How to Help Your Kids Overcome Anxiety

Anxiety in children is becoming more and more worrying. Unfortunately, one in five kids has at least one anxiety experience before becoming a teenager. Therefore, it has become a mental health challenge, and parents are struggling to fight it. If your children are experiencing anxiety or if you simply want to prepare for it, you are in the right place. Here is how to help your kids overcome anxiety.

Explaining anxiety

Anxiety is a feeling of worry that can be mild or severe. It can be normal in some situations, as long as the fear does not take over your thoughts. An exam, for example, may cause a person to feel anxious, but this will not prevent them from taking part in it. But the moment our fears become overwhelming and uncontrollable, anxiety becomes a mental health issue. Make sure to educate your children and yourself about anxiety so that you can spot it in time and handle it correctly. 

Causes of anxiety in children

Some children who have anxiety issues come from families where there is a history of it. Because kids imitate adult behavior, they also pick up bad habits, not just good ones. For instance, if a family member is afraid of dogs, a child may adopt that fear. Adults should use caution in their interactions with children to avoid instilling unfounded anxiety triggers in youngsters.

Some causes of anxiety in children can be:

• Significant changes in their lives, such as moving or changing schools.
• Too big responsibilities for their age, like taking care of a younger sibling.
• Being overwhelmed with schoolwork or extracurricular activities.
• Problems that parents are going through, like unemployment or enormous debt.
• Being bullied at school or experiencing other types of abuse. 

Symptoms of anxiety

A parent needs to be able to determine if their child is suffering from anxiety. Knowing the symptoms could help you detect them early and prevent them from worsening. For example, panic attacks, dry mouth, sweating, tense muscles, feeling overwhelmed, alert to noises, fear of going to school or making friends, isolating, eating more or less than usual, or intentional self-harm. If you spot any of these symptoms in your child, make sure to take action. The sooner you notice something is wrong, the better the chance you will be able to help them. 

Helping your kids overcome anxiety

We have some suggestions on how to help your kids overcome anxiety so that it does not spiral out of control. They can be applied in different situations, and, they will also help you teach your child how to manage their anxiety by themselves. 

Worrying is good

Fear is what keeps us from entering dangerous situations. Explaining to a child that fearing something isn’t bad might help them understand the difference between anxiety and justified fear. As an example, the first day of school can be something that a child might fear. We have all experienced the fear of the unknown, and it is something that passes with time. On the other hand, being afraid of being in contact with other people can be unhealthy. Explain to your kids that sometimes our system sets off false alarms to keep us safe, but they are easy to overcome and manage with a bit of practice and patience. 

Talking about fears

Ignoring a problem will never help you solve it. Instead, talk openly about it to get closer to overcoming it. That is why it is highly advised to talk to your kids about what causes their fears. You can make up a character to symbolize fear and speak about it as if it were a real person. It will be easier for your child to open up and talk about the fear that now doesn’t look as scary. It will also help them use logic to overcome anxiety and learn to do so in other situations.

Don’t avoid anxiety triggers

When you avoid the things that cause anxiety in your kids, you avoid the problem. Instead of helping them overcome their fears, you help them build up more. For instance, when your child is afraid in a particular circumstance, they start crying and becoming agitated, so you remove them from the situation. This creates a coping mechanism that tells them to act the same anytime they feel uneasy so that you can “save” them. Therefore, encourage your kids to tolerate their anxiety so that it takes its natural curve and starts dropping over time.

Be positive but realistic

You can never be sure of how a specific experience will impact your kids. So, talk to them about the positive aspects that can follow a scary situation. For instance, if you have to go through a long-distance move. Even though it may be difficult and scary for them to leave their home, remind them that relocation can be a nice memory. Talk to them about the move and how it might be stressful and frightening, but how it can also be an opportunity to meet new friends, for example. Also, build their confidence by telling them how everything will be fine in the end and assure them that they can handle it. Having realistic expectations can help children feel less anxious in future similar situations. 

How to overcome an anxiety attack

First of all, the most important thing is to keep calm. If you are not able to do that, your child will probably become even more anxious. Then, encourage your child to breathe slowly and deeply. You can do it together by counting the seconds between inhaling and exhaling to ensure they are doing it correctly. 

Another good method for calming your child is to tell them to close their eyes and think of a safe and relaxing place. It can be a place in nature or their grandparents’ house. It doesn’t matter as long as it brings them peace. In the meantime, you can play some music to help them relax as much as possible. Also, reassure them constantly that the moment will pass and everything will be okay. 

Final Thoughts

Knowing how to help your kids overcome anxiety is something that any parent should work on, especially now that it has become so common among children. If you ever feel overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to ask for professional help. Your child’s emotional and mental health should be your top priority.