1. Feeling an Attack
More than three million Americans experience some type of panic disorder, and a surprising number are children and adolescents. Girls experience anxiety attacks more than boys do. Physically, an anxiety attack leads to a racing heartbeat, dizziness, nausea, shaking and difficulty breathing. The emotional symptoms are even worse for the person experiencing a panic disorder. Intense feelings of dread can make a person feel like he's dying. Anxiety attacks occur without warning, lasting from minutes to hours. In children, behavioral problems may disguise anxiety attacks.
2. What's Age Got to Do With It?
Adults often envy the child's day, assuming that no stress or worry exists in the grade school classroom or playground. Some children, however, do worry and they do it intensely. The busy schedules of today's children don't help. Children feel pressure to succeed as early as elementary school, both in the classroom and at Little League. Children prone to anxiety attacks may be self-conscious and extremely shy in unfamiliar surroundings. Although anxiety disorders usually aren't diagnosed until adolescence, children as young as six years old show signs of anxiety when they worry too much about schoolwork and friends.
3. Rule Out the Rest
With adults, sometimes what seems to be a heart attack turns out to be an anxiety attack. While children don't usually have heart attacks, other things can mimic symptoms of childhood panic attacks, including ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), epilepsy and heart problems like mitral valve prolapse or a heart rhythm disorder. For this reason, make certain your child receives a complete physical to rule out any other conditions that might be at work. Don't neglect the possibility that your child may take in too much caffeine from sodas or energy drinks. Alternatively, substance abuse may look like an anxiety disorder.
4. Ease Panic Attacks With Therapy
Once a physician rules out physical causes, a mental health professional who works with children or adolescents may diagnose an anxiety or panic disorder. A psychologist often uses different screening tools to determine specifics about anxiety's causes, severity and frequency. Treatment options depend on the individual. A variety of options have been successful with anxiety attacks, including cognitive-behavioral therapy, psychotherapy, biofeedback and relaxation techniques. In extreme situations, a child psychiatrist may prescribe medication. If medication is used, it should be for short-term use and in combination with some type of therapy.
5. Anxiety Can Become Something Worse
Don't assume that a child grows out of anxiety attacks. They may worsen and even lead to other problems like obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or depression. Untreated depression may show itself in suicidal behavior or an attempt to self-medicate the anxiety with drugs or alcohol. A child who avoids what sets off her anxiety attacks can develop agoraphobia and refuse to leave the house. At the very least, untreated anxiety disorders effect schoolwork and social relationships with other children.
