Imagine yourself as a 7-year-old living 300,000 years ago in a cave with your family. Every day you go out hunting with your mum for food, trying to find any edible plants, berries or meat to eat. Unfortunately, it’s been hard to find anything substantial lately and everyone has been hungry for many days. As you both prepare to leave the cave, you hear a low growl and come face to face with the snarling jaws of a large hyena. Both you and your mum look at each other as you become filled with anxiety. Your hearts start to race, and your palms get sweaty. (anxiety in children)
Here in the present day, we may not have hyenas in our yard, but our body still produces similar responses in response to perceived or real threats. This system, if dysregulated, can lead to a diagnosis of anxiety. Of course, this is an oversimplification of the complex physiology of the brain and adrenal system. The scientific and medical community are continuously doing research to learn more about mental health conditions – how they originate and how best to treat them. The facts are startling.
Based on the National Study of Health and Wellbeing (2020-2022), anxiety disorders affect 17% of the population; that’s 3.4 million people in Australia. Furthermore, its estimated that 1 in 7 children and young people aged 4 to 17 years experienced a mental illness in the last 12 months. Adults who have anxiety may also be more likely to have children who have anxiety.
Some degree of worry is a normal response to stress as it helps us manage a situation, escape or to find a solution to the problem at hand. We use the term ‘anxiety’ when the fears or worries become excessive and cause a detrimental impact to your child and the whole family.
Some common reasons that your child may feel anxious include going to school, friendships and bullying, parental separation or divorce, or even in response to big events happening in the world like natural disasters or war.
Some common ways that anxiety can present include:
- Excessive fear or worry
- Acting out- changes in behaviour, which might look like meltdowns or tantrums
- Avoiding certain situations which were fine before e.g. Not wanting to go to swimming lessons or school
- Overthinking and wanting to control the situation
- Having trouble focusing and concentrating on usual tasks
However, as a paediatrician, I often see many young children who only present with physical symptoms. This is still a sign that your child has anxiety. The most common symptoms I see are tummy pain and headaches, followed closely by having trouble with sleep or appetite, and feeling tired.
The good news is that anxiety is a treatable condition. There are many things you can do at home to help your child if you suspect their worries may be a sign of underlying anxiety.
In South Asian communities, mental health conditions are not always given merit and not talked about openly. This is important, because the first step in addressing anxiety is to talk about it. This means providing your child with a safe and judgement free space to discuss their fears and worries with you so that you can understand how to support them. Some strategies include:
- A simple conversation Sometimes this is enough to help your child work through and validate their feelings
- Helping your child manage the particular situation Eg. if they are worried about attending school, the first step might be to talk to the class teacher about what might be happening in the classroom
- Using online resources (see links below) to help your child with breathing exercises or meditation techniques
- Maintaining good healthy habits to keep the brain working at its very best. This means optimising sleep, having a nutritious and predominantly unprocessed diet, getting lots of physical activity and strictly minimising screen time. We explored these in more detail in the February issue of Indian Link.
- Noticing “avoidance’ Try to prevent your child from avoiding their usual routine or activities, as this habit can be difficult to break.
Sometimes, despite all of the above, the anxiety persists. Its important to see your GP if your child’s symptoms worsen and/or start to negatively affect aspects of schooling, home life and friendships. A very important reason to seek urgent medical attention is if your child expresses any thoughts of wanting to hurt themselves/others or carries out these actions.
From experience, I know many South Asian families hesitate to see a doctor because they worry about being prescribed medications. Reassuringly, most children do not need medications as strategies from your psychologist are usually based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).
All these strategies take time to implement and practice, so it’s important to be patient! If your child’s symptoms are severe enough to need medication, a doctor will always have a detailed discussion with you about the potential risks and benefits first.
The Royal Children’s Hospital website has other language resources (including in Hindi and Punjabi) on this topic, and links to reputable websites for more information.
READ MORE: Living with anxiety: Letters from Life – Indian Link
