Helping Students Through Anxiety
Guest Writer: Piper McIntosh
How to Recognize Anxiety
Children get anxious from time to time – it’s only normal. They may become nervous before presenting in front of the class, for example, be it right before the presentation or even beginning the night before. Sometimes they can become anxious even for activities like lunch and recess. Luckily, there are specific signs that tend to pop up even at a young age that signal an anxiety disorder might be developing. As a professional, it is important to be able to recognize when a student has anxiety so that you may treat them the proper way and potentially help them to grow as a person.
Common Signs of Anxiety in Children
When a child has anxiety, they may express this in a few different ways. They may avoid others and end up isolating themselves, for example, and become overwhelmed in large groups of people. It may be hard for them to focus. The child may also express their anxiety in ways such as frequent crying, tantrums, and general restlessness. It is important to recognize the differences between shyness and social anxiety, as an aside, because not every child without plenty of friends is anxious or unhappy. Children who are shy simply keep to themselves. Those with social anxiety become anxious when they must talk to people.
Signs of anxiety may also depend on age. For instance, most one-year-old babies will cry often, however, it is unusual for a twelve-year-old to show the same behaviors. Pay close attention to how children interact CONTINUE READING: Helping Students Through Anxiety - Teacher Habits