Although fear and anxiety are thought to affect people negatively, it is a natural emotion that allows us to exist and survive in the face of any danger.
Which of us hasn't felt anxiety when we got stuck in traffic while trying to make an appointment? Have you ever felt anxious while working on a project that needs to be completed?
If we list similar examples from daily life, you will definitely answer yes to one or more of them. So, have you thought about how the anxiety you feel in these situations affects you?
Anxiety is like an alarm system; It allows us to adapt to the outside world, and has a warning and activating feature against dangers.
If you did not feel anxiety or fear about being late for an appointment, would you set out before the appointment time? If you weren't worried about the negative reaction you'd get from your boss if the project wasn't completed, would you work overtime just to complete it?
-I don't think so. Before examining it, I did not want to mention that less anxiety will benefit us as adults, but more anxiety will harm us.
The benefits and harms of anxiety and fear are also valid for children. The anxiety of a child preparing for the exam about not being successful encourages him to study, but when this anxiety is felt intensely, symptoms such as tremors in the hands, nausea, and headache before or during the exam harm the child. Can we say that little anxiety is beneficial and most of it is harmful?
There are developmentally expected anxieties in childhood; A 2-year-old child's school anxiety, a 5-year-old child's fear of extraordinary beings, a 12-year-old teenager's fear of changes in his body, etc.
Just as no emotion is abnormal, anxiety and fear are not 'abnormal' either.
So, how do we understand that a child is anxious?
Anxiety manifests itself in three ways. The first is thought-based; The child constantly thinks of catastrophic scenarios. For example, my loved ones may get sick, what will I do if my mother dies, what will I do if a thief breaks into the house and kidnaps us, etc.
Secondly, it is intense. The body reacts to the anxiety felt. Just like a child with school anxiety has a stomach ache and feels nauseous every morning.
Thirdly, anxiety is reflected in behavior. Such as a child with exam anxiety refusing to go to school, a child with school anxiety not wanting to leave the house.
THE MOST COMMON CONCERNS IN CHILDREN
Separation Anxiety: It is the state of not wanting to separate from the caregiver and the anxiety felt when separated. Separation anxiety can start around the age of 2.
Specific Phobia: It is anxiety or fear against any object or situation. You may have heard of the character that children have been afraid of lately; MOMO ☺ We can also put fears such as cats, darkness, and lightning in this category.
Social Anxiety: It is a state of difficulty or avoidance in communicating with peers or adults. They are generally described as 'shy' in the environment. What others think is very important to them. Their concerns about not making any mistakes while communicating are high. Children with social anxiety also have difficulties in speaking in class, making presentations, and asking for words in a crowded environment.
General Anxiety: Children who tend to have anxiety in every field have many disaster scenarios. We can understand this from the questions they ask. They are likely to ask questions such as "Who will take care of me if I die?", "Where will we live if there is an earthquake and our house collapses?", "Who will take care of me if I get sick?"
The concerns I mentioned above are the most common in children. concerns are seen. There are additional concerns. The duration of each child's anxiety, methods of coping with it, and situations that cause anxiety are different.
As soon as you realize that your children have difficulty coping with anxiety, getting help from expert psychologists will increase your child's quality of life. Before we forget, we can say that less anxiety is beneficial, more is harmful.
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