About anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of fear and worry, which is natural and common.

We all feel anxious from time to time, particularly when facing new, frightening or uncertain experiences. But some children and young people worry more than others, and have greater difficulty coping with the inevitable challenges and uncertainty of growing up.

Some children are naturally more anxious than others, due to their personalities. Others are anxious due to unstable and chaotic early lives, that may have included neglect or abuse. Traumatic experiences such as parents splitting up or bereavement can also lead to anxiety.

Young children may find it hard to describe their feelings, and anxiety can  be expressed in their behaviour. They may be afraid of the dark or of going to sleep, be clingy, restless or fussy or find it hard to separate from their parents, or to settle down at school.

Older children and young people may experience panic attacks, palpitations, fear of leaving home and high stress levels.

A phobia is a fear of particular situations or things that are not dangerous and which most people do not find troublesome.

Confronted with whatever makes them fearful – dogs, heights, social situations or something else – children and young people can become extremely anxious.

But it is not just the fear itself that causes mental distress among children and young people. Having a serious phobia can lead to feeling worried all the time, being tired, having palpitations, sweating and breathing heavily. A phobia will lead the sufferer to avoid situations in which they know they will be anxious, but this can actually make the phobia worse.

It can also mean the young person's life becomes increasingly dominated by avoiding the situation they fear. Sufferers usually know there is no real danger, they may feel silly about their fear but are still unable to control it.