Anxiety in Children
Overview
Anxiety is one of the most common mental health concerns for children and adults, affecting
upwards of 20% of children and adolescents over the lifespan. Anxious youth are often quiet and
well behaved, and thus frequently go unnoticed by their parents, teachers, and coaches. Alternatively
others can be disruptive and act out, being labeled as having attention deficit disorder or being a
“bad” kid. Both scenarios result in youth failing to receive the help they desperately need. Sadly,
untreated anxiety can lead to depression, missed opportunities in career and relationships, increased
substance use, and a decreased quality of life.
Parents often say that from a very young age, they knew there was something different about their
child, but did not immediately recognize it as an anxiety problem. Some waited for their child to
“grow out of it”, never expecting their child to become even more debilitated over time. Other
parents viewed the anxious behaviours as normal as, they, too behaved in a similar way. As a result,
parents of anxious children and teens are often confused about what to do, as well as frustrated, and
overwhelmed.
The good news is that this website is designed to help parents and their anxious children. Here, you
will find practical strategies and tools to help you manage your child’s anxiety, whether your child is
just beginning to show symptoms, or has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder. The first step is to
find out more about anxiety — how it looks, how it works, and how to recognize if it is problematic.
If your child has been diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, you may prefer to go directly to the
disorder menu and click on the relevant disorder.
Parents play an essential role in helping their child or teen manage anxiety. When coping skills and
brave behaviour is rewarded and practiced in the home, children and teens can learn to face their
fears, take reasonable risks, and ultimately gain confidence.
Does My Child Have An Anxiety Disorder?
Commented [DD1]: When saying 20% of children are
affected by anxiety, they didn’t mention the rates in adults
or include it in the 20%. Does that mean children can
outgrow anxiety and/ or adults can develop it?
Commented [DD2]: This happens because they are scared
of doing something wrong and held back from many things.
Commented [DD3]: I do not understand how this could
happen, being quiet and shy makes sense to me but not
this.
Commented [DD4]: Are we assuming here if somehow at
this young age they were identified AND got treated for it
none of that would happen anymore. They would not be
quiet anymore, or get rid of ADD?
Commented [DD5]: Is this something we need to further
educate parents on? If we know how often parents dismiss
this behavior as something they will grow out, why isn’t
anything being done about it?
Commented [DD6]: Why is it that after all this time, and all
this research, parents still don’t go to professionals at the
first sight/hint of any mental health issues, just like you
would with a physical disease (like the flu)
Commented [DD7]: When parents have anxiety I recently
learned it can and is often passed down to their children(or
any other mental health issues), so there should be
something put in place so when woman are pregnant they
are checked for any mental health issues and informed on
what it could lead to and what to look out for (maybe
something like this is already happening but I am not sure)
Commented [DD8]: This is a great idea but how could we
get this out to more parents/ people
Commented [DD9]: Again, it all goes back to parents. Is it
possible that with the right skills and knowledge a parent
could rid their child of anxiety? Or are we just suggesting
that it could be ‘‘pushed aside’’
 #1

Commented [DD10]: I do not see how anxiety can be

As discussed throughout this website, anxiety is useful in certain situations, some of the time. But
useful in any way. i have never once been thankful for
how do you, the parent or caregiver, know when the signs of anxiety you are seeing in your child having anxiety

might be significant enough to qualify for an anxiety disorder? An appointment with your family
physician or a trained mental health professional is a good first step. However, in preparation for that
visit, or to decide whether a visit is needed, it can help to understand what professionals look for in
diagnosing an anxiety disorder.

Commented [DD11]: What are those 11 different types?

To begin with, there are eleven different “types” of anxiety disorders, and each anxiety disorder has a
list of commonly occurring symptoms clustered into 4 areas:

 Physical responses
 Thoughts
 Emotions
Commented [DD12]: So is this the ‘base’ of how anxiety
 Behaviorus
affects you? Are some more predominant then the others?
How can you detect symptoms like thoughts?
Next, anxiety specialists have identified that when a child experiences anxiety more often (e.g. most
days, and for months at a time), and more intensely than other children of the same age, it is more
Commented [DD13]: When they say if the child has intense
likely that the child has an anxiety disorder. Finally, those children who experience a specific list of
anxiety its likely that the child has an anxiety disorder, if not
anxious symptoms, more frequently and intensely than peers, are more likely to also experience that then what else?

significant disruption in their lives. This disruption can interrupt or even stop him or her from
Commented [DD14]: Anxiety can take away a childhood
participating in a variety of typical childhood experiences such as:
from a kid, holding them back from experiences, which can
affect human connection later in life, taking away the ability
to relate with others.
 Attending school
 Joining social, athletic or recreational clubs
 Meeting age expected demands such as sleeping through the night, doing homework, and making
Commented [DD15]: All of these will affect them and
friends.
follow them through their lives, making it hard to do what is
expected because tghey never knew how
It is common for children and teens to experience anxiety symptoms of more than one anxiety
disorder. This means as you read the definitions below, it would be fairly common to say, “Yes! This
sounds like my child, but so does this other description!” Fortunately, the helpful approaches
outlined throughout this website can be used for various anxiety problems, so that even if your child
has 2, 3, or more disorders, many of the same tools can be used for all the disorders.
 #2
What Are Anxiety Disorders?

