Anxiety is a normal and very common feeling, both in the lives of adults and children, however, when this anxiety is very strong and prevents the child from living their life normally or participating in various activities, it can be a more difficult situation. serious, which needs to be treated to allow for more complete development.
It is common for children to present symptoms of anxiety when their parents separate, when they move house, change schools or when a loved one dies, and therefore, in the face of these more traumatic situations, parents must pay attention to the child’s behavior, checking whether you are adapting to the situation, or whether you are developing irrational and excessive fears.
In some cases, the child may present excessive anxiety, which has no identified origin and their worries do not disappear or improve over time, and it is recommended that the child be consulted by a pediatrician or child psychologist so that it is possible to develop strategies that help to face moments of anxiety and stress.
Main symptoms
Young children generally have greater difficulty expressing what they are feeling and, therefore, may not say that they are anxious, as they themselves do not understand what it is like to be anxious.
However, there are some signs that can help parents identify an anxiety situation, such as:
- Being more irritable and tearful than normal;
- Having difficulty falling asleep;
- Waking up more times than normal during the night;
- Go back to sucking your thumb or peeing your pants;
- Having frequent nightmares.
Older children may be able to express what they are feeling, but these feelings are often not understood as anxiety and the child may end up expressing a lack of confidence and difficulty concentrating, for example, or trying to avoid routine daily activities. , like going out with friends or going to school.
When these symptoms are mild and temporary there is usually no reason for concern, and they represent a situation of temporary anxiety. However, if it takes more than 1 week to pass, parents or caregivers should be alert and try to help the child overcome this phase.
Causes of childhood anxiety
Episodes of childhood anxiety have no specific cause, however some factors can increase the likelihood of a child experiencing periods of excessive anxiety, such as:
- Family history of anxiety;
- Shyness;
- Having experienced stressful events, such as the loss of a loved one;
- Changes in brain neurotransmitters;
- Feminine gender.
Furthermore, living in a stressful family environment, in which the child repeats the actions they see at home, reinforces their behavior in the face of anxious situations.
How to help your child control anxiety
When a child goes into a chronic anxiety crisis, parents, caregivers and family members are very important in trying to break the cycle and restore well-being. However, this task can be quite complicated and even the best-intentioned parents can end up making mistakes that worsen anxiety.
Therefore, the ideal is that, whenever a possible situation of excessive or chronic anxiety is identified, you consult a psychologist, to carry out a correct assessment and receive guidance adapted to each case.
Still, some tips that can help control your child’s anxiety include:
1. Don’t try to avoid the child’s fears
Children who are experiencing anxiety usually have some fears, such as going out on the street, going to school or even talking to other people. In these situations, what you should do is not try to spare the child and avoid all these situations, because this way, they will not be able to overcome their fears and will not create strategies to overcome their fear. Furthermore, by avoiding a certain situation, the child will understand that they have reasons to really want to avoid that situation, since the adult is also avoiding them.
However, you should also not force the child to face their fears, as excessive pressure can make the situation worse. Therefore, what you should do is take fearful situations naturally and, whenever possible, show the child that it is possible to overcome this fear.
2. Value what the child is feeling
In an attempt to try to minimize the child’s fear, it is relatively common for parents, or caregivers, to try to tell the child that they should not worry or that they do not need to be afraid, however, these types of phrases, although they are said with a positive purpose, can be evaluated by the child as a judgment, as they may think that what they are feeling is not right or does not make sense, for example.
Therefore, the ideal is to talk to the child about their fears and what they are feeling, ensuring that you are on their side to protect them and try to help them overcome the situation. This type of attitude generally has a more positive impact, as it helps to strengthen the child’s psychology.
3. Try to reduce the period of anxiety
Another way to help your child deal with anxiety is to show that anxiety is a temporary feeling that goes away, even when it seems like there is no way to get better. Therefore, whenever possible, parents and caregivers should try to reduce anxiety time, which is usually longer before carrying out an activity. That is, imagining that the child is afraid of going to the dentist, parents can say that the child needs to go to the dentist just 1 or 2 hours beforehand, to avoid the child having this thought for a long time.
4. Explore the situation that causes anxiety
Sometimes it can be helpful for the child to try to explore what they are feeling and explain the situation rationally. So, imagining that the child is afraid of going to the dentist, you can try to talk to the child about what he thinks the dentist does and how important it is in his life. Furthermore, if the child is comfortable talking, you can also assume the worst that could happen in that situation and help the child create a plan in case their fear happens.
Most of the time, the level of anxiety can be reduced when the child feels they have a plan for the worst-case scenario, giving them more confidence to overcome their fears.
5. Practice relaxing activities with your child
This is a classic, simple technique that can help children control their own anxiety levels when they are alone. To do this, the child must be taught some relaxing activities, which can help divert their thoughts from the fears they are feeling.
A good relaxation technique consists of breathing deeply, inhaling for 3 seconds and exhaling for another 3, for example. But other activities such as counting the number of boys in shorts or listening to music can help distract and better control anxiety.
Check out how to adapt your child’s diet to help control anxiety.
