Anxiety is a feeling of apprehension, fear, worry and distress characterized by both physical and emotional symptoms. Physical and emotional symptoms are connected with each other when experiencing depression. Often it is normal to feel these sensations in children and adult but only on occasions. Severe anxiety disorders can affect a child’s thinking, perceptions of the surroundings, concentration, skills and abilities.
One of the hardest part of being a parent is dealing with the child’s attitude and behavior. Children may demonstrate anxiety in many ways but parents find it hard to recognize. Although a child is expressing distress, most parents believe it is ok for them to act the way they do and assumed it is all part of their growing process. Although it may be common, anxiety disorder in children are often overlooked or misjudged despite them being treatable with persistent medical care.
Adults and children with anxiety problems are experiencing the same symptoms such as rapid heart beat, dizziness, shortness of breath, muscle tension, stomach upset, headache, difficulty sleeping, avoidance of feared situations and temper tantrums. Children who are suffering from anxiety disorder may likewise try to avoid going to some places by themselves, fear of being alone and will simply follow a parent around, refuse to go to school or camp or participate in sleepovers, demand that someone stay with them at bedtime and awake from nightmare about being separated from loved ones. Since these symptoms are interrelated with an anxiety disorder, it is always advised to have the doctor determine why such “abnormalities” in child’s behavior occur.
The specific anxiety disorder in children also comes in different types. It may be generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety disorder, panic disorder, post traumatic stress disorder, acute stress disorder, social phobia, and adjustment disorder. Diagnosis of anxiety mostly depends upon the degree of distress and its effect on a child’s functioning in life. The degree of abnormality depends on the context of the child’s developmental level and age. The bottom line is that anxiety and depression has a high rate of comorbidity in children that should not be taken for granted.
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