Anxiety in children should be handled carefully.

One night time, Varun’s* parents realised that he previously wet his bed. The six-year- outdated hadn’t ever wet his bed since he was a toddler. This kept occurring every night and lastly, his parents made a decision to take their child to a pediatrician. Was he unwell? Or was he becoming bullied at college? They consulted a specialist, as talking to their child had not yielded any information.

“We realised this was a case of secondary nocturnal enuresis. Primary enuresis is when the child continues to have the problem since birth; here he had just developed it. After we spoke to the parents, we got to know that there was parental discord at home and this had caused severe anxiety in the child. The parents and the child were counselled separately. Eventually, the parents divorced but the child coped, ” says Dr Tushar Parikh, consultant, pediatrics and neonatology, Motherhood Hospital.

Anxiety affects children in other ways. Rahul* exhibited signs of severe restlessness and was struggling to complete any job. His teachers stated that they discovered it difficult to control him. Rahul had created serious anxiety because of this of viewing his parents fight continuously over the slightest issue. They found it challenging to go along and he didn’t learn how to express his concerns about the uncertainty. Karan*, 8, was affected in different ways. Before each Maths test, Karan, a bright pupil, would start hyperventilating. He’d fare badly in the topic. A routine check-up uncovered the stressor, and his parents had been described a counsellor to greatly help him handle his problem.

Parikh says that various occasions could trigger childhood stress and anxiety: separation anxiety on signing up for school, public or peer pressure, a traumatic knowledge …

“If the kid is irritable, clingy, tearful for no cause, has difficulty in sleeping, starts waking up at night, or wetting the bed… it will reflect in the behavioural aspect. Older children lack confidence and focus, have irregular sleeping or eating habits, constantly lash out, avoid friends and routine activities and chores, ” says Dr Parikh.

Experts in pediatric dermatology state that attention should be given to the intense emotional and biological connection between children and their parents/caregivers. “ The skin has a vital role to play in this context because everything the child perceives is usually through his/her skin; for example, their first sensation, what is pleasurable and not, etc . Thus, the presence of anxiety or stress in a child will reflect on the child’s skin, ” says Dr Batul Patel, medical director and dermatologist, The Bombay Skin Clinic. Patel says that stress can impact your skin in various methods, including aggravation of eczema, psoriasis, or appearance of a bald patch on the scalp.

“Certain other stress-related epidermis conditions that children can have problems with are trichotillomania (pulling of the hair), nail biting, delayed healing of your skin or continuous itching, increased sweating of the palms, acne and appearance of hives. They are psychosomatic disorders, because they are linked to the mental well- getting of the kid. By identifying stress and anxiety and addressing the primary cause, therapies might help and in switch avoid the skin from as an psychological battleground, ” says Patel.

Counselling psychologist Maithili Thanawala Kanabar says that dread is the psychological response to a genuine or perceived risk, whereas anxiety may be the anticipation into the future. Frequently, it’s a disproportionate response that inhibits daily activities. Occasional stress and anxiety is certainly common before a performance, but for a person with stress, it does not go away. “ Our bodies are outfitted to activate an interior hyper-alert program that prepares us for the fight-flight-freeze response when confronted with real danger. Nevertheless, for individuals with stress and anxiety, this response is certainly activated also during normal situations. ” Kanabar says there are several kinds of anxiety disorders, these include selective mutism, specific phobias, social anxiety, panic disorder, agoraphobia and generalised anxiety disorder. “Children also face severe anxiety and they begin avoiding places or situations that trigger pain, ” says Kanabar. The three main causes of anxiety, as outlined by Kanabar, are long standing stress, comparison and high anticipations from children; disorders that are inherited; and anxiety that can be linked to an individual’s temperament.

Anxiety can manifest in multiple ways and, in some cases, may require keen observation to identify it. Children express their stress in different ways. Some children become very silent, some come across as extremely hyper and are frequently misdiagnosed as having ADHD. Some won’t head to school. “ Additionally, it may run into as excessive anger just because a given circumstance may trigger excessive stress and anxiety which can appear intolerable. Some kids avoid games, sports activities or tasks that appear challenging because they can not handle losing. Sometimes children perform exhibit somatic features wherein they fall ill before a stressful circumstance. A common exemplory case of this might be exams and exams. Often , children with stress and anxiety procrastinate with regards to beginning an activity, because they want to buy to be perfect plus they fear that setting it up right is too tough, so they never begin, ” says Kanabar. Other indicators are panic attacks, palpitations, choking sensation, hyperventilating, and shortness of breath. “Change in excess weight, and carpopedal spasm, in which the muscle tissue in the fingers and wrists undergo contraction and get twisted when the calcium level in the body goes down, can also be indicators ” says Dr Parikh.

“Reduce screen time, and get kids to indulge in more physical activities. Parents should make it a habit to talk to the child daily about school, and how they are feeling. Daily contact is essential in understanding the child’s psychology, and understanding the stressors and also to intervene beforehand, ” says Dr Parikh. He provides that it is vital that you know their public circle.

“Being outdoors eliminates the concentrate from what’s bothering them. Enhance their sleep and diet plan patterns. Go to parentteacher meetings to not simply appear at how they are faring in academics, but also to obtain a hang of how they are faring in lifestyle, ” says Dr Parikh. But he also feels that parents should empower the kid to manage anxiety rather than get overprotective of these.

(Names of kids changed to protect their identities)