Overview of Anxiety Disorders in Children
What are anxiety disorders?
Anxiety is being worried, scared, or nervous. Some anxiety is common and normal at all ages. For example, many young children are afraid of the dark. Older children are often anxious when they have a test.
However, anxiety may become a disorder if:
Children can have many of the same anxiety disorders as adults. These include generalized anxiety, panic attacks, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and specific fears (phobias).
Other anxiety disorders occur mainly in children or are different in children. These include separation anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder (fear of being judged).
Generally, with anxiety disorders:
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Children may refuse to go to school and give excuses such as a stomach ache as the reason
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The disorders can run in families
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Many children who have an anxiety disorder struggle with anxiety in adulthood
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Treatment usually helps, including talking to a therapist and sometimes taking medicine
