Understanding and managing anxiety in children

Managing Anxiety in Children


Anxiety in children is a common occurrence. Anxiety is a form of stress and can be loosely defined as having a feeling of unease or worry. Children who are anxious tend to appear fearful or nervous. This often happens when the child faces a stressful situation such as writing an examination. However, if it happens once, it cannot be considered as a disorder. However, if it happens for quite some time, the child may be having an anxiety disorder. If the anxiety disorder is not dealt with at an early age, it can affect the child for the rest of his or her life.

There are several factors that may cause anxiety disorders in children. It is not known what exactly causes such disorders, but genetics is one of the contributing factors. It may also be a learned behavior, stressful life and circumstances, brain biochemistry or a fight-flight response that is usually overactive. Children who are brought in a fearful environment will grow up knowing that it is alright to be fearful and expect the worse at any time.

There are several types of anxiety disorders. A child may be suffering from or several specific disorders.

They include separation and generalized anxiety disorders, social phobia, panic and post traumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and finally selective mutism.
An anxious child will display some characteristics. For instance, they tend to be very irritable, have trouble concentrating, trouble sleeping at night and sleeping a lot during the day and excessive worry. These problems greatly affect how the child functions as they go about their daily lives.

However, not all is lost. This disorder can be treated by a mental health professional. As soon as parents or guardians of the child note this condition, they should book an appointment as soon as possible. The therapist will then assess and diagnose the symptoms and determine what kind of anxiety disorder the kid is suffering from. From that diagnosis, the therapist can now develop a plan that will help the child cope.
In addition, a therapy known as cognitive behavior therapy can be applied. Under this therapy, kids are taught how to think and react differently when faced with a situation that makes them anxious. They are also taught breathing exercises or relaxation techniques. A drug, Zoloft, can also be given to the child. Zoloft is an SSRI antidepressant drug. Zoloft and cognitive behavior therapy are the most effective treatment for any childhood anxiety disorder.

To summarize the discussion, anxiety in children is a common phenomena. It can be cured and treated if it is
being diagnosed in a reasonable amount of time. The approach which yields the best results is combining a medical and a psychological treatment. The problem is that many time it is not diagnosed, and hence not treated. This can have a very bad implications on the child growth into a healthy adult.