Your Child May Be Suffering From Anxiety Disorder !

Introduction:

Anxiety disorder term is generally used to specify someone who is abnormal to a situation like worry, fear, anxious and unable to focus specifically and characterization resulting in a mental imbalance that might have short- or long-term impacts. Physical symptoms can also be seen in some cases. The only source to get them back to the normal situation is through clinical diagnosis. This situation can be seen in kids and teens. There are different anxiety disorders, they include

• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
• Separation anxiety disorder (SAD)
• Social phobia (social anxiety disorder)
• Selective mutism (SM)
• Specific phobia

Some anxiety is a normal aspect of development, as in the following:

Most children and infants get feared when separated from their mother, generally when they are unfamiliar to a place and persons. In kids of 3-4 years fears like dark, monsters, bugs, spiders and fear even of strangers is very common. Fear for the injuries and for death are mostly felt by them. Kids of teenage and little older get anxious for a book report presentation in the class. These cannot be considered as evidence of the disorder. If the limitations are exceeding resulting in a great impair function, then anxiety might be considered. During childhood and adolescence, anxiety disorders can be seen. About 10-15% of children experience an anxiety disorder, in course of time in their childhood. Risks of depressive and anxiety disorders can be experienced in later life for the children who have an anxiety disorder.

Signs and Symptoms:

On keen observance by the parents and teachers, we might notice the anxiety. For example, a kid maybe a little different in behavior like missing school, cling and sometimes cry for no reason. They may refuse to talk or do things and feel scared or upset. It is not only limited to kids but also teens where they even feel anxious which we might not be able to notice like afraid, worry and nervous. Studies suggest that anxiety disorders might involve the dysfunction of limbs and the hippocampus that regulates emotions like a fear response. Studies on genetics and heritability suggest that environmental and genetic factors have an influence. But till now no specific gene has been identified but many genetic variants might be involved.

The physical symptoms can even be notified like a hot face, clammy hands, dry mouth or a racing heart, feel shaky, jittery or short of breath, feeling butterflies in their stomach. These symptoms of anxiety are to fight or flight response in the body, which is the body’s normal response to danger, which triggers the release of natural chemicals in the body helping to face the danger. These affect heart rate, breathing, nerves, muscles, and digestion. The fight or flight response is overactive with anxiety disorders, which can happen even when there is no real danger.

Treatment:

 The treatment for anxiety disorder is clinical. This can be done by psychosocial therapy. A trained therapist takes the sessions to the parents and then the kids asking everything carefully like asking about the current situation, history of when this has been identified and how the child has anxiety and what he/she fears the most. Based on these they diagnose the specific anxiety disorder.

Usually, the treatment for anxiety disorder is cognitive-behavioral therapy. This therapy helps the kid as well as the family members managing to overcome the fears and anxiety in various aspects. How a parent must respond to the anxious state of a child and maintain the balance to overcome it is an important task. Kids are made to learn coping skills to overcome fear and worry less. The therapist helps to encourage the kids in the aspects they are good making them feel proud. And make them go ahead with no worries and focus on their schooling life- participate in activities, fun and, etc. Several times anxiety is cured using prescribed and systematic medication.