact on your child’s everyday functioning and preventing them from participating in activities that their peers can comfortably do, this is a sign that you should seek help.
Tamariki may need some extra support when:
- they feel anxious more than other children of a similar age
- anxiety stops them participating in activities at school or socially
- anxiety interferes with their ability to do things that other children their age can do
- their fears and worries seem out of proportion to the issues in their life
It is important an assessment takes place by a professional who knows about anxiety in children and young people. Physical examinations are also recommended to ensure there is no underlying illness causing the symptoms.
Research has shown a form of psychological therapy is effective in learning ways to overcome or manage anxiety. Your doctor may recommend medicine if the anxiety is very severe or if there are multiple difficulties at the same time . If your doctor does prescribe medicine, then psychological therapy should also be part of the treatment.
Going to your family doctor is the best first step as they will be able to provide guidance about where to get more help. This may involve a referral to a counsellor in the community or to a local child and adolescent mental health service who can provide specialist assessment and interventions for anxiety.
Fear And Anxiety An Age By Age Guide To Common Fears The Reasons For Each And How To Manage Them
It is very normal for all children to have specific fears at some point in their childhood. Even the bravest of hearts beat right up against their edges sometimes. As your child learns more about the world, some things will become more confusing and frightening. This is nothing at all to worry about and these fears will usually disappear on their own as your child grows and expands his or her experience.
In the meantime, as the parent who is often called on to ease the worried mind of your small person, it can be helpful to know that most children at certain ages will become scared of particular things.
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How To Support Children With Anxiety
If your child shows signs of normal childhood anxiety, you can support them in several ways:
- Acknowledge your childs fear or worry and let them know that most children feel anxious sometimes. You can encourage your child to be kind to themselves when they feel this way.
- Gently encourage your child to do things theyre anxious about, but dont push them to face situations they dont want to face.
- Wait until your child actually gets anxious before you step in to help.
- Praise your child for doing something theyre anxious about.
- Avoid criticising your child for being afraid or worried.
- Avoid labelling your child as shy or anxious.
Read about the stepladder approach, a gentle behaviour technique that you can use to help children manage anxiety.
Types Of Anxiety Disorders In Children
: Excessive worrying that something bad will happen if the child is not with their parents, caregiver, or anyone to whom they are attached. The child may be reluctant or refuse to stay at a relative or friends house, sleep alone or go to school. Many children experience separation anxiety between 18 months and three years old when it is normal to feel some anxiety when a parent leaves the room or goes out of sight. Usually, children can be distracted from these feelings. However, separation anxiety may surface or resurface when the child is older and especially between ages 7 and 9.
: Chronic anxiety and excessive worry about everything and everyday life. A child with GAD worries about the meaning of a canceled play date or a delayed response to a text. Children with GAD fret about bad things happening to people they love or that no one will come to the birthday party they didnt want in the first place. The worry is overblown in relation to the events that sparked the worry. GAD is exhausting as children worry chronically and constantly and cant control these thoughts. In addition, children with GAD often dont trust their instincts and seek constant approval or reassurance from others.
Panic Disorder: Imagine being ten years old and suddenly, without warning, experiencing a fear so intense that you feel like youre going to pass out. Your heart is pounding. You are terrified and feel out of control. You may experience shortness of breath and chest pain. Thats a .
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Encourage The Child To Tolerate Their Anxiety
Let your child know that you appreciate the work it takes to tolerate anxiety in order to do what they want or need to do. Its really encouraging them to engage in life and to let the anxiety take its natural curve. We call it the habituation curve. That means that it will drop over time as he continues to have contact with the stressor. It might not drop to zero, it might not drop as quickly as you would like, but thats how we get over our fears.
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Bring Your Childs Worry To Life
As you probably know, ignoring anxiety doesnt help. But bringing worry to life and talking about it like a real person can. Create a worry character for your child. In GoZen we created Widdle the Worrier. Widdle personifies anxiety. Widdle lives in the old brain that is responsible for protecting us when were in danger. Of course, sometimes Widdle gets a little out of control and when that happens, we have to talk some sense into Widdle. You can use this same idea with a stuffed animal or even role-playing at home.
Personifying worry or creating a character has multiple benefits. It can help demystify this scary physical response children experience when they worry. It can reactivate the logical brain, and its a tool your children can use on their own at any time.
Managing An Anxious Child Where To Start
My daughter has struggled with anxiety since a very early age. When I first set out to find help, I had no idea of where to start. I didnt know of any other families with anxious children and no one seemed to be struggling like we were and if they were, no one talked about it. Fast-forward to a few years later and my network of parents of anxious children has grown. As soon as I started talking about anxiety, I found that other parents with similar issues came out of the woodwork. The more I talked about it, the more I was connected through friends and friends of friends to parents of children with anxiety.
When I meet a parent of an anxious child, there are three common things I usually hear. ONE it took a while to pinpoint anxiety as the culprit. TWO they kick themselves for not doing something sooner, and THREE they didnt know where to start. In my case, all three applied.
Now when I look back, it seems obvious that anxiety was what my daughter was struggling with, but at the beginning, it wasnt so obvious to me. Friends and family would repeatedly tell me that my daughter would grow out of it I believed it and did nothing for quite a while. I dont think Im the only parent who feels guilty that I didnt seek help earlier. If you are a parent who has been in this situation, you know that it can be extremely difficult to pinpoint what is exactly going on with your child and what is the best way that you can help him/her.
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It’s Normal For Children To Be Anxious From Time To Time But Are Their Worries Cause For Concern Learn More About The Causes Symptoms And Treatment Options For Anxiety Disorders In Toddlers And Children
All kids have fears, whether they’re scared of a dark bedroom, a new school year, or the neighbor’s dog. Most will simply complain about these worries and move on. But about 7 percent of children aged 3 to 17 have an anxiety disorder, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention , and these seemingly trivial things can be debilitating for them.
