How to Know If Your Child is Suffering from Anxiety Attacks
Children’s anxiety disorders are frequent, although the precise number of patients is unknown because they are generally underdiagnosed, undiagnosed, or unreported. Medical professionals agree that childhood anxiety problems, especially if they aren’t taken seriously or aren’t treated for long enough, are likely to continue as psychiatric problems as an adult. Anxiety attacks in kids are an early sign of anxiety that needs to be dealt with as soon as possible to lower the risk of growing up with it.
Through the following symptoms, you can detect whether a child is a possible candidate for a specific type of anxiety disorder or if the child is experiencing another episode of anxiety.
School-aged children often experience separation anxiety. They panic when removed from their parents or home over the holidays. Crying and wanting to skip school are symptoms. A child may also have stomachaches, headaches, toothaches, and other ailments that prevent him from going to school. A child acts differently at home or with parents.
The opposite of separation anxiety is social phobia. A youngster may stay home alone or separate from their parents. Social phobia can cause youngsters to avoid friends because they feel different from them or have different attire or hairstyles. A child with social phobia may prefer to read a book instead of going to summer camp.
Social anxiety and performance anxiety are often closely related. If a youngster is not a good sport, they could exhibit fear during physical education. When asked to recite in front of the class or solve a problem on the board, a child who has trouble understanding what he or she reads or who can’t solve a simple math problem may get scared and sick.
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is characterized by persistent worry or fear about almost everything for no clear reason. GAD symptoms are extremely comparable to those that adults would go through. Patients with GAD may express complaints of nausea, exhaustion, restlessness, and trouble sleeping. A child may also become hyperactive, weep, have nightmares, have tantrums, and even start to exhibit problems in school that weren’t there before.
What causes anxiety to children?
Studies show that childhood anxiety is inherited. Anxious parents may have anxious children. This is also learnable. A youngster may develop an anxiety disorder after being mocked, bullied, or making a mistake in front of the class. Parental separation, abuse, the death of a loved one, or other traumatic events can cause anxiety. Bad memories may cause fears of being alone, the dark, or certain animals.
Anxiety disorder symptoms and attack behaviors are the same as those of other mental, physical, and behavioral conditions. To be able to rule out other causes and give the patient the proper care, it is crucial to seek professional assistance.
