Child Anxiety Disorder Symptoms

Several types of anxiety disorders can affect children. The beginning of an anxiety disorder can come on as a result of some stressor in the child's life, such as moving to a new community, the death of a loved one and even a school stressor. It is important to recognize the symptoms of the most common anxiety disorders.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder

• A child with generalized anxiety disorder will most likely worry over anything and everything. He probably won't know what to do with that worry, so it will essentially plague him day in and day out. With GAD, the child may experience this worry problem for six months or even longer. The child might tire easily, complain of upset stomach and be grouchy or contentious. He may not be able to sleep, which can lead to problems focusing in school. His muscles may ache due to stiffness.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

• It's normal for a child to have separation anxiety before the age of four, but after that, it becomes a disorder if the child still has a problem with separation. The child with separation anxiety disorder will not want to be away from his parents at all, including for school or summer camp. She might be very tenacious, staying close to her parents' side more often than not. She might not be able to sleep well, especially waking to go crawl in bed with her parents. She may also suffer from bad dreams involving separation. She may even worry that her parents will either get hurt badly or die, leaving her alone. Fear is a huge part of this disorder.

Phobias

• Phobias are fears that may seem absurd or unrealistic to the outside observer; but a child who suffers from them doesn't see the fears as unrealistic---he sees them as very real obstacles in his everyday life. Since they are so real to him, he may not tell his parents about them; he may feel that they are normal for him to have. The fears may have to do with such things as going out in the dark, animals (such as snakes or dogs), enclosed spaces (claustrophobia), deep water, heights or any number of things.
  The child may be reluctant to live a normal life because of these phobias; he will definitely try to avoid anything having to do with his fears. He might have tantrums if forced to encounter something he is afraid of. He may shed many tears, clinging to his parents. He might even have an upset stomach and headache from all of the tension.

Social Anxiety Disorder

• Social anxiety disorder can mean many sources of fear for a child; she will usually show signs of this disorder more in her early pre-teen/teen years. She may not want to be with friends, or she might have trouble making friends. The fear of opening up and talking to others can cause much anxiety. She might not like talking on the phone, let alone talking in front of the class at school when called upon by the teacher. She may act like a loner, choosing to be alone rather than to be with others and risk rejection or teasing. If she does have to talk, it will be in a very quiet and barely audible voice. When faced with a situation that requires her to come out of her shell, she might experience symptoms associated with an adrenaline rush, such as upset stomach, profuse sweating, a feeling of being very lightheaded and a quickened heart rate. She may even break down and cry or throw a fit over the situation. Of course, the other alternative is that she might completely stiffen up, not knowing what to say or do, not even being able to think.

Panic Disorder

• A child is most likely to experience a panic attack when he is in his pre-teen/early teen years. If he has experienced two or more panic attacks and he is afraid of experiencing more, then this can be classified as a disorder. After a panic attack, the child may do anything to get out of situations that he thinks might bring on another attack. This will cause him to avoid many situations and, if not treated, can lead to more complicated problems and phobias.
  During an actual panic attack, the child may feel like he is going to die if he doesn't get out or get away from whatever is causing the attack. He may feel prickling all over or tingling, even to the point of feeling like he could pass out. His heart rate will go way up, and his heart may feel like it is skipping around in his chest. He will also experience profuse sweating and shaking. His stomach may be quite upset, and he might feel either very cold or very hot. His breathing may become shallow and fitful too. Panic attacks may last for approximately ten minutes.