This question is, “How do I know if my child's anxiety is normal childhood fears, or a more serious form?”
I would want the child to speak about their fears.
It’s very common—social anxiety, being afraid of going to school, being afraid of being bullied, being afraid of making a mistake.
We have generalized anxiety disorder, and we also have social anxiety, which means having anxiety in social situations.
Then, a little more extensive, we have obsessive-compulsive forms of anxiety, where I’m obsessing about things.
We also recognize that anxiety can physiologically manifest through a panic attack.
Anxiety can also be more of a fear or phobia—being afraid of spiders, of school, or of other specific experiences.
We want to pause and understand how the anxiety is manifesting itself, and whether it’s limiting their behavior or not.
For example, apprehension to go to school is very common—but are they still going?
One thing we know about fear is that as you face it and go through it, you’re much less likely to let it control you.
Facing the fear is a concept we want to teach our children—so they aren’t debilitated or limited by their fears.
