Anxiety Problems & Disorders (with treatment options for each)   Agoraphobia   Generalized Anxiety   Obsessions & Compulsions   Panic   Posttraumatic Stress   Separation Anxiety   Social Phobia   Specific Phobia

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is a negative emotion that involves feeling nervous, scared, afraid, or worried. Usually we feel anxious when we think something bad is about to happen.

When Does Anxiety Become a Problem?

Although everyone experiences anxiety, some people begin to feel anxious and/or worried so much that it makes them feel really uncomfortable and starts to disrupt their lives. Clinically significant anxiety (i.e., anxiety needing clinical attention) among children and adolescents can be described as an extreme response to a situation or event that a young person perceives as threatening and is out of proportion to the actual danger. This anxious response frequently includes thoughts of impending harm or danger, heightened arousal such as increased heart rate and rapid breathing, and often the avoidance of situations or events that cause discomfort. The experience of a child or adolescent suffering from clinically significant anxiety can lead to considerable distress and interference with his/her daily activities at school, at home, or with his/her peers. While deciding whether or not your child needs help with anxiety, it is important to interpret your child's behavior in light of his/her developmental level. In other words, is your child's anxiety response more severe, more intense, or longer lasting than would be age-appropriate?

Source: Silverman, W. K., Pina, A. A., & Viswesvaran, Chockalingam (2008). Evidence-based psychosocial treatments for phobic and anxiety disorders in children and adolescents: A review and meta-analyses. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 37, 105-130.