IN THIS ARTICLE
 Types of Disorders
 Symptoms
 Causes
 Diagnosis
 Treatments
 Managing Symptoms
Everyone feels anxious now and then. It’s a normal emotion. For example, you may feel nervous Commented [DD16]: To what point is being anxious not a
when faced with a problem at work, before taking a test, or before making an important decision. normal amount?

Anxiety disorders are different, though. They are a group of mental illnesses, and the distress Commented [DD17]: “a group of mental illnesses”?? I
they cause can keep you from carrying on with your life normally. don’t understand this wording.

For people who have one, worry and fear are constant and overwhelming, and can be disabling.
But with treatment, many people can manage those feelings and get back to a fulfilling life. Commented [DD18]: Is this inferring that with treatment
you could get rid of anxiety?
Types of Disorders
Anxiety disorder is an umbrella term that includes different conditions:

 Panic disorder. You feel terror that strikes at random. During a panic attack, you may Commented [DD19]: Are there triggers?
also sweat, have chest pain, and feel palpitations(unusually strong or irregular
heartbeats). Sometimes you may feel like you’re choking or having a heart attack. Commented [DD20]: Could you actually have a heart
 Social anxiety disorder. Also called social phobia, this is when you feel overwhelming attack from taking a panic attack

worry and self-consciousness about everyday social situations. You fixate about others
judging you or on being embarrassed or ridiculed. Commented [DD21]: I feel as if many teens feel this way
 Specific phobias. You feel intense fear of a specific object or situation, such as heights or intensely

flying. The fear goes beyond what’s appropriate and may cause you to avoid ordinary
situations.
 Generalized anxiety disorder. You feel excessive, unrealistic worry and tension with little
or no reason.
Commented [DD22]: Did not realize phobias were a
category of an anxiety disorders, but after reading this it
makes sense!

 Sleep problems Commented [DD23]: Is there a scientific name besides

 Not being able to stay calm and still ‘sleep problems’? is that a disorder?

 Cold, sweaty, numb or tingling hands or feet

 Shortness of breath
 Heart palpitations
 Dry mouth
 Nausea Commented [DD24]: These are no longer disorders, they
 Tense muscles are just symptoms and side effects
  Dizziness
Causes
Researchers don’t know exactly what brings on anxiety disorders. Like other forms of mental
illness, they stem from a combination of things, including changes in your brain and
environmental stress, and even your genes. The disorders can run in families and could be linked
to faulty circuits in the brain that control fear and other emotions.
Diagnosis
If you have symptoms, your doctor will examine you and ask for your medical history. She may
run tests to rule out medical illnesses that might be causing your symptoms. No lab tests can
specifically diagnose anxiety disorders. If your doctor doesn’t find any medical reason for how
you’re feeling, she may send you to a psychiatrist, psychologist, or another mental health
specialist. Those doctors will ask you questions and use tools and testing to find out if you may
have an anxiety disorder.
Your doctor will consider how long and how intense your symptoms are when diagnosing you.
She’ll also check to see if the symptoms keep you from carrying out your normal activities.
Commented [DD25]: There must be an assumption at least
on what causes anxiety disorders. I don’t think saying “
researchers don’t know” is the right wording.
Commented [DD26]: Is one of these ‘causes’ more
common/ predominate then the others?
Commented [DD27]: Is there a way to prevent this?
Commented [DD28]: How will they examine you? Is it just
questions? A physical?
Commented [DD29]: If there is no scientific proof of having
a mental illness, it must be easy to fake it. If this procedure
is based primarily off of questions and what you tell the
doctors, how can we know for sure what is and isn’t real
Commented [DD30]: I feel as if everyone should be able to
have easy access to a mental health specialist at any point,
and it should be mandatory to go get “check-ups” with
them, just as regular as you get check-ups with a doctor or
dentist. Because some people do not have parents or
someone taking care of them to tell them to go talk to
someone, and some people just don’t know when
somethings wrong.