Why some children become anxious

Child anxiety is a very unpleasant affliction that can seem to suck the joy of life out of a child. They may seem happy and carefree enough in many situations, but some everyday things seem to set off the anxiety.

It is painful and frustrating for a child to feel strong anxiety in certain situations, and activities that should and could be enjoyable turn into negative experiences. If it goes on, it can have a real and negative impact on the child's whole life. And if it goes untreated for years, it can follow the kid into adulthood, making their life much less enjoyable than it could otherwise be.

There can often be a hereditary element to child anxiety. Anxiety and anxiety disorders can run in the family, and one or both parents could have been anxious children or adults. In these cases, the anxiety often shows itself at an early age, sometimes as early as three or four years of age. There doesn't need to be anything specific that suddenly triggers the child anxiety, it can just be there, suddenly or gradually. The goal for any treatment of anxiety in children in these cases is to reduce the impact of the anxiety and teach the child to cope with it. The results can be excellent, and the child may learn techniques that will be helpful against the anxious feelings for the rest of their lives.

In other cases, the anxiety is triggered by an event that the child interprets as threatening. There can often be a hereditary factor in this situation as well, but the anxiety will not necessarily arise. In these cases, the child anxiety typically arises between the ages six and seventeen. The anxiety can sometimes disappear by itself, but will mostly require treatment to go away. The results of treatment are often very good and the treatment can go quickly. Often, the anxiety will not return.

Regardless of the underlying cause for the anxiety, it is important to treat it as soon as possible. There are today programs available that give excellent results against anxiety in children, without the need to visit a psychiatrist and incurring the associated cost.