Anxiety and Children

Your Nervous Child Might Be Combating Anxiety Disorder on His Own!

In this fast paced world even the children cannot escape depression. This is because of the pressure caused by their studies and the need to keep themselves in tune with this competitive world. Depression is always reckoned in terms of adult depression .Many are not aware of the depression caused to children. Read more.This article cover

Are children prone to depression?
What kind of anxieties do children have?
What causes anxiety in children?
Tips on treating anxiety in children

Treating anxiety in children and adults with anxiety disorders are a major health concern in the United States such conditions as separation anxiety in children are often overlooked or treated as a "phase" that will pass. Issues of anxiety and children, however, often linger into adulthood at which time they become more serious manifestations.

Childhood should be a carefree, happy time and while all children will experience apprehension as they encounter new experiences, children should not be burdened by persistent anxiety that robs them of what should be one of the best periods of their lives.

What Kind of Anxieties Do Children Have?

Like adults, children can be susceptible to all forms of anxiety disorders. They are particularly prone to generalized anxiety disorder (being a "scaredy cat") and to variations of separation, social, and performance anxiety (being "cry babies.")

GENERALIZED

For a child, anxiety symptoms of a generalized nature are very similar to what an adult would experience. Excessive worry and daily apprehension will be present for more than six months. Worry will not be confined to any one event or situation but will be pervasive across the child's activities and environment. The child may complain of fatigue or of not feeling well to get out of participating in an event or going into a setting (school for instance) that makes them feel uncomfortable. The child will be keyed up and irritable, may cry, have nightmares, throw tantrums, and begin to have problems in school that were not previously present.

SEPARATION

Separation anxiety in children is not at all uncommon and often presents when the child reaches school age. They will exhibit marked and unreasoning fear and panic at being separated from their home environment and parents during the school day. They may cry and beg not to go to school or complain of stomach aches and other maladies that would keep them at home. The only real time the child will be relaxed and display a demeanor that suggests they feel safe is in their home environment or in the company of their parents (or parent if one seems to be favored over another.)

SOCIAL

Not unlike separation anxiety, social anxiety manifests itself in a desire on the part of the child to be at home alone or in the company of the parents. These children do not want to be around their peers either because they fear being bullied or picked on or because they feel they do not have the social skills to fit in with their group. For instance they may feel that their clothes, hair styles, or interests set them apart in a negative way. A bookish child, for instance, may cry and beg not to be made to go to summer camp where outdoor and sports activities will be required of them.

PERFORMANCE

Performance anxiety in children is closely related to social anxiety. Often peer groups of children can be quite viscous and given to merciless teasing. A child who does not read well or who cannot perform his multiplication tables may panic and become ill when called to work a problem on the board. A bookish child may dread physical education class and being made to play team sports at which they are clumsy and untalented. They will fear being the last picked for a team at recess, for instance. These children will exhibit complex avoidance behaviors to avoid being chosen to participate or being called upon in class.

What Causes Anxiety In Children

While research indicates that children may be genetically predisposed to anxiety disorders, anxious reactions and behaviors can be learned. Children are like little sponges. They soak up what is going on in the environment around them. The child of a nervous, anxious parent will most likely be nervous and anxious. It is also possible that a bad experience - making a mistake in front of the class, ridiculed by classmates, or being the victim of a schoolyard bully - can be responsible for the manifestation of anxiety disorder. Other causes might be the divorce of their parents or the illness of a parent.

Continue to: Tips on Treating Anxiety In Children

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