Anxiety Disorder In Your Child- Scenarios And Reflections
Every child will face some sort of stress at different times in their childhood. The difference between normal stress and an anxiety disorder in a child is that temporary stress can be soothed away and is temporary. A disorder will prompt various emotions of fear, nervousness, or shyness which result in the avoidance or particular places, activities and sometimes people.
The statistics indicate that 1 in 8 children will face severe anxiety. If a child is diagnosed with this illness and is not treated properly there may be long-lasting affects that will stay with the child. For instance, not treating anxiety disorder in a child may lead to dropping out of school, poor grades, introspective traits and higher chances of drug use.
There are many different types of disorders among children (as well as adults). One such disorder is Generalized Anxiety Disorder, commonly known as GAD, which produces high levels of worry about ordinary day-to-day activities. This type of anxiety disorder in a child will leave him or her feeling stressed about things that are intending but have yet to occur. They expect the worst for no apparent reason.
Simple activities can cause the highest levels of stress. In this case the child dealing with this illness feels out of control. There is no exact science detailing what causes an anxiety disorder in a child. However, there is some research evidence to suggest that biology has an influence, as do life trials; especially traumatizing or stressful events in a young life can trigger this type of disorder. It is painful to watch anxiety disorder child endangerment, but as parents we are not necessarily helpless.
Dealing with this type of disorder is not only a mental process. There are also physical implications as well. Tense muscles, exhaustion, insomnia, and even diarrhea are just a few of the possible physical side effects of anxiety disorder in your child.
Another type of stress disorder is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, or what is commonly referred to as OCD. The main characteristics of this disorder are repetitive rituals such as hand washing or counting. This disorder inflicts the person with nagging thoughts that a particular routine has to be completed in order to ease the feelings of stress. Most children who suffer from this disorder will be diagnosed before the age of 10, but it is also been known to be an anxiety disorder child related that can strike children as young as 2 years old.
Girls’ and boys’ development of this disorder differ. Unlike adults, children can not grasp that their obsessive rituals are irrational. It is just known to them that doing something in particular is soothing. If this type of anxiety disorder is left unattended or treated, it can grow with the child into adulthood, affecting all aspects of life.
Anxiety disorder in a child is treatable. There are a number of methods of treatment available. These stress disorders are often medical conditions and, like other conditions, can be aided with professional help. Each individual child is unique and so is their condition, there is no one blanket treatment. Choose a doctor that can help you pinpoint your child’s need and aid them correctly.
As a parent there are a number of things you can do to help your child through this process. Listen to what your child tells you. When your child is going through an anxious phase, stay calm. Notice and pay compliments for accomplishments, regardless of how small. If you are looking for more support for dealing with anxiety disorder in your child, there are online and offline resources for parents.
We offer a number of additional ideas in our email mini-course shown in the upper right corner of this webpage. That course will immedately introduce you to a wonderful natural method that has helped tens of thousands achieve permanent success over panic and anxiety disorder.
Panic Attacks Help is Available- Find It Here
Whether you have experienced just one panic attack or dozens of them, it is very important to know your options for finding effective treatment and permanent panic attacks help. In fact, if you have a mild anxiety condition that could one day lead to a full fledged panic attack, it’s important to know that it is in fact possible to get your condition under control before it goes that far.
A panic disorder is a form of anxiety that can completely take over your life if you let it. As if the anxiety itself is not enough, the fear of having an attack in a public situation can paralyze you, cause you to withdraw from life, and even cause a panic attack that you would otherwise not have had.
Are you ready to help yourself? If so, here are a few of your most important treatment options. Some can be done on your own on a daily basis while others are best done with the guidance of a medical professional.
Panic Attacks Help: Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy
Cognitive behavior deals with the mental processes that allow anxiety to escalate. The fact that you are dealing with anxiety on a consistent basis is proof that there is some type of distorted thinking inside your head. This type of therapy is designed to expose that thinking and overturn it with more functional, realistic thought processes.
Behavioral therapy is also called immersion therapy because it deals with the physical symptoms of your panic attacks by placing you in situations that routinely cause anxiety or which you fear may bring on an attack. This can be done in a very controlled setting inside a doctor’s office or it can take place in real life situations.
Panic attacks have mental and physical components, so Cognitive-behavioral therapy is most effective when both aspects are taken together; combating them both works best.
Panic Attacks Help: Anxiety Medication
In some cases, a doctor may choose to prescribe medication either while therapy is progressing or for longer periods of time. These medications will control the anxiety so your life is not interrupted and can prevent future panic attacks.
