Anxiety

Unfortunately anxiety gets a bad reputation. Anxiety is not a 'bad' emotion. In fact, anxiety is a normal emotion. It helps us cope with dangerous or stressful situations. It triggers our bodies natural, flight, flight or freeze response.

Anxiety, however, becomes a problem when it stops your child from enjoying normal life by affecting their ability to function at school, at home, in social situations or with friends.

What Are Anxiety Disorders?

Anxiety disorders cause extreme fear and worry, and changes in a child's behavior, sleep, eating, or mood.

What Are the Kinds of Anxiety Disorders?

Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).

Generalized anxiety disorder causes kids to worry almost every day — and over lots of things. Kids with GAD worry over things that most kids worry about, like homework, tests, or making mistakes but they worry much more and for longer periods of time. For example: it is usual to worry about a test the night before or the day of the test. It is not usual, however, to worry about the test for a week or two before.

Separation anxiety disorder (SAD). It's normal for babies and very young kids to feel anxious the first times they are apart from their parent. But soon they get used to being with a grandparent, babysitter, or teacher. And they start to feel at home at daycare or school.

But when kids don't outgrow the fear of being apart from a parent, it's called separation anxiety disorder. Even as they get older, kids with SAD feel very anxious about being away from their parent or away from home.

Social phobia (social anxiety disorder). With social phobia, kids to feel too afraid of what others will think or say. They are always afraid they might do or say something embarrassing. They worry they might sound or look weird. They don't like to be the center of attention. They don't want others to notice them, so they might avoid raising their hand in class. If they get called on in class, they may freeze or panic and can't answer. With social phobia, a class presentation or a group activity with classmates can cause extreme fear.

Social phobia can cause kids and teens to avoid school or friends.

Selective mutism (SM). This is a form of social phobia and causes kids to be so afraid they don't talk. Kids and teens with SM can talk. And they do talk at home or with their closest people. But they refuse to talk at all at school, with friends, or in other places where they have this fear.

Specific phobia. It's normal for young kids to feel scared of the dark, monsters, big animals, or loud noises like thunder or fireworks. Most of the time, when kids feel afraid, adults can help them feel safe and calm again. But a phobia is a more intense, more extreme, and longer lasting fear of a specific thing. With a phobia, a child dreads the thing they fear and tries to avoid it. If they are near what they fear, they feel terrified and are hard to comfort.

With a specific phobia, kids may have an extreme fear of things like animals, spiders, needles or shots, blood, throwing up, thunderstorms, people in costumes, or the dark. A phobia causes kids to avoid going places where they think they might see the thing they fear. For example, a kid with a phobia of dogs may not go to a friend's house, to a park, or to a party because dogs might be there.

What Are the Signs & Symptoms of Anxiety?

A parent/guardian or teacher may see signs that a child or teen is anxious.

• shortness of breath

• tight chest

• dizziness or light headedness

• headaches

• palpitations

• muscle pain (head or neck)

• wanting to use the washroom

• shakiness

• sweating

• dry mouth

• difficulty swallowing

• blurred vision

• butterflies in stomach or a sick feeling

• tiredness

• child may become irritable or angry

What Causes Anxiety Disorders?

Several things play a role in causing the overactive "fight or flight" that happens with anxiety disorders. They include:

Genetics. A child who has a family member with an anxiety disorder is more likely to have one too. Kids may inherit genes that make them prone to anxiety.

Brain chemistry. Genes help direct the way brain chemicals (called neurotransmitters) work. If specific brain chemicals are in short supply, or not working well, it can cause anxiety.

Life situations. Things that happen in a child's life can be stressful and difficult to cope with. Loss, serious illness, death of a loved one, violence, or abuse can lead some kids to become anxious.

Learned behaviors. Growing up in a family where others are fearful or anxious also can "teach" a child to be afraid too.