Introduction:
It is normal for children to have fears and worries during their early years of childhood. For example, children below three years of age worry if their parents are separated. Fear of insects, heights, animals, dark, and blood is common during early childhood. Children above the age of four get anxious and worried when they go to school for the first time and during exams. All these fears are a normal part of childhood and would go off as the child grows up. However, in some children, extreme forms of fear remain even after a certain age and may lead to anxiety or depression. These fears have an impact on their thinking and social behavior, which in turn affects their daily activities of life.
What Is Childhood Anxiety?
In some children, feelings of fear and uneasiness affect their behavior, thoughts, and feelings, which in turn interferes with their activities at school, home, and society. This is known as childhood anxiety. Childhood anxiety can severely affect a child’s sleeping and eating patterns. The behavior of children with childhood anxiety is different from normal children of the same age, as they do not like to interact with family members and friends. Some children may outgrow their fear with the help of parents and friends, while others may have prolonged and severe episodes of fear which might require professional help.
What Are the Causes of Childhood Anxiety?
The different factors which are responsible for causing childhood anxiety are as follows:
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Inheritance of genes that are responsible for causing anxiety from parents.
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Frequent change of school or house.
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Parents who argue and often fight in front of their children.
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When chemical messengers called neurotransmitters in the brain are deficient or stop working.
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Physical or sexual harassment.
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Death of a close friend or family member.
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Constant negligence from parents and other family members.
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Extreme pressure to study from parents and teachers.
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Severe bullying from classmates at school.
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Going through a serious illness.
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Getting severely injured in a serious accident.
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Witnessing any unpleasant scenario like murder or road traffic accidents.
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Children growing up in families with family members who are always anxious and stressed.
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Comparison with other children of similar age who are better in academics and extracurricular activities.
What Are the Symptoms of Childhood Anxiety?
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Lack of concentration in studies and other daily activities of life.
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Feeling afraid and nervous about simple everyday challenges in life.
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Withdrawal from social gatherings.
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Feeling of shame and low self-esteem.
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Difficulty sleeping at night time.
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Waking up at night with bad dreams.
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Having negative thoughts about incidents that are going to happen in the future.
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A sudden outburst of anger.
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Having episodes of unexpected and intense fear accompanied by heart pounding, troubled breathing, dry mouth, shaky hands, sweaty face, and dizziness.
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Feeling extremely nervous about particular things or situations like insects, dogs, and hospital visits.
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Always crying or being very emotionally dependent on someone.
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Making up reasons like feeling unwell to avoid going to school.
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Unwillingness to mingle and play with friends.
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Getting scared of supernatural things like ghosts.
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Not able to bear failures and criticisms.
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Avoiding specific people or activities.
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Constantly complaining about symptoms like stomach pains and headaches that are not a part of any medical condition.
How to Diagnose Childhood Anxiety?
There is no specific test to diagnose childhood anxiety. However, the following methods help to diagnose anxiety in children. They are as follows:
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Conducting an interview schedule based on the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR), and anxiety disorders interview schedule child and parent report (ADIS-C/P) is the most effective method in evaluating anxiety disorders in children and youth. The (ADS-C/P) is a structured interview that evaluates the presence of anxiety disorders present in the diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fourth edition, text revision (DSM-IV-TR). The doctor conducts separate interviews for both parent and the child. The diagnosis is based on the information obtained from both interviews. The doctor rates the severity of the disease on an eight-point scale. If the value obtained from the scale is four and above, the anxiety disorder is considered to be severe.
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The pediatric anxiety rating scale (PARS) is a tool that consists of 50 assessment criteria for evaluating the severity and frequency of anxiety episodes. The doctor conducts a separate interview of the parent and the child regarding the symptoms experienced by the child in the past week.
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A trained therapist would talk to the child calmly and ask questions to make a note of all the symptoms experienced by the child. The therapist makes a special note of how and when the anxiety increases. This helps the therapist to diagnose the nature of the anxiety disorder.
How Is Childhood Anxiety Treated?
There is no specific treatment option for childhood anxiety. A combination of methods helps in treating the anxiety experienced by the children. The treatment option depends on factors like the age of the child and the severity of the anxiety disorder. The various treatment options are as follows:
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Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): This is a kind of talking therapy that helps the parents and the child to manage anxiety. It is more effective in older children. It helps the child to change negative thoughts into positive ones. It teaches the child to solve a major problem by breaking it into smaller parts. This therapy teaches the child that the feeling of fear or anxiety experienced by the child is based on the thoughts and actions of the child. The child understands that facing the fear boldly would weaken the fear and make it go. Cognitive behavioral therapy also teaches how parents should behave when their child is experiencing anxiety. The therapist constantly supports and praises the children, thereby making them get used to the situations they were afraid of.
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Counseling: Counseling is seeking professional assistance to solve psychological problems. A trained therapist would talk to the child and find out the specific reason for the child’s anxiety. The therapist would work through the situation with the help of the parents and make the child feel comfortable.
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Medications: Medications are prescribed to the child only if other therapies do not work and the severity of anxiety is high. These medicines are given to the child by doctors specializing in the mental health of children.
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Other Methods: The other methods that help the child to overcome anxiety are healthy eating habits which include intake of nutritious foods, regular physical activity for one hour, a sufficient amount of sleep, and support from family members and friends.
Conclusion:
Having fears in childhood is normal. However, care should be taken if the child’s anxiety is severe and retains even after growing up, thereby affecting the daily activities of life. In most cases, children would be unaware of anxiety disorders. Hence the family members and friends have to talk to the child, find out the real problem and seek the help of a therapist if required. Undergoing effective therapy and making some lifestyle changes would help the child to lead a happy life.
