Family Health
Anxiety in childhood The nature of anxieties and fears tend to change as children grow. How can a parent recognise that their child has anxiety?
What is anxiety? Anxiety is a normal human response to stressful, unfamiliar or dangerous situations. It refers to a state of uneasiness, fear or worry. Anxiety is often helpful, as it protects us and enhances our performance under stress. For example, a fear of fire will protect a child from getting burnt, and anxiety before a running race can lead to peak performance. All children experience anxiety and fearfulness from time to time, and in most cases it is transient or short-lived. However, when anxiety becomes too intense, frequent, or occurs at inappropriate times, it is extremely distressing and sometimes disabling. As children have many developmental tasks to achieve, it is important to ensure that anxiety does not interfere with them leading a normal life. If it is, then it may be time to seek help.
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Your Local Families Magazine – Brisbane Issue 5 - August/September 2014
There are three main systems of anxiety, the physiological system (the body), behavioural system (what we do), and cognitive system (thoughts). Physiological symptoms include muscle tension, faster breathing and heart rate, headaches, feeling hot and sweaty, nausea and tummy-aches. Anxious behaviours tend to be aimed at avoiding a feared situation. For example, your child may become more clingy, distractible or impulsive, seek reassurance, stall, or may throw a tantrum. Children are not always able to put their thoughts into words, so it can be difficult to know exactly what is going through your child's mind.
Some common anxiety disorders in children include: Separation anxiety - fear of being apart from care-givers. The fear may become so intense that the child refuses any separations, like school or sleep overs. Generalised anxiety - excessive worry about numerous areas of life, e.g. school, health, family issues. The worry may be so intense it leads to general physical tension, difficulty sleeping and issues such as nausea and diarrhoea.