Bluelifer is largely devoted to the anxiety phenomenon experienced in adults. However, children experience at least as much, if not more, anxiety than adults.
After all, much adult anxiety has its roots in childhood. Behaviors that would tip parents off to their children’s being anxious might include crying, difficulty separating or attending school, difficulty sleeping, wetting the bed, losing control of stool, torturing animals, setting fires, vandalizing property, having an unusual level of sexual curiosity or behavior, exhibiting odd eating behaviors, having an unusual or new preoccupation with weight or body image, or simply telling a parent that they do not feel good about them-selves or that they feel nervous in certain situations.
Many similar anxieties expose themselves under the framework of adolescence. Anxiety often lies underneath promiscuity, drug experimentation, threatening or violent behavior, poor school performance or shy, inhibited social behavior. It is worth wondering whether children today are more or less anxious than children of prior generations.
When children in this era line up at the summer camp pharmacy to take their antidepressants, something seems to be too anxious about the way they feel.
Children can be the worst-treated of any group by their families; it is so easy for the adult mind to disavow the raw, regular daily needs of children who need so much time and guidance. Leaving children without this sup-port creates real feelings of emptiness in children, who then attempt to fill these perceived deficits with abusive relationships, with alcohol, or with overachievement.
If, for any reason, you believe your child or adolescent may have anxiety of any type, many resources exist to use as referrals.
Two rating scales in the back of this book are for children and adolescents; references for books and professional psychological testing are to be found in the reference section. Grand-parental involvement, tutors at school programs, and the active involvement of others can all do wonders.
The first place to start is consultation with a reliable professional.