Anxiety disorders are illnesses that cause people to feel frightened, distressed and uneasy for no apparent reason. Left untreated, these disorders can dramatically reduce productivity and significantly diminish an individual's quality of life.
What are Anxiety Disorders in Children?
Here are some of the most common anxiety disorders that affect children and adolescents.
Panic Disorder. Repeated episodes of intense fear that strike often and without warning. Physical symptoms include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, abdominal distress, feelings of unreality, and fear of dying.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. Repeated, unwanted thoughts or compulsive behaviors that seem impossible to stop.
Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. Persistent symptoms that occur after experiencing a traumatic event such as rape or other criminal assault, war, child abuse, natural disasters or crashes. Nightmares, flashbacks, emotional numbness, depression, anger, irritability, distractedness and being easily startled are common.
Phobias. Two major types of phobias are specific phobia and social phobia. Youngsters with specific phobia experience extreme, disabling, and irrational fear of something that poses little or no actual danger; the fear leads to avoidance of objects or situations and can cause that person to limit their lives unnecessarily. Children and adolescents with social phobia have an overwhelming and disabling fear of scrutiny, embarrassment, or humiliation in social situations, which leads to avoidance of many potentially pleasurable and meaningful activities.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Constant, exaggerated worrisome thoughts and tension about routine life events and activities. These thoughts and tension last at least six months. The child or adolescent suffering from generalized anxiety disorder is almost always anticipating the worst even though there is little reason to expect it. It accompanied by physical symptoms, such as fatigue, trembling, muscle tension, headache, or nausea.
What Causes Anxiety Disorders in Children?
Psychological. A youngster may be predisposed to anxiety disorder when he or she is naturally shy, introverted, or has an inhibited temperament. Children may also be conditioned to experience anxiety disorders. Young children, in particular, frequently associate the events preceding a bad experience directly and causally with that experience. For example, if a child were playing a certain game when something bad happened to a loved one, he or she may continue to believe that if they play that same game, something bad will happen again.
Biological. There are several biological factors which are thought to cause or contribute to the development of anxiety disorders. Perinatal factors during the course of pregnancy have been implicated as one cause of anxiety disorders. Some childhood infections such as PANDAS may contribute to a child developing such a disorder (see OCD). As with many mental disorders, there has been a genetic predisposition shown in the development of these disorders. Lastly, abnormal activity of norepinephrine - a neurotransmitter or chemical messenger in the brain - has been shown to play a role in some cases of anxiety disorders.
Diagnosis
Typically, a child suffering from one of the anxiety disorders may suffer palpitations, sweating, nervousness, and possibly fright. Children may experience confusion and distortions of perception, which are not related to the child's age and development. Anxiety disorders may also affect their thinking, perception and learning.
Books for Further Reading
Anxiety Disorders Assoc. of America. Special Focus on Anxiety Disorders in Children, Adolescents and Young Adults. 2nd Ed., ADAA: 1998.
Koplewicz, HS. It's Nobody's Fault: New Hope and Help for Difficult Children and Their Parents. v Random House: 1994.
Rapoport, JL. The Boy Who Couldn't Stop Washing. Penguin Group: 1991.
Swedo, S and Leonard, H. . Is It Just a Phase?: How to Tell Common Childhood Phases from More Serious Problems. Bantam: 1998.
For Adolescents:
Buffie, M. Angels Turn Their Backs. General Distr. Svcs: 1994
Scientific Publications
Baugh, D.M. "Barriers to Diagnosing Anxiety Disorders in Family Practice." Am Fam Physician. 52(2): 472-479, 1995.
Baughman, O.L., 3rd. "Rapid Diagnosis and Treatment of Anxiety and Depression in Primary Care: The Somatizing Patient." J Family Practice. 39(4): 373-378, 1994.
Labellarte, MJ, Ginsburg, GS, Walkup, JT and Riddle, MA."The treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents." Bio/Psychiatry. 1999 Dec 1;46(11):1567-78. Review.
Pine, DS. "Pathophysiology of childhood anxiety disorders." Biol Psychiatry. 1999 Dec 1;46(11):1555-66. Review.
Velosa, JF and Riddle, MA. "Pharmacologic treatment of anxiety disorders in children and adolescents." Child Adolesc Psychiatr Clin N Am. 2000 Jan;9(1):119-33. Review.
Zajecka, J.M., and Ross, J.S. "Management of Comorbid Anxiety and Depression." J Clin Psychiatry. 56 (2 Suppl.): 10-13, 1995.
For further research: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed/
On the Web
http://www.adaa.org/
http://www.nami.org/youth/fxshanx.html'>
http://www.nami.org/medical.htm
http://www.nami.org/medical.htm
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/anxiety/anxiety/idx_fax.htm
Support Groups and Organizations
Anxiety Disorders Association of America
11900 Parklawn Dr., Suite 100
Rockville, MD 20852-2624
(301) 231-9350
Website: http://www.adaa.org/
National Anxiety Foundation
3135 Custer Dr.
Lexington, KY 40517-4001
(606) 272-7166
National Institute of Mental Health
Information Resources and Inquiries Branch
6001 Executive Boulevard
Room 8184, MSC 9663
Bethesda, MD 20892-9663
Telephone: 301-443-4513
FAX: 301-443-4279
TTY: 301-443-8431
FAX4U: 301-443-5158
Website: http://www.nimh.nih.gov
E-mail:
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NAMI The Nation's Voice on Mental Illness
Colonial Place Three
2107 Wilson Blvd., Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201-3042
Helpline: (800) 950-NAMI (6264)
Tel: 703-524-7600
Fax: 703-524-9094
Website: http://www.nami.org
National Panic/Anxiety Disorder News, Inc.
1718 Burgandy
Santa Rosa, CA 95403
(707) 527-5738b
Website: http://www.npadnews.com
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