Early Signs of Anxiety

Mental health has become a popular topic in recent years, and more people are being diagnosed with and receiving treatment for anxiety and depression than in the past. New research has been conducted in order to recognize early signs of anxiety in children and adolescents, which is extremely beneficial to our understanding of what causes these ailments and how they can be prevented.

Researchers distributed a questionnaire to parents and guardians of young kids in order to determine what their behavioral habits were like.  These children were monitored from ages 6 to 12, and were tested for anxiety once they were older. It was found that children who displayed symptoms such as frequent crying, isolation, and bullying were more likely to have anxiety as an adult.

Anxiety is bad because it limits the person’s ability to do things that they encounter in their daily life. Consequentially, it has a great impact on the quality of their life. It can come as a voice which eats away at the person and prevents them from growing and enjoying life. It is no wonder that the formation of anxiety can be linked to early childhood.

Often if a child feels bad about the things going on in their life, they will need some form of comfort from a caregiver or friend. This comfort provides relief from the negative feeling and allows the child to move on. But if the child does not receive any comfort at all, or even more importantly, if they child does not receive the type of comfort they need, then they will not feel relief. This leads to a nagging feeling which, if it continuously is not addressed solidifies as anxiety.

The subjects that were involved in the research and observations were only female. This is worth noting because it is reported that anxiety and depression is more commonly diagnosed in the female population. It is suspected that if the subjects included boys, the results would be similar.

It is important for all of us to have a better understanding of where exactly anxiety comes from. Going forward with this better understanding, we can hope that parents and caretakers will take more caution in raising their children, going forward with a lot of empathy and patience in order to understand if their child’s needs are being met. This will help parents to see what is really going on with their kids during not only the times when they are most distressed, but also during the times when the storm is seemingly quiet.