There are several different types of anxiety disorders including panic disorders, agoraphobia, selective mutism (rare), social phobias, other specific phobias, separation anxiety and generalized anxiety disorder.

​

Does your child appear to worry about life, daily activities, themselves or others, or worry about things before they happen?  

​

If so, your child may be experiencing Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD).  According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA) this disorder affects 6.8 million adults and the highest risk of onset is between childhood and middle age.  Symptoms include but are not limited to difficulty in controlling worry, being quickly worn out due to that worry, irritability, easily startled, restlessness, difficulty concentrating or mind going blank.   Physical manifestations may include digestive issues, migraines, or a feeling like there is a pit in their stomach or lump in their throat, muscle aches or tension, and sleep problems. These symptoms are observed to take place most days for at least 6 months.  

Generalized Anxiety Disorder symptoms can have debilitating effects on the early life of a young person whether elementary, middle or high school aged.  It is important to seek expert help in evaluating your child’s symptoms. Notably untreated long term GAD may put your child/teen at increased risk of suicidality.  The Pediatric Academic Societies Meeting in San Francisco in 2017 reported that the number of children and adolescents (5-18 years old) admitted to children’s hospitals for thoughts of suicide or self-harm has more than doubled during the last decade.  

Similarly, symptoms of anxiety have now become the leading cause for college students to visit their school counseling centers, overtaking depression in 2015-16 academic year, according to a survey of over five hundred counseling centers by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors.  Many of these students report high anxiety either throughout or starting in the last years of high school.  

​

In working with middle schoolers or teenagers, I typically hear common anxiety complaints such as difficulty in concentrating on studying due to worry, or after having studied going blank in a test. Students also express concerns about not being able to keep up with school work or with peers and as a result feel overwhelmed with school life and social pressures. This leads them to under-function, become demotivated or otherwise feels incapable.   I have observed fourth through sixth graders who develop a sudden unwillingness to attend school or children as young as second grade not completing activities for fear of “messing up” or refusing to speak with their teachers for the same reason.

​

Does your adolescent fear speaking, playing sports, or eating in front of others? Does your child or teenager exhibit physical distress in public or social situations? Does your child or adolescent demonstrate excessive avoidance or fear behaviors in anticipation of encountering a specific object or situation?

​

Social Anxiety (Phobia) include significant fears of being judged or scrutinized by others in social or performance situations, sometimes resulting in crying, being excessively timid or embarrassed, or refusal to participate. Meanwhile Specific Phobia is indicated by marked anxiety triggered by exposure to a feared situation or object – e.g. fear of spiders, blood, heights, flying on a plane, or driving through tunnels, etc.  

Numerous studies demonstrate that care and treatment of Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD) is generally sought in adulthood even though onset usually takes place in early teenage years. In my experience delaying treatment in dealing with Social Anxiety leads to more serious impairments such as isolation, lowered self-esteem, and potential for depression.

​

Does your child or teenager experience sudden episodes of intense fear that arise rapidly and seemingly out of nowhere?

​

Panic disorders in children and teens sometimes show up as a sudden increased sweating, clamminess in hands, dizziness or lightheadedness, heart racing, shortness of breath, trembling/shaking or feelings of impending doom. Panic attacks severely affect a child or teens functioning whether in school or social situations.  According to American Association of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, normal development can also be affected.

​

Panic attacks tend to be sudden, lasting from minutes to hours, can be unexpected or induced by a trigger such as an object or situation.  Fear of having a panic attack can lead to increased anxiety and lead to further impairment in functioning. Sometimes panic attacks can be difficult to diagnose in children, however, once diagnosed specific treatments can be very effective.

​

Is your child or teenager afraid to leave your side; has nightmares about being separated from you or another caregiver, experiences symptoms of physical illness in anticipation of being away from you?  

​

Separation Anxiety is commonly thought of only occurring in children, however, it is also diagnosed in adolescents and even adults. For children, distress and significant fears develop with the imminent separation of someone to whom they are attached.  This distress is greater than what is considered typical for the child’s developmental stage. The child or adolescent may also have unfounded trepidation that something bad may happen to their attachment figures.

​

One young man I saw at thirteen years old experienced almost debilitating worry that something could happen to his mother each time she drove to pick him up and as a result he almost never wanted to be away from her.  Some of these fears have a basis in previous events, for example, an eight year old I assisted, experienced the passing of a parent at a very young age which led him to, as he got older, develop anxious thoughts around his other parent passing, therefore developed difficulties in being away from that parent.  Separation anxiety may be associated with panic attacks due to co-occurring with an existing panic disorder.