Anxiety Symptoms

Childhood and adolescence is the time that many anxiety symptoms start to show themselves.  And for a lot of adults who suffer from anxiety, it was during childhood that these anxieties came out.  Childhood anxiety symptoms are not rare.  According to the Surgeon General about 13% of children and teenagers have anxiety disorders.

One common form of social anxiety disorder in children is separation anxiety disorder.  The anxiety symptoms that come with this disorder are being afraid to be away from their parents, nightmares about losing their parents and a reluctance to attend school or other activities where the parents would not be in attendance.  About 4% of children experience separation anxiety disorder and experience the resulting anxiety symptoms.  Slightly more girls than boys are affected by this condition.  It is unknown what exactly causes this childhood anxiety disorder.  Doctors believe that a death or illness in the family, natural disaster, moving to a new house, or trauma can bring out or make childhood anxiety symptoms worse.

Another very common form of social anxiety disorder in children is phobias.  One of the problems of diagnosing childhood anxiety symptoms is that it is natural for children to be anxious and for them to have fears.  Throughout childhood and adolescence, 90% of children are afraid of something specific.  For example, toddlers are often naturally afraid of being separated from their parents, being taken out of their familiar surroundings and put into new situations and of new people. When children are between eight and sixteen years old, it is common for them to be afraid of something physical (like a natural disaster, school or an animal).  According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, a phobia becomes a problem when anxiety symptoms interfere with normal life in a way that it negatively affects the child and cause him or her to avoid doing something.

Finally, children and teenagers also experience a lot of the same social anxiety disorders that adults do.  Childhood anxiety symptoms are very similar to those of adults; they may avoid situations where they have to talk to people, or those that would cause them embarrassment.  Their anxiety symptoms of a racing heart, beating chest and hot flashes are very similar to those of an adult. 

Children who have anxiety symptoms are very likely to have anxiety symptoms as adults if the problem goes untreated.  It is important to get treatment for children with anxiety symptoms before they grow into a larger problem.