How to Recognize Anxiety in Children and Adolescents

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Article Title:

How to Recognize Anxiety in Children and Adolescents

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Article Description:

Problems with a too-high level anxiety can start in

childhood with children and adolescents worrying to a

greater extent than their peers about all sorts of things.

Some behaviors are an indication of a fussy and over tidy

child. When we go just a little bit over fussiness and we

have entered the realm of an anxiety disorder.

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Distribution Date and Time: 2010-12-28 10:00:00

Written By: Dr Jeannette Kavanagh

Copyright: 2010

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How to Recognize Anxiety in Children and Adolescents

Copyright © 2010 Dr Jeannette Kavanagh

Calming Words

http://www.calmingwords.com/

Problems with a too-high level anxiety can start in childhood

with children and adolescents worrying to a greater extent than

their peers about all sorts of things. Some behaviors are an

indication of a fussy and over tidy child. When we go just a

little bit over fussiness and we have entered the realm of an

anxiety disorder.

Anxiety in childhood is obvious when children and adolescents

worry to a greater extent than their peers about school

performance, sporting prowess, their appearance and their

popularity. If the child has grown up with overly anxious

parents, the tendency will be exacerbated. Even quite laid back,

relaxed, children can become tense and anxious adolescents if

their parents transmit their own fears and anxieties about their

performance to their children on a regular basis.

Children who are growing up in a fairly relaxed family atmosphere

can simply come across as ideal students, and parents may even be

counting their blessings that their son or daughter does her/his

home work without being nagged about it. The highly anxious child

will be a perfectionist and s/he will require an excessive amount

of reassurance about their performance. Although we all love our

children to come home with an A grade, it is vital to watch for

signs of anxiety accompanying their school work. A child who

frets and even cries about an assignment in elementary (primary)

school, cannot automatically be diagnosed as having generalised

anxiety or indeed, any anxiety problems. However, it is good for

parents to monitor those sorts of reactions. Children and

adolescents with generalised anxiety may also worry about being

punctual, their appearance, or impending catastrophes such as

earthquakes, floods, meteors flying to Earth and nuclear war.

Obsessive Thoughts And Compulsive Behaviors

If you notice that your child is excessively neat - send her or

him to my place. I jest of course because we accept our children

even when they missed out on the tidy gene. However, excessive

concern about the tidiness of one's room, or how clothes are

arranged in a drawer, these are signals that say two things.

First, you just happen to have a tidy and neat child. Secondly,

the degree to which they are concerned about tidiness will let

you know whether or not that often sought-after trait is actually

a sign of their underlying anxiety. This article is not about

obsessive compulsive disorder as it's known. But it is important

to mention that all obsessive thoughts and compulsive or

ritualistic behaviours have their base in anxiety. Keeping those

socks exactly 2.5cms (1 inch) from each other, having all the

white shirts together, making and re-making the bed; those

behaviours are used to keep the underlying feeling of anxiety at

bay.

Signs Of Anxiety In Children

In many ways, it's easier to diagnose anxiety in children than

in adults because they haven't learned yet to censor themselves.

If they feel anxious about giving a talk at school, or even about

going to school, children will communicate that to their parents

or carers. In fact, many anxiety prone children will communicate

their fears in very clear and sometimes alarming ways. The

important thing for those around the child or adolescent with

anxiety is for us to be supportive without being enabling. By

that I mean that as a parent or older sibling, or friend, we must

treat with respect the very real fear that the child is

expressing. The injunction to " snap out of it " or the advice

that " there's nothing to be afraid of, you goose " might make

you feel alright, but it will only make the anxious person more

fear-filled. They will be less likely to open up to you when and

if their anxiety escalates. So please don't trivialise the

fears. As for enabling some parents when faced with an obviously

anxious child begin to over-protect them. They keep the child

away from school camps and sometimes even from school.

Keep A Diary For Three Months

On the one hand most of you can readily diagnose whether or not

your child's anxiety switch is on overload. It's the subtlety

of some behaviors that can allow anxiety to go undiagnosed and

untreated for years. Most of my counseling clients talk about

being anxious at school and about being more generally anxious in

their childhood. Yet none of them was treated for anxiety. While

I certainly don't want to suggest that the child who expresses

worry and apprehension about delivering a talk to the class has

anxiety and needs treatment, it might be interesting for you to

keep a little diary of how your child reacts in other situations.

If it's a one-off very common fear of public speaking, your

diary will remain blank. If not, you'll have good material to

discuss with a therapist if you decide to make that intervention.

Having said that many of my counseling clients were anxious

children, it is also important to say that anxious children do

grow out of their anxiety in the vast number of cases.

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Dr Jeannette Kavanagh has a counseling and coaching Practice in

Melbourne Australia, to help people find their unique solutions

to anxiety and panic attacks. For over two decades, Jeannette has

helped thousands of people overcome anxiety and panic attacks.

Visit her website http://www.calmingwords.com/ to sign up here

for a FREE MP3 (http://www.calmingwords.com/relax_on_cue.html)

" Relax on Cue " .