"Normal" Anxiety Or Something More?
With the first quarter of the school year under our belts amidst an ongoing pandemic and a society polarized over political, economic, environmental, and human rights issues, our world has become an increasingly stressful environment—especially for our kids. It is crucial that we check in on our children and their mental health.
Recently, Teen Esteem hosted a Facebook Live discussion on Anxiety. Our speaker, Cary Fong, is a mom of three (ages eight, ten, and eighteen), and one of her passions is encouraging, supporting, and educating others on the topic of mental health. Cary is a professional speaker and mental health advocate, speaking from her own experiences battling depression and anxiety.
Anxiety is a natural response to stressors that everyone will experience at some point in their life. Therefore, it is common for anxiety levels to be heightened as a result of the stressful nature of our current world. But how do we, as parents, differentiate normal levels of anxiety in our child with that of a more serious, chronic issue?
Normal anxiety is intermittent and expected based on certain events or situations. Life's "firsts" such as the first day of school, the first date or the first time away from home leaves most of us feeling normal amounts of anxiety. Cary describes this feeling to her younger audience as the feeling of "butterflies in your stomach." Problem anxiety, on the other hand, tends to be chronic and irrational, and interferes with many life functions.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) encompasses many forms of anxiety. It is defined as "chronic, exaggerated worrying about everyday life," per the National Alliance on Mental Illness. An anxiety disorder can cause anxiety that consumes hours of one’s day and can make it difficult to concentrate or to finish everyday tasks. There are also numerous physical side effects such as exhaustion, headaches, tension, nausea, etc.
Anxiety Disorder can be diagnosed by a health care professional and counselor, and with the proper treatment plan, can be managed and controlled. Medication may be prescribed.
One of the common side effects of anxiety disorders are panic attacks. Panic attacks are a sudden episode of intense fear that triggers severe physical reactions when there is no real danger or apparent cause. These often can feel like a heart attack and can leave the individual feeling paralyzed by fear and feelings of terror. Panic attacks can also cause intense physical side effects such as one’s heart racing, heart palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, sweaty palms and feet, nausea, and racing thoughts. However, overtime, one can learn to sense when an attack is about to come on as well as ways to manage such and calm oneself down.
Cary discusses her own intense experiences with panic attacks, stating that the first time she experienced one she drove herself to the hospital out of fear that she was dying.
She offers several tips that have helped her to control and calm herself down when experiencing an attack:
1. Grab two ice cubes, each in one hand, and use the feeling of coldness to redirect and take the attention away from one's feelings of anxiety.
2. Progressive Muscle Relaxation: this technique going from head to toe and contracting/relaxing every muscle group in your body (i.e. contract face for 5 seconds then release)
3. Pick a color and go around the room or environment you are in and find everything that is the same color. This is great especially if you are in a public environment as it is easy to do and does not draw attention to oneself.
Cary also offers several encouraging notes on how to help your child cope and manage their anxiety, she states:
1. Find a therapist or counselor for your child to talk to.
2. Get exercise, eat healthy, stay away from caffeine and alcohol, get enough sleep and take care of your body.
3. Limit screen time.
4. Learn your child’s personal triggers and help them to acknowledge these as well.
Click the video below to watch the playback of Cary's Facebook Live...and be sure to check out our Covid-19 Parent Education Facebook Live Library.
