Common Physical Symptoms of Anxiety in Children and Their Biological Explanation

The division between mental and physical health is constantly undergoing controversy within the scientific community. Anxiety disorders usually fall into the mental health category but this does not mean that there are no physical repercussions. One fact that does not change is that mental and emotional health affects the physical body in both positive and negative ways.

It has come to light that a majority of chronic illnesses are linked to stress and anxiety experienced over a long period of time. This is what makes it so imperative to understand anxiety in children. There may be preventative measures that can be taken that may solve the mysteries behind chronic illness. Thanks to new technology and dedicated research, scientists are starting to find some clear cut answers about the mind body connection.

Scientists performing cutting edge research at The University of Western Ontario are some of the first to uncover the connection between the mind and body. The full findings of their research are published in the medical journal “Nature Neuroscience”. Thanks to these scientists we can begin to talk about common physical symptoms of anxiety and their biological explanation. With this information we can help our children lead better and more productive lives. A little bit of biology will help in the understanding of how our physical, mental and emotional bodies are so interconnected. It also illuminates the dangers of anxiety in children.

Let’s dig a little deeper. Human beings use negative feedback mechanisms to help keep our bodies in homeostasis. Homeostasis is the balance the body needs to achieve a healthy life, and the mechanisms are the tools it uses to do so. These negative feedback mechanisms use negative feedback loops. Because this is a loop there is no clear cut place to start. For our purposes we will start with the hypothalamus.

The hypothalamus is located at the center of the brain where it performs a multitude of activities to regulate the body. It regulates the homeostasis (balance) of sleep, eating, temperature and so many other things. The hypothalamus is what connects the endocrine system and the nervous system, otherwise known as our nerves and hormones. Have you ever had anything get on your nerves? Did that ever make your heart pound or did you experience heavy breathing?

It is this connection made by the hypothalamus that makes this possible. Human beings have nerves running through their entire bodies. In children nerves are quickly growing and adapting as they experience stimuli. For them great deals of stimuli are genuinely new ones that the body has not experienced before. The nerves take in all of the stimuli around us and send it to the brain to process. The hypothalamus monitors this and sends instructions to the pituitary gland if we need to make an adjustment to maintain homeostasis.

The pituitary gland will either begin to release hormones or instruct the pancreas to do so. Some scientific research posits that some of the hormones the pituitary gland release cause an abnormal number of certain kinds of receptors on the surface of the brain. This may lead to abnormal brain and nervous system functioning. This, in turn, begins to have real and potentially dangerous effects on the physical body. As the systems begin to receive the wrong signals and instructions, everything starts to go physically haywire. This creates the physical symptoms that we see with anxiety. Over time this may develop into chronic illness or anxiety disorders if left untreated either using a self-help program such as the Anxiety-Free Child Program or an alternative method of treatment.

Now you have enough information to begin to think about common physical symptoms of anxiety and to learn their biological explanations. This may also give you some new tools for the, “It’s all in your head” comments. Now, remember the part about our bodies use negative feedback loops to maintain balance in the body? Remember that the pituitary gland release hormones that cause abnormal nervous system functioning? When there are too many of the wrong kind of receptors, the instructions that the brain sends the body are now out of balance. In a panic attack, and other anxiety related disorders, the body begins to use positive feedback loops instead of negative ones.

The result is not balance, as it would be with a negative feedback loop. With a positive feedback loop the result is an increase in magnitude and the exaggeration of symptoms. There are a few occasions where a positive feedback loop is a good thing. In childbirth the body uses a positive feedback loop to make contractions larger and larger. However, when it comes to stress and anxiety a positive feedback loop is not a good thing. Now the brain is telling your child’s body to do the wrong thing and to do MORE of it.

For example, their blood vessels begin to constrict raising blood pressure causing the child to have hot or cold flashes as well as dizziness. This might also cause the child to feel nauseous or cause vomiting. Another effect or symptom anxiety causes in your child is a racing heart beat. The positive feedback loop instructs the heart to beat faster and faster. With your child experiencing a sudden increase in heartbeat and/or blood pressure their muscles start to become very tense. This will result in headache, jumpiness, and extreme fatigue.

Now think back, remember that the pituitary gland also instructs the pancreas to secrete hormones? The pancreas secretes them just below where the stomach and the small intestine meet. When the hormone levels become out of balance the PH changes and the result may be stomach aches and intestinal discomfort, such as cramps and diarrhea.

Now that you know a little more about the common physical symptoms of anxiety and their biological explanations you can begin to understand what your child is experiencing. With this knowledge hopefully you can find a way to work through stress and anxiety so it will not take as much of a physical toll. It is very important to begin proper treatment and preventative measures for a child with anxiety as soon as possible to prevent the development of positive feedback loops that may lead to chronic illness or life long anxiety struggles.

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