Understanding the 7 common types of anxiety
We know that anxiety and other disorders impact many children in Australia.
The number of children with anxiety in Australia has increased dramatically over the past decade and has experienced an increase in 2020 with COVID-19.
While there are many different types of anxiety, the feelings that come with all types of anxiety are typically shared – worry, fear, embarrassment, helplessness, shame, guilt, sadness and anger.
What tends to differ is the cause of these feelings and the way that children behave and act in response to them. One child with anxiety may be fidgety and throw tantrums often, while another may appear very quiet and withdraw from social situations.
Every child is different and we encourage parents and teachers to seek to understand children so they’re best prepared to help. Parents and teachers play a key role for children by creating conversations where it’s ok to talk about their big and overwhelming feelings. And while it’s ok to have these feelings sometimes, if kids become overwhelmed and their daily life is impacted, that’s when we need to understand the different forms of anxiety in children that require more attention.
So how do we distinguish between different forms of anxiety?
Here’s a snapshot of seven common types of anxiety in children.
1. Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
Children with GAD will worry excessively and uncontrollably about a range of things, often about school performance, friendships, fitting in, the health and safety of their families, current affairs, and minor issues in daily life. While it’s normal to have worries every now and then, kids with GAD will struggle with anxious thoughts on most days, if not every day.
Physical symptoms:
Fatigue
Irritability
Headaches, stomach aches
Muscle pains
Behaviours:
Restlessness and difficulty concentrating
Trouble sleeping
Reassurance seeking
Perfectionism and being overly self-critical
Excessive ruminating
School refusal
Tantrums
2. Separation Anxiety Disorder
It’s normal for children under three to experience fear or distress of being separated from their primary caregivers, but if this continues on into school age, it’s likely a result of separation anxiety.
Kids with separation anxiety will often fear that something terrible may happen to a caregiver while they are apart. It can help kids to worry less when they know when their parents or teachers will be with them and when they’re going to separate.
Physical symptoms:
Racing heart
Shortness of breath
Dizziness
Headaches and stomach aches
General aches and pains
Behaviours:
School refusal
Avoidance of new situations without a parent present
Clinginess
Refusal to be alone in a room or to sleep alone
Crying or tantrums
Nightmares
3. Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety involves an intense fear of social or performance situations. These could be big interactions such as answering a question in front of the class or could be smaller situations such as interactions with peers.
Social anxiety is sometimes misinterpreted simply as shyness, but social anxiety usually goes hand-in-hand with excessive self-consciousness that makes it difficult for kids to participate in social situations.
Physical symptoms:
Blushing
Sweating
Shaking
Muscle tension
Stomach aches
Irritability
Feeling detached from one’s body
Behaviours:
School refusal
Avoiding participating in new activities
Asking a parent to be present or available
Not answering in class
Crying or tantrums
Mumbling or poor eye contact
4. Selective Mutism
Children with selective mutism will consistently have a hard time speaking in some situations, like around the teacher at school or around shop employees, but they speak comfortably in other situations.
Selective mutism is commonly diagnosed at the age of five, or around the time of entering school.
Physical symptoms:
Headaches and stomach aches
Nausea
Shortness of breath
Behaviours:
Freezing up when needing to speak
Avoiding eye contact
Using gestures like nodding and pointing to avoid speaking
Withdrawing into a corner to avoid speaking
Crying and tantrums
Clinginess
5. Specific Phobias
Specific phobias are an excessive and irrational fear of particular objects or situations that often aren’t causing immediate danger, such as animals, storms, or the dark. Children will have extreme anxiety responses to the phobias, and they may attempt to avoid the objects or situations they fear.
Physical symptoms:
Increased heart rate
Sweating
Shaking or trembling
Shortness of breath
Chest pain or discomfort
Nausea
Chills or hot flashes
Behaviours:
Making parents check things first, e.g. making sure a room is free of bugs
Crying and tantrums
Clinginess
Running away
6. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Children with OCD experience unwanted and intrusive thoughts, images or urges (obsessions), which they try to ease by repeatedly performing ritualistic behaviours or mental acts (compulsions).
Some common obsessions include contamination, and symmetry and exactness, while compulsions often involve excessive washing or cleaning, checking, counting, tapping, ordering etc.
Physical symptoms:
Headaches and stomach aches
Muscle tension
Racing heart
Shortness of breath
Dizziness
Chills or hot flashes
Behaviours:
Doubting something has been done correctly
Avoiding touching certain things e.g. doorknobs
Repeating certain actions a specific number of times
Often seeking reassurance that a mistake wasn’t made
Washing hands and body excessively
Making parents wash hands before meal
7. Panic Disorder
Panic disorder is characterised by unexpected and repeated panic attacks along with worry about having more attacks.
Children may also experience a fear of something bad happening as a result of the attacks, such as losing control, going crazy, or dying.
Physical symptoms:
Racing or pounding heart
Shortness of breath or hyperventilation
Sweating
Shaking or trembling
Chest pain or discomfort
Chills or hot flashes
Nausea
Dizziness
Behaviours:
School refusal
Avoiding places where a panic attack previously occurred
Wearing loose or less restrictive clothing
Avoiding exercise or activity that activates the body
What to do if you think a child has anxiety
Anxiety takes many forms and affects every child differently. It isn’t always easy to determine which type of anxiety a child may have and sometimes, children may have more than one type of anxiety.
Anxiety can be physically and emotionally draining for both children and their families, and left untreated, it is unlikely to lessen or go away, impairing life functioning as children mature.
If you think a child has anxiety, it’s best for the child to see a psychologist, who will be able to provide the correct diagnosis and recommended treatment options. You might need a referral from your GP to see a psychologist. Advice from a professional trained in the area of children will allow kids to receive appropriate treatment and allow parents and teachers to better support children with anxiety at home and at school.
Gheorg was created by a psychologist who wanted to provide more support for kids at home outside of their appointments. No matter what type of anxiety a child has, interacting and sharing their thoughts with our friendly robot Gheorg will help them better understand and manage their emotions to improve their mental wellbeing. It can be a great complement to therapy as the daily check-ins and meditation exercises provide support for kids during their daily lives. Learn more about How It Works.
Download the app to trial Gheorg for free via the Apple App Store or Google Play Store.