What Does Children’s Anxiety Look Like?

Anxiety is a common experience for people of all ages, including children. Children’s anxiety can manifest in different ways, and it can be challenging for parents and caregivers to identify and support their child’s anxiety. As a parent, seeing your child experience anxiety can be overwhelming and distressing.

By understanding what children’s anxiety looks like and learning effective strategies to support an anxious child, parents and caregivers can help their child navigate and cope with their anxiety.

As a parent or caregiver, you want nothing more than for your child to be happy and healthy. However, children are not immune to the stresses of life, and they may experience anxiety from time to time. Children’s anxiety can manifest in a variety of ways, and it can be challenging to identify and support an anxious child. If you suspect that your child may be experiencing anxiety, it’s essential to understand what children’s anxiety looks like so that you can provide the support and resources they need to manage their anxiety effectively.

Anxiety is a natural and normal response to stress and uncertainty. It is a feeling of unease or worry that can range from mild to severe. While some level of anxiety is a part of everyday life, children may experience anxiety more frequently or intensely than adults. Children’s anxiety can be triggered by a variety of factors, including academic or social pressures, family conflicts, and major life changes such as moving or a new sibling. In some cases, anxiety can develop into an anxiety disorder, which can significantly impact a child’s daily life and functioning. The most common anxiety disorders in children include separation anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobias.

Both kids and adults experience anxiety frequently. Children may experience it as a result of parental obligations, academic work, extracurricular activities, and other usual circumstances in which children develop and function. Anxiety can be present and work at a healthy level to support children’s growth through challenging, unsettling, or novel events.

Children’s anxiety can manifest in different ways, and it may not always be apparent that a child is experiencing anxiety. Common signs and symptoms of children’s anxiety include excessive worry, irritability, difficulty sleeping, restlessness, physical symptoms such as headaches or stomachaches, avoidance of certain situations or activities, and difficulty concentrating.

Children may also exhibit behavioral changes such as aggression, clinginess, or withdrawal. If you suspect that your child may be experiencing anxiety, it’s important to talk to them about their feelings and concerns in a non-judgmental and supportive way.

By opening up the lines of communication, you can help your child feel heard and validated while also gaining a better understanding of what they are going through.

Suggestion for read: 6 steps: How to help your child with anxiety?

Yet excessive or chronic anxiety is unnatural, and when it interferes with or negatively impacts daily living, it can develop into a disorder that needs medical attention. Almost one in ten children are thought to have diagnosable anxiety disorders, with less severe but nonetheless upsetting concerns being even more prevalent.

An excessive sense of responsibility, a strong need to please others, a rumination of perfectionism, unrealistic expectations of oneself or others, an excessive sensitivity to criticism or rejection, a strong need for control, performance pressures, fears of abandonment, and an all-or-nothing way of thinking are a few examples of anxiety that may be harmful to children. Several of the therapists at Inquiry Talk are trained to help both adults and children who are suffering anxiety.

How to Support an Anxious Child

There are many effective strategies that you can use to help your child manage their anxiety. These strategies include creating a safe and supportive environment, encouraging healthy coping mechanisms such as deep breathing or exercise, and seeking professional help if needed. Additionally, you can work with your child to develop effective coping skills such as positive self-talk, mindfulness, and cognitive restructuring. By teaching your child these skills, you can help them build resilience and confidence in managing their anxiety.

The most significant change-agents that a child can use in their life while dealing with anxiety issues are their parents and caregivers. The objective is to control the features that stress and bother the youngster rather than to alter the child’s nature. The following list, while not exhaustive, provides helpful suggestions to take into account in order to lessen your child’s nervous symptoms and build their resilience in the face of symptoms that cannot entirely be eliminated.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is a common psychological strategy that has been tested to effectively treat anxiety in children. CBT normally entails working with the kid to address anxious thoughts, avoidant actions, and create coping mechanisms. To make sure they are serving the needs of the person under their care, our therapists combine CBT with various treatments.

The subsequent steps incorporate several CBT approaches to aid in symptom reduction and ongoing treatment. Notwithstanding the order of the steps, many parents and caregivers will be operating from circumstances that make some steps more important than others. While it is not advised to completely skip steps, it is OK to browse the following steps of care and pick or combine the ones that are most pertinent for the scenario your child is in.

Priority Step: Spend time and effort assisting your child with their anxiety.

It is without question that a process of this sort will demand a determined approach on behalf of the caregiver. To obtain desired results, like with any therapy implementation, a number of stages must be taken gradually and at the child’s pace. This emphasizes the value of a patient adult who can carefully encourage a child while simultaneously supporting them in their efforts with logic.

It is advised to go through the steps one at a time on a weekly basis. Every step should be scheduled for completion at a specific time during the week, and up until the next session, practice executing that step should be the main focus of the week. They are going to be categorized as “steps” and “homework” in the section that follows. Although keeping a journal is not required, it is strongly advised that you and the child work through tasks and homework together.

Children’s anxiety

is a common experience that can impact their daily lives and functioning. As a parent or caregiver, it’s essential to understand what children’s anxiety looks like so that you can provide the support and resources your child needs to manage their anxiety effectively.

Suggestion for read: 6 steps: How to help your child with anxiety?

Here are few certified therapists who you can get in touch and book a therapy session with:

Sophie Barrett

Lynda Pabari

Nicola Keenan