Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Kids

Most kinds of anxiety in children are about something specific — being left alone, speaking in public, vomiting, or germs. But kids with generalized anxiety disorder, or GAD, worry about things in general: “What if we run out of gas? What if my mom loses her job? What if I get a bad grade?” They tend to fixate on worst-case scenarios and agonize over relatively ordinary situations. And they feel such a strong need to be perfect that they worry excessively that they aren’t doing well enough.

This week on childmind.org, we explore what GAD looks like in children and teenagers, as well as treatment alternatives and steps parents can take to help kids overcome it. We also round up other resources on different ways anxiety can manifest in kids, such as worrying about being sick when they’re not and panic attacks.