Symptoms of Anxiety in Children:  How to Recognize a Problem

Anxiety to certain things is a normal reaction for people of all ages.  Anxiety only becomes a problem when it begins to affect daily life, happiness, and relationships.  Child anxiety is a serious problem that parents need to learn how to identify and treat properly.  The best way to do that is to learn about the symptoms of anxiety in children.

According to statistics, approximately 10 percent of all children will experience some type of anxiety as they are growing up.  A child may be afraid of the dark, afraid of lightning and thunder storms or afraid of heights.  As they grow older, their fears may change to school or socially related situations.  Then again as a teen, their fears may be more peer related.  It is only when that child or teen comes to the place where their fears keep them from functioning normally or happily that parents should become concerned.

For example, a young boy who is afraid of a lightning and thunder storm may run and hide, cry or refuse to leave his mother’s side.  However, as his mother comforts him and as the storm begins to subside, he begins to feel better and soon his fear goes away and it isn’t long until he is playing normally. A child with an anxiety problem refuses to be comforted regardless of the circumstances.  They may begin to withdraw from people, or may refuse to leave their room.  It is not abnormal for these children to wake up screaming night after night.  It may seem that nothing seems to bring them comfort.

The website adaa.org, states that “untreated children with anxiety disorders are at higher risk to perform poorly in school, miss out on important social experiences, and engage in substance abuse.”  Children with anxiety may also exhibit other problem behaviors such as ADHD, eating disorders or depression.

There are seven different types of common anxiety disorders that children may have and each one has its own specific symptoms and warning signs.  The first one is Generalized Anxiety Disorder or GAD.  Children with this particular problem tend to worry about things in general for no discernible reason at all.  Things from the past, things that are happening now, and things that may happen in the future are all of great concern to them.

They are often unable to concentrate and have a hard time relaxing.  Their personal safety or that of their parents may produce anxiety to the point that they will refuse to go to school or may be unwilling to leave their parents’ side, even for a few minutes.  They may complain about being tired or of having headaches, stomach aches or muscle aches.

These children are usually perfectionists who are afraid of failing in any type of activity that they participate in.  They have a tendency to be very hard on themselves.  They constantly need to be reassured by others.

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder is another type of frequently seen child anxiety.  This type of anxiety affects a child after they have had some type of traumatic experience.  They may show intense anxiety if they are confronted with a situation similar to the one they experienced.  These children may refuse to go certain places, refuse to be around certain people, or refuse to get into an automobile.

In every instance, the child will have a problem re-living the trauma.  Webmd.com says that these children will tend to isolate themselves from family members and friends, and that young children suffering from this type of child anxiety “may suffer from delayed development in areas such as toilet training, motor skills and language.”

Aada.org says that approximately four percent of children between the ages of seven and nine suffer from Separation Anxiety Disorder.  A child with this problem will suffer tremendously if they are separated from their parents or other caregivers.  They may be fearful that something will happen to them or the people they love if they are not with them.  They may not want to go anywhere that would require them to spend the night away from home, and at home they may refuse to go to sleep unless someone stays with them at night.

There are some children who refuse to talk in situations where they need to.  They show extreme fear, and they may withdraw in a corner, hide their face, twirl their hair with their fingers or avoid eye contact.  This is an example of children with an anxiety disorder known as Selective Mutism.

Children with Social Anxiety Disorder suffer from an unreasonable fear of social situations.  According to webmd.com, this is one of the most common causes of anxiety in children.  They are often afraid to eat or drink anything in front of others.  Other common symptoms are refusing to talk on the telephone, use public toilets or stand up in front of a group to give a school report.

If a child seems to be obsessed with performing certain actions or rituals, they may be suffering from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.  A child with this problem may be overly concerned with germs and cleanliness to the point that they spend an irrational amount of time washing their hands.  Parents may find them checking hundreds of times a day to make sure that the doors are locked or they may have a difficult time throwing away totally useless items.  They may be compelled to do certain activities over and over again, culminating in obsessions and compulsions.

Specific phobias are another type of child anxiety.  These children are afraid of certain animals, heights, water, the dark or blood, among other things.  They will present symptoms of crying, clinging desperately to someone, throwing a tantrum or complaining of headaches or stomachaches when they come in contact with the thing to which they have a phobia.

There are numerous symptoms of anxiety in children that parents should be aware of.  It is very important to help a child work through these fears when they first present themselves in an effort to keep them from developing into a serious problem that may later effect every area of their life. By knowing the symptoms that children with anxiety display, parents can recognize the problem before it becomes serious or something that may follow them into adult or develop into a life-long struggle.

If you suspect your child may be suffering from anxiety, click below to learn more about what you can do to help:

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