Common Anxiety Disorders in Childhood

Besides, Generalized Anxiety Disorder, the following are the types of anxiety disorders most often seen in children.

Panic Disorder

Recurring panic attacks are the hallmark features of panic disorder. Panic attacks are sudden and intense feelings of terror, fear, or apprehension, without the presence of actual danger.

A child with panic disorder may appear anxious or upset about being in certain situations or may have frequent physical complaints (i.e: frequent headaches or stomach aches) before or during certain feared activities. They may avoid or refuse to be in situations that they perceive as frightening due to the panic response.

Separation Anxiety Disorder

Separation Anxiety is thought to be a normal part of infant development. It begins when the child is about 8 months old and declines after about 15 months of age.

During this period, the child understands the separation between self and primary caretaker. The child understands that they can be separated from the caretaker, but does not comprehend that the caretaker will return, which leads to anxiety.

Separation anxiety disorder, on the other hand, is not a normal developmental phase. It is characterized by age-inappropriate fear of being away from home, parents, or other family members.

A child with a separation anxiety disorder may be excessively clingy to family members, may fear going to school, or being alone. They may experience frequent physical complaints. (See the above list for signs and symptoms of anxiety.)

Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)

The features of social anxiety disorder (SAD) include excessive and unreasonable fear of social situations. If forced into a feared situation, the child may become upset and exhibit a temper tantrum.

Children with this disorder may be extremely shy around strangers or groups of people and may express their anxiety by crying or be overly clingy with caregivers. The child may not want to go to school and may avoid interactions with peers.

Symptoms of SAD (can vary by age):

  • Preschool Children
    • Fear of new things
    • Irritability, crying, or whining
    • Freezing or clinging
    • Refusing to speak
  • School-Aged Children
    • Fear of reading aloud or answering questions in class
    • Fear of talking to other kids
    • Fear of being in front of the class
    • Fear of speaking to adults
    • Fear of musical or athletic performance activities
    • Fear of ordering food in a restaurant
    • Fear of attending birthday parties
    • Fear of having friends visit
    • Worry about being judged by others
    • Refusal to participate in activities or school

In addition, children with SAD are more likely than adults to experience physical symptoms like headaches, stomach aches, and nausea.

Phobias

A phobia is an intense irrational fear of a particular object (e.g., spiders) or situations (e.g., heights, rain, thunder). If the child comes into contact with the feared object or situation, he/she may become very upset, anxious, and experience panic attacks. Phobias can become disabling and interfere with the child’s usual activities.

Phobic symptoms can occur through exposure to the feared object or situation, or sometimes merely through thinking about the feared object.

Typical symptoms associated with phobias include:

  • Breathlessness
  • Dizziness, trembling, and increased heart rate
  • Fear of dying
  • Nausea
  • Preoccupation with the feared object
  • A sense of unreality