Anxiety

What Ms Hooton has to say …

Anxiety

Short Definition:

Anxiety can be a thought (mental) or feeling (physical) that can feel very scary.
Anxiety is actually not dangerous and can sometimes be helpful in certain situations.
Everybody experiences anxious feelings sometimes, it is a normal.

Just like adults, children and young people feel worried and anxious at times.

What makes children anxious?

Children and Young people can feel anxious about different things at different ages. Many of these worries are a normal part of growing up.

Anxiety becomes a problem for children when it starts to get in the way of their everyday life. Severe anxiety like this can harm your mental and emotional wellbeing, affecting your self-esteem and confidence. You may become withdrawn and go to great lengths to avoid things or situations that make you feel anxious.

Examples are:

Starting a new school
Starting a new class
Leaving school at the end of year 11
Growing up
Having no friends
Having a new baby sister or brother
Mum and dad separating
A pet dying
A family member dying
Standing up in front of the class and talking
A older brother or sister leaving home and moving away

These are a few examples. There are many many more……………..

Signs of Anxiety

When you feel anxious, you cannot always understand or express what you are feeling. You may:

become irritable, tearful or clingy
have difficulty sleeping
wake in the night
start wetting the bed
have bad dreams

In older children you may notice that you:

lack confidence to try new things or seem unable to face simple, everyday challenges
find it hard to concentrate
have problems with sleeping or eating
have angry outbursts
have a lot of negative thoughts, or keep thinking that bad things are going to happen
start avoiding everyday activities, such as seeing friends, going out in public or going to school