Are you the parent, caregiver, guardian, teacher, mentor, or friend of a child that you suspect may be struggling with anxiety? Have you had baffled or confused by what seems like strange behaviors, huge emotional responses, or just something that seems off or not quite right?

Today we are inviting one of our therapists, Dakota Tores, LMSW to give an overview of anxiety in children to understand the prevalence, symptoms, and treatment expectations for childhood anxiety.

So you think your child may be struggling with childhood anxiety? You are in good company!

According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 7.4% of children ages 3-17 years old have been diagnosed with anxiety and approximately 59.3% of those individuals receive treatment. That means that you are likely not the only family in your neighborhood, classroom, baseball team, or friend groups working through these challenges in their home. Take a breath.

So what is childhood anxiety?

Liz Matheis, PhD., in Signs Of Anxiety In Children: Child Anxiety Symptoms, writes that anxiety is linked in children with a situation that they witnessed or were a part of that they perceived as a threat or frightening. The keyword here is perceived. Little brains sometimes perceive these threats wildly different than our adult brains may perceive them. It does not matter how you see a situation or what you know to be true. It matters how that little brain is perceiving and interpreting the world around them. So keep in mind that, it likely will not make sense to you.

So how is anxiety in children different than anxiety in adults?

Anxiety in adults and anxiety in children can look different. There are different forms of anxiety in children (just like adults). The CDC and Harvard University identify these as:

Separation Anxiety: this is when children do not want to leave their parents’/guardians’ side. They may refuse to go to friends’ houses, play away from their parents/guardians, and may want to be able to always see them.
General Anxiety: this can include having to worry about things happening to themselves or someone else that they care about.
Phobias: this is when a child may be afraid of specific things such as bugs, planes, pets/animals, certain weather, etc.
Social Anxiety: this is when a child is fearful of social events, new or old. This can include going to school, seeing people, or going out and about with parents/guardians.

Children may not be old enough or have the developmental capability to express these fears, feelings, or vocalize their thoughts. Therefore, they may show behaviors or symptoms that adults can sometimes find frustrating or upsetting. Parents may ask their children what they are feeling or what happened, and children may say that nothing is wrong, or they do not know. This can leave parents feeling helpless or at a loss of what to do.

So what do symptoms of anxiety in children look like?

Symptoms can include:

Irritability
Poor sleep
Fatigue
Inability to focus
Crying often
Tantrums
Clingy behavior
Startling easily
Complaint of headaches or stomachaches (that can not be attributed to sickness)

So what does treatment for anxiety in children look like?

I often work with children who have been diagnosed with anxiety. As part of a general treatment plan, I first begin with an assessment of your child and ask you and the child questions surrounding their environment, school, behaviors at home vs. outside the home, what the parent is noticing and what teachers or friends may be reporting. We want to do as much investigation as we can to understand what a child’s experience may be.

After this, at the next appointment, I spend some time with just the child (if they are comfortable) and we participate in activities that interest them (i.e. games, drawing, talking, coloring, etc.). All while I continue to ask questions to get to know your child. During this time, I am assessing their ability to communicate experiences, identify feelings, fears, worries, recent changes, friends, conversations they have had, and things they have seen or heard.

Once we are able to understand the situation and build a comfortable safe place for the child we then start developing the skills and tools to address the anxiety needs. We then begin working on things like naming and understanding feelings, emotion regulation tools to keep their body in control, communication skills, rational thoughts, positive relationships, and regulating behavior. (Don't worry, we do this all in the context of games, art, and play. Anxiety therapy and learning can be fun!)

I also work closely with parents and teachers to monitor behaviors and changes. No matter where you obtain treatment for your child, it is always a teamwork effort with adults in the child’s environment.

If your child is struggling with any of these symptoms, it could very well be anxiety, though we always want to assess and rule out other mental health issues, cognitive delays, or health issues. The thing to remember with children is, they cannot express things like adults around them. Behaviors or changes in personality are often hiding things that we cannot see. Partnering with a professional can be a great way to help your child learn the skills to manage their experiences and empower you to be equipped in supporting them?

By: Dakota Torres, LMSW

Are you interested in learning more about anxiety therapy? Are you wondering if therapy could help you or your child with some of the challenges that your family has been facing? At our Arlington, TX-based Counseling group, our team of therapists (including Dakota Torres, author of this article) is ready to help. Whether in the form of parent coaching or child therapy, we have options to support the needs of you and your family. Contact us! We would love to connect.

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They did what?: Understanding Anxiety in Children