The problem with medication is that you may have to take it forever to control the problem if you do not go through other treatment options to cure it. There may also be side effects that come with many medications. Sign up for our free email mini-course for a couple of extremely effective treatment methods that are 100% free of drugs.
Panic Attacks Help: Relaxation and Exercise
Learning to relax your mind and body is something that you can do on your own and it is most effective when practiced on a daily basis to relieve stress and tension continually. Once you know how to calm yourself down mentally you will start feeling how it changes your breathing as well. This can be very beneficial if you need to calm down initial symptoms of a panic attack to limit its effect on you.
Exercise is a surprisingly effective way to help your body deal better with stress, and to combat a tendency towards anxiety or panic attacks. A daily exercise routine is worth establishing on its own merits for good health, and is a can’t-lose source of panic attacks help–at no cost.
Think about learning deep breathing techniques, meditating on a daily basis, or even adding yoga into your daily routine.
Panic Attacks Help: Support Groups
Finally, support groups can be excellent in helping you succeed, no matter what other type of treatment you may decide to take on. Once you see that there are others just like you out there, the same and fear of having an anxiety problem will feel less overwhelming. You may also be able to hear about new treatment options and home exercises that have worked for other people.
Understanding Panic Attack Medication-Not Everyone Needs It
A panic attack or chronic anxiety disorder can be devastating for many people. It disrupts their daily life; they stop enjoying the places they used to go and sometimes it can cause isolation from friends and family. Fortunately there are a number of tools available to professionals to help in the battle.
In some cases panic attack medication along with other approved therapies can be quite beneficial. One type of therapy that has shown success is behavior changing therapy. When the way the sufferer thinks affects the behavior they display, these two aspects can be addressed by using therapy. The inclusion of medication can help by decreasing the number of panic attacks the person is having as well as the severity, thereby allowing them some relief. The medication can help the therapy do its job more effectively.
Although medication alone is not the answer, the use of anti-depressants has often been shown to be effective. There are several that have been used, including Paxil, Zoloft and Prozac. These panic attack medications are called selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRI). That is a mouthful, but the concept is actually fairly simple. There are certain chemicals in the brain that are used to send messages from one nerve to another. These are called neurotransmitters. A nerve releases the neurotransmitter chemical with the intent that it will be taken up by another nerve as part of a larger process. Sometimes a portion of the neurotransmitter is actually taken back by the original nerve, leaving less for the intended target. The SSRI inhibits the donor nerve from reuptaking the released chemical, improving the communication process.
The types of panic attack medication mentioned above will allow serotonin, the neurotransmitter chemical of interest, to be more readily available for other nerves. Serotonin is thought to affect the emotional states of people. This is why anti-depressants are used as panic attack medication.
Before SSRIs were around, a tricyclic anti-depressant (TCA) family of drugs was commonly used as panic attack medication. This included Anafranil, Norpramin and Tofranil. These were found to be as effective as the SSRIs are now. One reason they are not used as much as before is because SSRIs have been shown to be a safer alternative–fewer side effects.
The TCAs require very stringent monitoring of the person taking them, however all medications are serious chemicals and must be used under the careful eye of a qualified specialist. This is one reason the doctor chosen should have knowledge of panic attack medications as well as how they are used in conjunction with therapy.
Another panic attack medication that was used to treat anxiety attacks was a benzodiazepine drug. These included Klonopin, Ativan, Valium and Xanax. The main benefit of these drugs is they work immediately rather than taking a few weeks to build in the system to help. The SSRIs are taken on a daily basis and they tend to build up over time to help with anxiety or depression.
When taking panic attack medication, there should be a marked improvement shown within a few weeks. If not, the medicine may have to be changed or increased. Most people that take these medications for anxiety or panic attacks have to take them for at least a year and sometimes for years.
Usually their doctor will wean them from the medication and keep a check to see how they are doing. If the symptoms return they often have to go back on the medication for another period of time. As for others, they may have to take these medications for the rest of their lives if the therapy is not fully successful.
Panic attack medication, when used in combination with therapy, has shown very good results for those who suffer from this affliction when the causes are properly diagnosed. However, the causes of anxiety and panic attacks are still a bit of a mystery. Unfortunately there is some educated trial and error involved.
It is obviously important to find a doctor who has experience dealing with anxiety disorders as well with as the drugs used to help treat the problem. Also, thousands of sufferers have found victory without the need for any panic attack medication, as we outline in our free email mini-course.
