Anxiety is a normal and very common feeling, both in the lives of adults and children, however, when this anxiety is very strong and prevents the child from leading his normal life or participating in various activities, it may be more what needs to be addressed and resolved to allow for more complete development.
It is common for the child to experience symptoms of anxiety when parents separate, when they move, change schools, or when a loved one dies, and so, in the face of these more traumatic situations, parents should pay attention to the child’s behavior, checking to see if they are adapting to the situation or developing irrational and excessive fears.
- Usually.
- When the child feels safe.
- Protected and supported.
- He or she is calmer and calmer.
- Talking to the child.
- Looking him in the eye.
- Trying to understand his point of view helps to understand his own feelings.
- Contributing to his development.
Young children generally find it more difficult to express how they feel, and therefore they may not say they are anxious because they themselves don’t understand what it’s like to be anxious.
However, there are signs that can help parents identify an anxiety situation, such as:
Older children, on the other hand, may be able to express their feelings, but often these feelings are not understood as anxiety and the child may end up expressing a lack of confidence and difficulty concentrating, for example, or trying to avoid routine daily activities.., like going out with friends or going to school.
When these symptoms are mild and transient, there is usually no need to worry and they represent a transient anxiety situation, however, if it takes more than a week to pass, parents or caregivers should be vigilant and try to help the child overcome.this phase.
When the child enters a chronic anxiety attack, parents, caregivers and family members are very important to try to break the cycle and regain well-being, however, this task can be quite complicated and even the best-intentioned parents may end up making mistakes.exacerbating anxiety.
Thus, ideally, whenever a possible situation of excessive or chronic anxiety is identified, consult a psychologist, so that he/she performs a correct assessment and receives advice tailored to each case.
However, some tips that can help manage your child’s anxiety include
Anxious children often have fears, such as going out on the street, going to school or even talking to other people, in these situations what you have to do is not try to forgive the child and eliminate all these situations, because in this way you will not be able to overcome your fears and will not create strategies to overcome it, in addition, by avoiding a certain situation , the child will understand that he has reason to really want to avoid this situation, since the adult also avoids them.
However, the child should not be forced to deal with his fears, as excessive pressure can make the situation worse, so what needs to be done is to take situations of fear naturally and, as far as possible, show the child that it is possible to overcome this fear.
In an attempt to minimize the child’s fear, it is relatively common for parents or caregivers to try to tell the child not to worry or be afraid, however, these types of prayers, although said for a positive purpose, can be evaluated by the child as a trial, as they may feel that what they feel is not right or makes no sense.Like what.
So, the ideal is to talk to the child about his fears and how he feels, making sure he is on his side to protect him and try to help him overcome the situation, this type of attitude usually has a more positive impact, as it helps strengthen the child’s psyche.
Another way to help your child cope with anxiety is to show them that anxiety is a temporary feeling and that it goes away, even when there seems to be no way to get better, so parents and caregivers should try to reduce anxiety whenever possible. time of anxiety, which is usually longer before doing any activity, that is, when imagining that the child is afraid of going to the dentist, parents may say that they should go to the dentist only 1 or 2 hours before, to prevent the child have that thought for a long time.
Sometimes it can be helpful for the child to try to explore how he or she feels and explain the situation rationally.Thus, imagining that the child is afraid to go to the dentist, one can try to talk to the child about what he thinks the dentist is doing and its importance in his life.Also, if the child is comfortable talking, you can also assume the worst that can happen to him in this situation and help the child create a plan in case the fear arises.
Most of the time, the anxiety level can be reduced when the child feels he or she has a plan for the worst-case scenario, giving him more confidence to overcome his fears.
This is a simple and classic technique that can help your child manage his or her own level of anxiety when he or she is alone, for this, the child should learn relaxing activities, which can help deflect thought from the fears he or she feels.
A good relaxation technique is to breathe deeply, inhale for 3 seconds and exhale for another 3, for example, but other activities such as counting the number of children in shorts or listening to music can help distract and better control anxiety.
Also learn how to adjust your child’s diet to help manage anxiety.