Childhood anxiety is an increasingly common problem. The stimuli to which the youngest children are exposed are many and often poorly controlled by adults. On the other hand, the demands on many of them are great, greatly reducing the time they have to play freely in exchange for hours and hours of private lessons.
On the other hand, let’s consider that how childhood anxiety manifests itself is different from the way it manifests itself in adults; hence the need to study it separately. Only in this way will we be able to identify it correctly. Furthermore, by doing so, we will be able to find the most effective ways to intervene.
So, in this article, we are going to study both the symptoms and the most common treatments for childhood anxiety. But first, we need to briefly look at what anxiety exactly is.
What is anxiety?
According to the American Psychological Association (APA), anxiety is an extreme stress response in the body. This sensation is triggered by a stimulus perceived as threatening. Depending on the specific anxiety problem, the trigger can be either external or internal.
On the other hand, it should be noted that anxiety can manifest itself in many different ways. Thus, it is common to speak of different psychological disorders related to this problem. In the case of children, the ones that occur are similar to those of adults; which does not mean that some significant differences may not appear.
Symptoms of childhood anxiety
As with older people, children can manifest anxiety problems in different ways. Below we will look at some of the most common manifestations of an anxiety disorder in childhood.
1- Selective mutism
Selective mutism is characterized by a lack of speech in situations where the child would be expected to speak. This lack of speech also interferes with the child’s daily life, for example by making it difficult for him or her to interact in class or make friends easily.
Selective mutism occurs in cases where the child does not have a physical speech problem. On the contrary, silence is a way of protecting himself, although it also causes emotional distress. This disorder can be diagnosed as early as five years of age, but it usually appears later.
2- Separation anxiety
Most children feel bad when they have to be separated from their parents. This can happen when adults have to be away for a long time, or when children have to go to daycare for the first time. However, in the case of separation anxiety, the symptoms are usually much more severe.
When true separation anxiety occurs, the child has a really bad time when he or she is separated from the absent person. This discomfort can occur when going to school, on a trip, or on an excursion, but it can also appear when adults have to be away from home even for a short time.
The problem is that this anxiety directly affects the child’s emotional distress. Therefore, it is necessary to seek professional help if you suspect the existence of a condition such as the one we describe.
3- Social phobia
The last of the most common childhood anxiety disorders is social phobia. This occurs when the child is unable to interact with others, even though he or she would like to, due to extreme shyness. In addition, he or she will usually avoid performing certain actions so as not to expose himself or herself to criticism from others.
Again, this type of childhood anxiety will hinder the child’s development. Therefore, below we will see what interventions are most frequently proposed.
Treatment of childhood anxiety
1- Change of beliefs
Approaches such as cognitive-behavioral therapy consider that anxiety arises and is maintained by a series of irrational beliefs. Although in the case of children, they are less obvious, thoughts are also often considered the cause of psychological distress.
Therefore, most attempts to cure childhood anxiety involve changing erroneous beliefs. Thus, the main job of the psychologist is to detect limiting thoughts and replace them with others that help the child.
2- Exhibition
However, helping them to think better is not the only thing we can do for children with anxiety disorder. In addition to this, it is necessary to help the child to gradually confront what generates their fear. Only in this way will they be able to normalize it and eventually overcome their fears.
Of course, this process can be quite complex. However, the main techniques for treating anxiety are these two. Child psychologists are specialized in applying therapy to children, so that the anxiety symptoms, especially the discomfort, end up disappearing with the intervention.