Child Anxiety Treatment
Every parent wants their child to grow up happy and healthy. However, there is a pressing problem which has been the subject of hot debate in recent years. It’s childhood anxiety disorder.
Many people don’t believe that children can have anxiety problems. This is because the symptoms can sometimes be difficult to spot, or they may be misdiagnosed and mistaken for something else.
Children can demonstrate their anxiety in a number of ways, and most commonly they’ll act out or misbehave. The child doesn’t understand what they are feeling, and so they act out in the only way they know how. They do this to get the attention of their parents. It’s their way of asking for help.
There are several types of childhood anxiety disorder, but the most common are:
This type of childhood anxiety disorder is marked by excessive worrying, usually over trivial or unimportant things. Children between the ages of 6-11 are often afflicted the most and GAD in children is commonly brought on by events like the first day of school or other important extracurricular activities. Some of the symptoms of GAD in children are:
Panic attacks can occur frequently with this type of disorder and phobias of animals, people, and heights as well as fear of the dark are also common.
This is usually triggered because a child has gotten too attached to its parents in the first 12 months to 4 years of life. It’s normal for symptoms of SAD to appear up until 4 years old, but then they should subside. If they continue beyond this point, it could be an indicator of separation anxiety disorder. Some symptoms are:
When symptoms are noticed, it’s extremely important that the child be treated immediately. If this is ignored, it may impede the child’s development and the child may not become a well adjusted adult.
Some of the most common treatments for child anxiety disorder are:
There are many treatments for child anxiety disorders, and one of the newest and most successful treatments focuses on parents treating their children at home through interaction and understanding, avoiding drugs and therapy.