How many times have you wished you were still just a child, enjoying your life with no cares in the world? But although we may often reminisce about childhood, our reminiscing is rarely accurate and if you think hard enough, you may just realize that you actually didn’t have it so easy. Sure you didn’t have to worry about taxes, raising money for your family, and have other major responsibilities, but you still had things to worry about. And it didn’t matter that you were worrying about getting in trouble, your first day of school, or moving to a new neighborhood, it didn’t make your level of worry harmless. And if those seemingly harmless events created worries, imagine the effect of something like a divorce, or a death in the family can have on children. The truth of the matter is, panic attacks in children are very real and it also isn’t uncommon for children to develop anxiety disorders.
One of the most important things you can do if you think your children may be developing an anxiety disorder is to be aware of the symptoms so that you can not only avoid any kind of disorders, but also avoid a potential panic attack.
The signs of a panic attacks in children will be easy to recognize. The signs are the same as with an adult and if your child has experienced a panic attack he or she will have gone through a very fearful experience with a number of symptoms such as shortness of breath, dizziness, nausea, pounding heart, and an intense feeling of fear. If a child develops so much anxiety that he or she experiences a panic attack, then he or she could potentially develop an anxiety disorder. You should take your child to the doctor and find out if the panic attack has caused your child to become fearful of the occurrence of another one.
In addition to watching out for panic attacks in children, you should also be aware of signs of general anxieties and anxiety disorders in your child. Maybe your child is extremely fearful and uncomfortable all the time and in normal situations. In addition to freezing in place out of fear, other possibilities include headaches, stomach aches, and throwing tantrums.
In order to treat anxiety and panic attacks in children, you will want to comfort him or her and try to reduce the stress in his or her life. If you’ve been overly critical, you should tone it down a bit. Children are very sensitive and impressionable at a young age. In fact, people that didn’t experience panic attacks as children have been known to have panic attacks as adults because of their childhood memories of overly critical parents. Of course you should speak with a therapist about this to see if this will really help. You will also want to take real steps for treatment such as bringing your child to a doctor and/or therapist. Be wary of medicating your child (if he or she is old enough for prescription medications) as side effects of panic attack medication has been known to be much more severe in children and there is a correlation between teen suicides and panic attack medication.
Childhood is supposed to be a very happy time. We’re supposed to protect our children’s innocence and give them a worry free life for as long as we can. And a child definitely shouldn’t have to go through constant worry and anxiety. If you think your child may be developing serious anxiety, get him help right away. Panic attacks in children don’t need to last and you still have a chance to give him or her a worry free childhood. Give your child the help needed so that he or she can process the stress and anxiety and once again be happy.