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If you have any notion that anxiety is largely an adult issue, you might want to rethink that position. The reality is anxiety is a serious issue that afflicts people of all ages. With that in mind, it would be fair to say anxiety presents many more challenges for kids than it would for adults. Why?
Adults are supposed to have coping skills to help them deal with emotional and psychological disorders like depression and anxiety. Children don’t typically have the kinds of coping skills they would need to combat any kind of mental/emotional disorder. They are supposed to be innocent and free of the problems that adversely affect adults. Unfortunately, their innocence is always under siege from psychological problems.
If you are reading this information, it is probably because you suspect your child may have a childhood anxiety diagnosis. If that’s not the case, it could be because you have concerns about your child and the potential for them to be suffering from anxiety issues. The following information should help you better understand child anxiety.
What is Childhood Anxiety?
Some experts believe that child anxiety is a precursor to depression that could come later in the child’s life. That might account for the idea that children react to stress with anger, agitation, and frustration (anxiety) while adults typically react with profound sadness (depression).
It’s important to remember that a little anxiety is a good thing. It’s a protection mechanism that helps keep people out of harm’s way. The problems start when anxiety levels increase too much. That is what happens to children far too often. A child’s anxiety comes from immense fears and worries. If taken too far, their fears and worries can turn into a child’s anxiety disorder.
Without treatment, children could experience significant developmental issues that last well into adulthood. That’s why it is important for parents to know a little bit about child anxiety. To that end, here are a few child anxiety symptoms that will hopefully help you better understand what is childhood anxiety:
Anything that threatens a child’s sense of security is something that can cause anxiety in a child.
What Causes Anxiety in Childhood?
Experts still have plenty of questions about what causes childhood anxiety. After decades of studies and observations, here are the things the psychiatric community believe are what causes childhood anxiety:
Childhood Anxiety and Substance Abuse
Some people with mental or emotional disorders seek refuge from their problems by abusing drugs or alcohol. There are even people who abuse the prescription drugs their doctors prescribe. People who take this radical step are looking for ways to self-medicate their issues away.
It’s a mistake to believe children can’t fall victim to drug or alcohol addiction. It’s not common among younger children, but teenagers have enough social freedom to get access to drugs or alcohol. Once they realize these types of substances offer temporary relief from their anxiety, it’s game on. They will start to do whatever’s necessary to get that relief as often as possible. Once their addiction gets life, they only have one way back to sanity, getting addiction treatment.
The addiction treatment community has long been aware of the connection between mental or emotional disorders and addiction. They refer to this as a client having coexisting conditions. When coexisting conditions are evident, the diagnosis usually leads therapists to employ a treatment technique experts refer to as “dual diagnosis therapy.”
Dual diagnosis therapy requires the client to get treatment for both their addiction and anxiety disorder at the same time. This is a critical feature of this particular treatment option because of the possibility the untreated condition will interfere with the recovery process.
How to Treat Childhood Anxiety
When a child is suffering from an anxiety disorder, they will need a proper diagnosis and treatment. Any child who doesn’t get the proper diagnosis and treatment will be subject to the possibility of a lifetime of personal problems.
If you suspect your child has an anxiety disorder, you need to take them for therapy. A good therapist should be able to work with you and your child to develop a solid mental health profile for your child. When chronic anxiety is the diagnosis, the therapist will have a couple of treatment options at their disposal.
First, they might choose to prescribe certain anxiety medications. However, some therapists are reluctant to prescribe said medication because these types of drugs are highly addictive. That leaves the second option, therapy.
With children, evidence-based therapies like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) have proven to be effective. Treatment options like CBT seek to make children aware of their anxieties. If a child is aware of their fears, they have the basis for developing coping skills to deal with those fears.
After reading the above information, Mission Harbor hopes you understand how important it is to address your child’s potential anxiety disorder. The sooner you deal with it, the more likely your child is to develop properly into adulthood. You can contact us today, and we would be happy to help diagnose your child’s condition and give them the treatment they need.
The facilities at Mission Harbor are staffed with trained experts to best assist patients with their mental health issues. We are capable of dealing with any and all cases with a licensed staff, equipment, and approved techniques. Our mission is to help those who want to help themselves, and we support your decision in seeking help.
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