Johns Hopkins Health - Fall 2008 - (Page 8)

Anxiety on the Rise Childhood Anxiety: When to Get Help It may be difficult for parents to know when to seek professional help for childhood anxiety, but here are some questions to ask: w Is my child’s behavior disproportionate to a specific situation? Have the physical symptoms of anxiety (stomach- and headaches, restlessness, fatigue, etc.) persisted for longer than six months? Does it impair my child’s life (i.e., stops him or her from going places and/or doing things)? w w Avoidance in particular is a huge red flag, says child psychologist Golda Ginsburg, Ph.D. Parents shouldn’t try to accommodate that, but need to help their children manage and face their anxiety. “It’s rare that specific events cause an anxiety disorder,” Ginsburg says. “There are usually complex reasons why it can happen, and why it can be more intense for some kids than for others.” What is clear, says Mark Riddle, M.D., director of the Johns Hopkins Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, is that childhood anxiety is a lot more common than most people think: As many as 20 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 16 experience some type of anxiety. Compare that to the 5 percent of kids worldwide with attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Whether children are feeling more pressured at earlier ages and where those pressures come from—parents, peers, school, media—may be less important than recognizing there is a problem in the first place. “In a way, it’s really a silent epidemic,” Riddle says. “Most of the time adults aren’t bothered by it in their children until it’s severe and disruptive enough for professional help—if even then.” That’s unfortunate, he says. Anxiety in childhood is a good predictor of depression and anxiety later in life. So, while it may seem minor in kids, it can lead to bigger problems down the road if left untreated. Social anxiety, for example, is the No. 1 nonacademic reason for dropping out of high school. Repeated and long-term panic attacks—a severe form of anxiety—may morph into phobias such as fear of leaving the home or going into crowded places. “It can really stunt a child’s growth,” Riddle says. symptoms And solutions Aches and Pains If you think your child may have an anxiety disorder, please call 410-955-5335 to schedule a consultation. The good news is that childhood anxiety is very treatable and even reversible. The trick is to A Johns Hopkins study showed that physical symptoms, particularly restlessness and stomachaches, are highly prevalent in children and adolescents with anxiety disorders. Other common physical (or somatic) symptoms include palpitations, muscle tension, sweating, headaches, and trembling or shaking. Higher levels of aches and pains were associated with more severe anxiety that included avoidance and interference with family relationships. “The study also showed that treatment with SSRIs [selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors] successfully reduced most somatic symptoms,” says study author and child psychologist Golda Ginsburg, Ph.D. CHIlD PSyCHIATRy wAS bORn at Johns Hopkins in 1928 by the field’s founding father, leo Kanner. hopkinsmedicine.org | 8 | johns hopkins health fall 2008 http://hopkinsmedicine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Johns Hopkins Health - Fall 2008

John Hopkins Health - Fall 2008
Contents
Pelvic Organ Prolaose
Staying Tuned
Getting Anxious
Device of a Lifetime
After Lumpectomy

Johns Hopkins Health - Fall 2008

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