Anxiety Treatment – Searching a Solution For Children

When performing anxiety treatment for children, the support from the parent and family members are extremely important, because children has weaker self confidence and more dependant to the parents, without the support, the treatment might not be successful. In general, most anxiety disorder builds up during childhood, that’s why careful monitoring your children behavior and care is very critical. A healthy growing environment will minimize the children having any kind of bad habit and disorder, if the child is diagnostic to have anxiety disorder, the treatment should start from providing a better growing environment form them.

Separation Anxiety in Children is different problem, it normally occurs in the very young children only, however, if the child continue to have separation anxiety, attention should be taken to identify the cause.

Help The Child

As parents, you have an important role to play as part of anxiety treatments for children. Recognize that there is a problem, which has to be treated. Be patient and understanding as they need your love and support. Don’t get angry or ridicule an anxious child as that will only worsen the situation. Remember that they are too young and immature to realize or cope with the condition.
The parents played an important role in the treatment for the children, care and encouragement is very critical. Some impatient parents will get angry very fast, and this would worsen the anxious child condition. Parent must realize that the children are too young to overcome the problems by themselves, it is vital to have support from the parent, family and even friends.

MEDICINE

Medication should be used under close monitor and strictly by the qualified professionals and doctors. Most medication will have different side effects, and should be use under special care. Even use of natural herbal should be extremely careful, as the body of a growing child might react differently from adult, the dosage should be less and not more than adult. Encouragement and mind therapy is the better option, but all depends on the child condition.

Prescription medications for children are used with extremely careful and closely monitor to avoid any damage to the child’s body during growth. Medication with long term side effect should be avoided at all cost, unless there is no other choice… Natural herbal with fewer side effects is recommended, but should be used only under supervision of trained professionals. The anxiety treatment for children should include the encouragement from the parents, and the mind treatment from the professionals is very critical as well.
Psychopharmacological Medication in Common Use:

• Benzodiazepines: Best for long-acting treatment to reduce the symptoms. However, long term use may result in increased tolerance.
• Serotonergic Agents: New brand of antidepressants, highly effective and takes 4 to 6 weeks to work.
• Tricyclic: Antidepressants (TCAs): Older antidepressants with side effects
• Combination Serotonin/Norepinephrine Agents: New medications with excellent tolerability and effectiveness..
• Antihistamines: Instant result but only recommended for moderate level of anxiety disorder. Can be used for longer durations.
• Major Tranquilizers: These affect the neurotransmitter systems. They are sedative in nature and used mostly for severe anxiety disorder cases.

THERAPY

A better route to anxiety treatments for children would be to find a competent therapist, or a cognitive behavioral child psychologist. These doctors are specially trained in counseling disturbed children and teaching them coping techniques. Thus the child feels free to confide in the doctor and discuss his anxieties and tensions. Play-based therapies are commonly used by doctors now as they have been found to be extremely useful in getting anxious children to open up. As a result the child can effectively overcome his/her anxieties and move on.

Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT): Cure anxious thoughts and feelings through re-programming the mind to react. It also train the techniques of reducing maladaptive behavior.
Psychotherapy: Tries to resolve conflicts and stresses, formed during anxiety disorders with the help of talk therapy.
Behavioral Therapies: involve techniques like relaxation training, imagery, progressive desensitization, and other methods to reduce anxiety troubles.

LIFESTYLE

Discipline seems to help the anxious children, try to setup regular eating and sleeping habits for the children, late night sleep should be avoid at all cost. Sleep earlier and get up earlier with regular exercise proves to help anxiety patient both adult and children. Minimize the intake of dietary sugars and chemical food, as this kind of food may have ingredient that increases anxiety and stress in a child.

Try to stay away from cafeine, diet pills, nasal decognestants or anything that consists stimulants, including theophylline and cough syrups, for the child.
The child should get adequate and restful sleep to improve anxiety disorders.
Identify, remove or reduce stressful tasks or situations at home, and school.

CONCLUSION

Treating anxiety in children is a troublesome issue for parents but one that should not be ignored or passed off as a phase. Various, therapies, medications and lifestyle changes can be part of the treatment, depending on the condition of the child. Learn more about different types of anxiety, although adult and children may have differences, but the foundamental building of anxiety are still the same.