Anxiety in Children and Young people

 

Anxiety in Children

All young people and children get anxious from time to time as they grow up because it is a normal part of their development, and they must develop the skills they need to survive face challenges in their own world. Furthermore, they have different levels of stress they can cope with. Some young people are of course more anxious than other people, and respond more quickly to stress and worries.

If you think that your child or a younger one’s anxiety is affecting their everyday life, development, relationship or schooling, you need to learn how to tackle it.

How does anxiety affect young people and children?

Anxiety in your child can make him or her show any of the following reactions:

·         Feeling sick, shaky, dizzy and faint or developing stomach cramps

·         Fast breathing or difficulty in breathing

·         Fast heart beats (palpitations), tense muscles or sweating

·         Feeling like he or she might die

Although the above mentioned reactions make your child feel uncomfortable, they alert and make him or her respond more quickly to danger. However, when anxiety happens often, or at the wrong time, children’s thoughts and behavior can be affected in negative ways. Some of these are:

• Frequent feeling of panic, fear, embarrassment or shame.

• Lack of confidence to try something new thing, face a challenge or even behave normal.

• Difficulty in concentrating, eating or sleeping.

• Anger outbursts, that is, they get very angry rapidly, and loses control.

• Having negative thoughts or worries in their head, such as thinking something bad will happen every time.

• They can say or do certain things that can affect them.

Some Problems Anxiety in Children Can Cause.

1. If your child or young one is too anxious it can affect your whole family. Here is a good example: You (the parent) and your other siblings may often be worried about upsetting your anxious child and so may decide to cancel or change appointments, routines or some activities so as to accommodate the child’s anxiety.

2. Anxious children may not want to go to public places, or they find it difficult to see their friends, meet new people or participate in outdoor activities. This can reduce their development and affect their relationships.

3. Anxiety can reduce the performance of children and young people at college or school or even prevent them from attending altogether. This will have a negative effect on their learning and future opportunities.

4. Anxiety in children often makes the parents of the children themselves become very anxious, for example, while trying to protect their children from a stressful situation.

5. Anxiety in children can have many other unpredictable and negative long-term effects on the children

Common Causes of children’s anxiety:

1. Separation and new environments.

Many children pass through changes in their homes, such as family separation, moving to a new house, going to a new school or changing schools, having a family member who is dead or ill, usually between 1 to 3 years of age. This can create anxiety in the children, especially if they are attending a nursery school. This will make them to worry that a bad thing will happen to them or their parents, resulting in the feeling of insecurity which may in turn result in the feeling of not wanting to go out or try something new.

2. Fear and Phobias.

Of course it is normal for your child to pass through stages of being scared of certain things, animals or people like the dark, water, dogs, monsters or ghosts. These can make them get very upset and behave irrational because of fear. However, many children with time grow out of such fears as they grow up. If the child fails to grow out of these fears, they may become unable to cope with their daily life. This will make them to have phobias and eventually anxieties.

3. Social situations.

Some children may develop anxiety from social situations. This can happen if they feel nervous, are afraid of being in a group, or afraid of certain friends in the group. Some children may find it difficult to talk to their peers or people they are unfamiliar with in a social setting. They can also be affected by self-consciousness or by the fear that other children will judge them negatively.