Helping Children and Teenagers Cope and Treating Anxiety

Natural Treatment for anxiety disorders are the best option than anti anxiety drugs.

As a parent we like to see childhood as a carefree time and don’t like to think of our child suffering from anxiety or being worried. Yet how often do we hear something that unsettles us? Such as a young teenager making a suicide pact with her friend of the same age, children self-harming and experimenting with alcohol and drugs.

The physical symptoms of anxiety show in toddlers who can’t settle at kindergarten, suffering separation anxiety and not able to let their mothers out of sight, and primary school children who develop inexplicable “tummy aches” on school mornings.

Social anxiety symptoms are very harmful hindrances in the development of a healthy personality of a person. It is also known as social phobia and is extremely harmful for anybody. It does not let the patient to create a healthy mind set and he always finds himself surrounded with a very constant fear. He becomes unable to handle the problems of life normally.

If you believe the psychiatrists, this disease develops as an after effect of extreme amount of self-consciousness. It makes him the owner of a very unstable mind set that makes him an owner of a fragmented character where he is not able to take any concrete decision by himself.

As far as the statistics available at the National Institute of Mental Health (NMH), about 5.3 million Americans are constant victims of social anxiety. It is 3.7 percent of the total world population who suffer from different forms of social phobias. It is also observed that women are the most frequent and easy victims of social anxiety because some special traits of their character and personality.

The statistics also reveal that this phobia attacks a person in his childhood when he does not have the maturity of thought and behavior. This disease does not occur to anybody after he/ she crosses the age group of 25 years. The most harmful effect of this social phobia is seen when the patient tries to commit suicide after becoming hopeless about his disease. Such a person should be kept into constant observation as he/ she can take that extreme decision any moment.

A person suffering from this syndrome becomes extremely sensitive by nature and cannot tolerate any adverse comment against him/ her. He can show symptoms like trembling, sweating, nauseous, blushing, and stammering when the attack is severe. In this condition, the patient faces a panic attack and it is very harmful for him/ her.

Children like adults can suffer generalized anxiety disorder where there seems to be no specific cause, but often anxiety attacks are related to exam worries, bullying, fear of being attacked in the street and their parents divorce. Children with asthma can suffer anxiety disorder symptoms because they are worried about becoming seriously ill after a severe attack, or even dying.

Anxious children usually mean anxious parents, but thankfully there is a great deal that you can do to help your child if he or she is showing anxiety symptoms.

In the early years, an ordered routine, lots of love and constant but loving discipline will help to make all small children feel secure.

Symptoms of anxiety cause some children to act in a similar way to adults with anxiety disorders, making them irritable and unable to sleep, others demonstrate bad behavior when it was previously good. It is harder for children because they have fewer choices than adults, who can move house, change job or leave the relationship.

Also as adults, we do not always understand, we have kept alive the myth of our own carefree childhood, and so can’t bear to contemplate that our child is in so much pain. However it is important when there are problems that you are honest and communicate with your child at his or her level. You should never assume that your child doesn’t know when there is something wrong in your life, as often family problems can lead to a panic or anxiety attack and related conditions such as social phobias, school refusal and even self-harm, anorexia and bulimia.

If you have a teenager, bear in mind that discipline is important. They need something to fight and push against, so don’t be afraid to say no, as it is really scary pushing into nothingness. It is normal for a teenager to have sulks, tears and slam the bedroom door on you, whilst they share a confidence with their best friend, but look out for panic attacks and phobias, excessive sleepiness, sleeping badly or destructive behavior.

If a family breakup is causing your child anxiety you need to let him or her know that he/she is not at fault and both parents need to demonstrate their love. It is also important that your child learns about what is happening directly from its parents, not from someone else.

There are many help lines and support groups that offer 24 hour anonymous support. If your child’s anxieties become severe and start to impede the child’s normal activities, then you should seek advice from your health practitioner who will be able to make a referral for anxiety treatment like psychotherapy, or prescribe an anxiety medication if he believes this necessary. Always talk this over because anxiety medication side effects vary.

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