Recognizing Anxiety in Children

Anxiety can show up in children in ways that aren’t always easy to recognize, especially in younger children.  It’s a natural emotional response to new, difficult, or stressful situations that children face, and most of the time it’s not a cause for concern. For example - a child may be feeling scared and anxious about their first day of school, but those feelings go away throughout the day as they meet their new teacher, see some old friends, and start to learn the new routine.

Anxiety becomes a concern when it’s excessive and out of proportion to the situation, happens too frequently or doesn’t go away over time, and interferes with daily life. Using the same school example – weeks go by and the child is still crying and clinging to the parent at drop-off, the child can’t calm down enough, or stay calm throughout the day and it interferes with their ability to learn, the child frequently complains of stomachaches or headaches the night before or in the morning of school days. 

One of the main challenges is that children, especially very young children, often lack awareness of their feelings and the emotional vocabulary to describe what they’re feeling so it’s up to the caregivers to recognize the signs. And anxiety in children doesn’t always look like worry. It can appear in behavioral and physical ways as well.

Besides constant worry and fear, anxiety can also show up as difficulty separating from caregivers (crying, clinginess, refusal to stay with others); irritability, restlessness, and nervousness in new situations (that doesn’t get better with time); frequent physical complaints like stomachaches without a medical cause; trouble sleeping; trouble concentrating or staying focused; and intense fears that seem disproportionate to the situation. 

If you notice these symptoms in your child and they’ve been present for at least a few months, it’s important to seek help to offer them the right support. Childhood anxiety is more common than most people realize but it’s also manageable with the right help. 

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Barbara Johns, LPC Associate

I believe that in order to heal, people need to have a safe space where they can explore what is contributing to their problems and how they can use their difficulties as fuel for personal growth in order to turn things around and live life the way they really want to. My goal is to provide you with that safe and supportive environment as well as with new tools and skills that you can take with you on your journey toward healing and growth.