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Handling anxiety, fear and phobias- 8-Feb-2010
Everyone, from the youngest child to the oldest adult, experiences anxieties and fears at one time or another.
Feeling anxious in a particularly uncomfortable situation never feels very good. However, with kids, such feelings are not only normal, they're also necessary. Experiencing and dealing with anxieties can prepare young people to handle the unsettling experiences and challenging situations of life.
Anxieties and Fears Are Normal
Anxiety is defined as "apprehension without apparent cause." It usually occurs when there's no immediate threat to a person's safety or well-being, but the threat feels real.
Anxiety makes someone want to escape the situation fast. The heart beats quickly, the body might begin to perspire, and "butterflies" in the stomach soon follow. However, a little bit of anxiety can actually help people stay alert and focused.
Having fears or anxieties about certain things can also be helpful because it makes kids behave in a safe way. For example, a kid with a fear of fire would avoid playing with matches.
The nature of anxieties and fears change as kids grow and develop:
Babies experience stranger anxiety, clinging to parents when confronted by people they don't recognize.
Toddlers around 10 to 18-month-old experience separation anxiety, becoming emotionally distressed when one or both parents leave.
Kids ages 4 through 6 have anxiety about things that aren't based in reality, such as fears of monsters and ghosts.
Kids ages 7 through 12 often have fears that reflect real circumstances that may happen to them, such as bodily injury and natural disaster.
As kids grow, one fear may disappear or replace another. For example, a child who couldn't sleep with the switched off lights at age 5 may enjoy a ghost story at a slumber party years later. And some fears may extend only to one particular kind of stimulus. In other words, a child may want to pet a lion at the zoo but wouldn't dream of going near the neighbor's dog.
Signs of Anxiety
Typical childhood fears change with a particular age. They include fear of strangers, heights, darkness, animals, blood, insects, and being left alone. Kids often learn to fear a specific object or situation after having an unpleasant experience, such as a dog bite or an accident.
Separation anxiety is common when young children are starting school, whereas adolescents may experience anxiety related to social acceptance and academic achievement.
If anxious feelings persist, they can take a toll on a child's sense of well being. The anxiety associated with social avoidance can have long-term effects. For example, a child with fear of being rejected can fail to learn important social skills, causing social isolation.
Many adults are tormented by fears that stem from childhood experiences. An adult's fear of public speaking may be the result of embarrassment in front of peers many years before. It's important for parents to recognize and identify the signs and symptoms of kids' anxieties so that fears don't get in the way of their childrens life.
Some signs that a child may be anxious about something may include:
Clings to parents too much, impulsive, or distracted
Nervous movements, such as temporary shudders
Problems getting to sleep or staying asleep longer than usual
Sweaty hands
Accelerated heart rate and breathing
Nausea
Headaches
Stomachaches
Apart from these signs, parents can usually tell when their child is feeling excessively uneasy about something. Lending a sympathetic ear is always helpful, and sometimes just talking about the fear can help a child move beyond it.
What's a Phobia?
When anxieties and fears persist, problems can arise. As much as a parent hopes the child will grow out of it, sometimes the opposite occurs, and the cause of the anxiety looms larger and becomes more prevalent. The anxiety becomes a phobia, or a fear that's extreme, severe, and persistent.
A phobia can be very difficult to tolerate, both for kids and those around them, especially if the anxiety-producing stimulus (whatever is causing the anxiety) is hard to avoid (e.g., thunderstorms).
"Real" phobias are one of the top reasons children are referred to mental health professionals. But the good news is that unless the phobia hinders the everyday ability to function, the child sometimes won't need treatment by a professional because, in time, the phobia will be resolved.
Parents should look for patterns. If an isolated incident is resolved, don't make it more significant than it is. But if a pattern emerges that's persistent or pervasive, you should take action. If you don't, the phobia is likely to continue to affect your child.
Contact your doctor and/or a mental health professional who is an expertise in working with kids and adolescents.
Helping Your Child
Parents can help kids develop the skills and confidence to overcome fears so that they don't evolve into phobic reactions.
To help your child deal with fears and anxieties:
Recognize whether the fear is real. As trivial as a fear may seem, it feels real to your child and it's causing him or her to feel anxious and afraid. Being able to talk about fears helps words often take some of the power out of the negative feeling. If you talk about it, it can become less powerful.
