Anxiety in children
Hi all, Welcome back to my blog. I hope everyone is having a great week. As you can tell from the title this is another post from my mental health awareness series I do. Exploring anxiety in children is something iv been working on for a while. I choose these topics because its something iv been asked about or its come up in my own life which leads me to do research.I’m a very pro-active person when it comes to mental health I like to have all the information, knowledge is power, being well informed and facing things head-on is a positive step forward. The topic of anxiety in children isn’t spoken about a lot but its extremely common to different degrees. Which is what I would like to talk about.
Anxiety is a normal part of a child’s behavioral and emotional development. All children have fears and worries ie; being separated from a parent, meeting new people, fear of the dark, animal, loud noises etc.. Which they grow out of as they get older, they’re all common and signs your child development is on track. As your child gets older and go through different stages of there life they will again face fears and worries with will cause anxiety ie; changing schools, new routines, adjusting to new environments etc.. which are all also normal signs of development.
If a child suffers a traumatic experience in their home life or is witness to one it can be the cause of high stress and anxiety. There are children that are prone to worries and live a life of anxiety and nobody can tell…
For a child who is anxious and is not able to verbally express their feelings, they express it in different ways.
A child’s behavior when there anxious can go from one extreme to another. From being irritable, having angry outbursts, problems eating and sleeping, throwing tantrums when they have to go anywhere etc.. all this that can often be put down to just being a “naughty child”.
The other extreme is the child might should down and become withdrawn, not want to go to school, go out to play with friends, being clingy, not being comfortable around other people, lacking confidence etc.. these symptoms often get put down to the child being “shy” ” just a quiet child” or going through a phase” .
When this happens and it’s untreated it will start to affect the child’s day to day life and wellbeing. Sever anxiety like this can harm there mental health and emotional wellbeing which effects there self-esteem and confidence in the long run. It’s important if you notice these sign in your child to seek help from your GP.
If your child is a worrier or you noticed the signs there anxious there are things you can do to support them. Being able to notice the signs that your child is anxious you’ll be able to support them and reassure them in the moment. If your child is old enough to understand explain what “ANXIETY” is and the physical effects it has on our bodies this will be helpful for the child. If you Teach your child to recognize the signs of anxious themselves they will be able to ask for help when anxiety strikes. Routine can be reassuring, trying to stick to a regular daily routine when possible will help to ease your child’s anxiety. If there are any big changes coming or events that you know might affect your child’s anxiety prepare them beforehand, talk to them about there fears and worries give them a chance to get comfortable with whats coming, let them know you understand there feeling and support them. Most parents first thought would be to protect their child by helping them avoid what causes there anxiety which is natural but it’s important to encourage your child to find ways to manage their anxiety rather than avoid it.
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