Anxiety in Children - Why Does It Occur and How Does It Manifest?

Anxiety disorders are differentiated from each other by the types of objects or situations that generate anxiety or avoidant behavior, as well as by the associated ideation. Anxiety disorders include separation anxiety, specific phobias, social phobia, panic disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Thus, anxiety can appear as early as a few months of age, so we can talk about anxiety in children.

Children of all ages experience feelings of fear and worry. A baby starts to cry if he is taken by a stranger, a 3-year-old child may be afraid of clowns or costumed people, and a 7-year-old child may complain of stomach pain on the first day of school.

Thus physically expressing the anxiety he felt. Fear and anxiety are part of the process of normal development, being a natural response, which has accompanied us throughout our evolution as a species, having an adaptive function.

Fear or anxiety?

Fear is the emotional response to an imminent real or perceived danger, while anxiety appears to anticipate a danger. According to the DSM-V, these two states may overlap, but they are also different: fear is necessary for situations of struggle or flight, ie in situations of immediate danger and is a rescue behavior, while anxiety is more often associated with stress. muscular and vigilant, necessary to prepare for an expected danger, as well as with a cautious and avoidant behavior.

"The distinction between fear and anxiety is given by the quality of anticipatory feeling of anxiety versus fear. The pathological character is given by the increase of the frequency of the manifestations, by their severity, and by their abnormal persistence "

How is anxiety manifested in children?

Often, the first place where anxiety is felt in children and not only is in the body. The child says he is feeling sick, has abdominal pain, and the cause is not organic. But anxiety in children is also felt at the cognitive level, through a thought flooded with fear and dangerous scenarios (the child asks more and more questions starting with: What if…?) And at the behavioral level, through the behavior of avoidance of situations.

Anxiety in children is the result of a combination of factors: genetics (such as temperament, which is innate), exposure to prolonged stress, parental style, medical problems, and/or exposure to a traumatic event.

The lives of our children have changed dramatically. They spend a lot of time in front of screens and monitors, sacrificing time spent outside playing; thus, they no longer have those experiences that played a role of relaxation, detachment from themes and responsibilities, and offered the opportunity to form friends.

In addition, almost every aspect of life is now dominated by uncertainty, and uncertainty feeds anxiety, even in children. In a world that is constantly changing and developing, parents (even with the best of intentions) put pressure on their children to get involved in as many activities as possible and to accomplish as many things as possible. Thus, the pressure to perform fuels the child's anxiety and exacerbates stress through the expectations he feels from those around him.

An overprotective parenting style limits the child's ability to develop his skills and solve problems, to cope with them. Not having the opportunity to make their own decisions, the child finds himself unable to cope with the challenges that life brings.

When should we be concerned about children's fears (anxieties)?

Age-specific worries come and go. But when they are disproportionate to the situation, it becomes a problem. Natural worries become problems when they interfere with sleep, going to school, or being attentive to class, with the joy of playing with others. Loud noises, people, or new places can be scary but natural experiences. Assessment anxiety can be present in a child who wants to have good results at school, but we are not talking about an anxiety disorder when the child manages to perform and his quality of life is not affected.

Anxiety disorders in children cause constant or prolonged disruption or interruption of activities corresponding to their level of development. Parents need to pay attention to their children's emotional outbursts. Are they accompanied by avoidance activities? Does the child start to feel various pains? If this pattern continues for some time, there are no organic medical causes in the middle, and the activities in which the child participates are limited, then measures must be taken.

In addition to what the adult observes in the child's life, other symptoms relevant to anxiety are:

• nausea;

• accelerated breathing;

• profuse sweating;

• muscle tension;

• the feeling of horror at some situations or objects.

Anxious children are easily frightened, they cry, they may have fits of anger, they require the presence of an adult constantly around them, they do not get enough rest and they can complain of headaches and stomach aches.

Therapeutic intervention for anxiety in children

The intervention plan for the child's anxiety disorders includes discovering the situations/objects that trigger and maintain the child's anxiety and, last but not least, getting the child used to the ability to manage their anxiety. One form of therapy with good results in managing the symptoms of anxiety in children is cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT).

During the sessions, the cognitive-behavioral therapist teaches the child relaxation techniques and techniques to reduce the intensity of physical reactions. At the same time, cognitive reorganization and the identification of dysfunctional patterns are among the goals of CBT therapy - the development of skills to identify anxiety patterns and errors in information processing, along with strategies to develop functional, rational, alternative patterns of catastrophic thinking.

At the same time, the CBT approach encourages the child to deal with the factors that trigger anxiety. The therapist uses exposure (through the technique of small steps) to the scenarios that trigger anxiety in a safe environment. Often, the therapist involves the whole family in this therapeutic process and assigns family members an active role in relieving the symptoms of anxiety.