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And how do they affect children?
Writer: Rachel Ehmke
Clinical Expert: Dave Anderson, PhD
en EspañolWe all feel anxious sometimes, but some children experience anxiety that is so serious that it can be diagnosed as a disorder. A child may have an anxiety disorder if their anxiety is:
Here are some different kinds of anxiety that children may be diagnosed with.
Children with separation anxiety become extremely upset when they are separated from their caregivers. The distress that they feel is unusual for their age.
Some signs include:
Children with social anxiety disorder are very self-conscious. They can find it difficult to hang out with peers or participate in class.
Some signs include:
Children with selective mutism have a hard time speaking in some places, like at school. Their anxiety goes beyond typical shyness. Kids with SM can’t speak even when they badly want to.
Some signs include:
Children with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) worry about lots of everyday things. Kids with GAD are often particularly worried about how they are doing in school.
Some signs include:
Children with panic disorder have a history of panic attacks. Panic attacks are a scary and very sudden surge of symptoms that can make kids worry they are dying or “going crazy.”
Some signs include:
Children with OCD experience unwanted thoughts, worries or impulses called obsessions. They often also develop repetitive actions — called compulsions — to calm the anxiety caused by their obsessions.
Some signs include:
Children with specific phobia have extreme fears about a particular thing. These things aren’t typically considered dangerous but seem very scary to the child.
There are five common kinds:
Some of the kinds of anxiety that children may be diagnosed with include generalized anxiety, separation anxiety, social anxiety, selective mutism, panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and specific phobias.
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Social anxiety disorder