Indeed, for children with anxiety, worries generally get more intense over time instead of naturally fading away. “No matter how much you answer an anxious child’s questions or tell them things are fine, they can’t absorb your reassurances,” explains Tamar Chansky, Ph.D., author of Freeing Your Child From Anxiety. In severe cases, kids with anxiety may stop eating, sleeping, or going to school. At the very least, their instability can set them apart from their peersoften at an age when fitting in is crucial.
If you think your child has anxiety, read on to learn more about the causes, symptoms, and treatment options for the common disorder.
Common Fears For Babies
Once a baby has reached six or seven months of age, they have formed strong attachments to their parents or caregivers. Separation from their special people, even for short periods of time, can cause considerable anxiety and plenty of crying. Similarly, many babies prefer the exclusive company of their special people so much that they develop a fear of strangers for a while. Babies grow out of this phase with time.Suggestions for helping your baby cope with separation anxiety and fear of strangers include:
- Whenever possible at home, if your baby gets upset when you leave, take them with you from room to room or talk to them when you are out of sight.
- Tell your baby when you are leaving the room and announce your arrival when you come back. This helps them to trust you.
- Allow your baby to get to know new people from the safety of your lap. Let them see that you know the new person is okay.
- If your baby is anxious, reassure them with a calm and confident expression.
- Leaving your baby to cry it out will only make their anxiety worse.
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Why Separation Anxiety Happens
If your baby used to be calm when you left the room and they were happy to be held by people they didnt know, it may not seem to make sense when they start crying whenever youre not there or strangers are close.
But separation anxiety is a sign your baby now realises how dependent they are on the people who care for them. That can include their grandparents or professionals closely involved with their care, as well as their parents.
As they get more aware of their surroundings, your babys strong relationship with this small group means they dont feel so safe without you. Their growing awareness of the world around them can also make them feel unsafe or upset in new situations or with new people, even if you are there.
Help Your Child By Relieving Your Own Stress
Kids with anxious or stressed parents may be more prone to separation anxiety. In order to help your child ease their anxiety symptoms, you may need to take measures to become calmer and more centered yourself.
Talk about your feelings. Expressing what youre going through can be very cathartic, even if theres nothing you can do to alter the stressful situation.
Exercise regularly.Physical activity plays a key role in reducing and preventing the effects of stress.
Eat right. A well-nourished body is better prepared to cope with stress, so eat plenty of fruit, vegetables, and healthy fats, and try to avoid junk food, sugary snacks, and refined carbohydrates.
Practice relaxation. You can control your stress levels with relaxation techniques like yoga, deep breathing, or meditation.
Get enough sleep. Feeling tired only increases your stress, causing you to think irrationally or foggily, while sleeping well directly improves your mood and the quality of your waking life.
Keep your sense of humor. As well as boosting your outlook, the act of laughing helps your body fight stress in a variety of ways.
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What Is An Anxiety Disorder
Essentially, its any worry thats out of control. But adults, including specialists, teachers and doctors, often misread childrens anxiety as a learning disorder, depression or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder . A study published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry in October 2010 identified anxiety as the most common adolescent mental disorder, with more than 30 percent of the 10,000 adolescents surveyed meeting diagnostic criteria. Children with anxiety can appear oppositional or irritable, because they are so distracted by worries. They can be explosive, moody or tearful.
Symptoms Of Anxiety In Children
Signs to look out for in your child are:
- finding it hard to concentrate
- not sleeping, or waking in the night with bad dreams
- not eating properly
- quickly getting angry or irritable, and being out of control during outbursts
- constantly worrying or having negative thoughts
- feeling tense and fidgety, or using the toilet often
- complaining of tummy aches and feeling unwell
is common in younger children, whereas older children and teenagers tend to worry more about school or have social anxiety.
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What Causes Anxiety Disorders
Several things play a role in causing the overactive fight or flight that happens with anxiety disorders. They include:
Genetics. A child who has a family member with an anxiety disorder is more likely to have one too. Kids may inherit genes that make them prone to anxiety.
Brain chemistry. Genes help direct the way brain chemicals work. If specific brain chemicals are in short supply, or not working well, it can cause anxiety.
Life situations. Things that happen in a childs life can be stressful and difficult to cope with. Loss, serious illness, death of a loved one, violence, or abuse can lead some kids to become anxious.
Learned behaviors. Growing up in a family where others are fearful or anxious also can teach a child to be afraid too.
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Getting Help For Your Child
Its a good idea to seek professional support if self-help strategies are not making the situation better and anxiety is affecting your childs life – for example if they are feeling persistently anxious, often having distressing thoughts, or avoiding things like going outside or speaking to others.
There are different places where you can find help for your child. Your GP, your child’s school and considering whether counselling or therapy might help are good places to start.
You can find out more about speaking to GPs, finding a counsellor or therapist, accessing Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services , getting help from your childs school and finding local services on our guide to getting help for your child.
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Teach Your Child To Be A Thought Detective
Remember, worry is the brains way of protecting us from danger. To make sure were really paying attention, the mind often exaggerates the object of the worry . You may have heard that teaching your children to think more positively could calm their worries. But the best remedy for distorted thinking is not positive thinking its accurate thinking. Try a method we call the 3Cs:
- Catch your thoughts: Imagine every thought you have floats above your head in a bubble . Now, catch one of the worried thoughts like No one at school likes me.
- Collect evidence: Next, collect evidence to support or negate this thought. Teach your child not to make judgments about what to worry about based only on feelings. Feelings are not facts.
- Challenge your thoughts: The best way to do this is to teach your children to have a debate within themselves.