Teen Anxiety - Info, Types, Symptoms

What are the types and symptoms of teen anxiety? These issues are discussed here.

Adults diagnosed with anxiety disorders often have symptoms long before they seek help. However, during the teen years, life can be so hectic that symptoms of anxiety are overlooked or written off as "teenage angst" or something of the sort.

It is important that parents and teens realize that anxiety disorders can occur in teens, and learn the symptoms so that they can be recognized and treated as early as possible.

As with adult anxiety disorders, anxiety disorders during the teenage years are marked by a sense of worry, nervousness and concern that is irrational and excessive. For example, teenagers may constantly be worried about social interactions, terrorism / wars, or they may fear for their parents' lives when in their absence.

As academic pressure increases in high schools everywhere, school has also become an increasing source of overwhelming teen anxiety. Because a certain degree of anxiety is beneficial and causes us to become more alert and active, it can be difficult for teens or their parents to perceive how much teen anxiety is too much.

Knowing the most common anxiety disorders can make the recognition of teen anxiety far easier. According to kidshealth.org, some common anxiety disorders include:

• Generalized anxiety - With this common anxiety disorder, a person worries excessively about many things. Someone with generalized anxiety may worry excessively about school, the health or safety of family members, and the future. They may always think of the worst that could happen.

  Along with the worry and dread, people with generalized anxiety have physical symptoms, such as chest pain, headache, tiredness, tight muscles, stomachaches, or vomiting. Generalized teen anxiety can lead a person to miss school or avoid social activities. With generalized anxiety, worries can feel like a burden, making life feel overwhelming or out of control.
  
  

• Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) - For a person with OCD, anxiety takes the form of obsessions (bad thoughts) and compulsions (actions that try to relieve anxiety).
  
  
• Phobias - These are intense fears of specific situations or things that are not actually dangerous, such as heights, dogs, or flying in an airplane. Phobias usually cause people to avoid the things they are afraid of.
  
  
• Social phobia (social anxiety) - This intense anxiety is triggered by social situations or speaking in front of others. An extreme form called selective mutism causes some kids and teens to be too fearful to talk at all in certain situations.
  
  
• Panic attacks - These episodes of teen anxiety can occur for no apparent reason. With a panic attack, a person has sudden and intense physical symptoms that can include a pounding heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, numbness, or tingling feelings caused by over-activity of the body's normal fear response. Agoraphobia is an intense fear of panic attacks that causes a person to avoid going anywhere a panic attack could possibly occur.
  
  
• Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) - This type of anxiety disorder results from a traumatic or terrifying past experience. Symptoms include flashbacks, nightmares, or constant fear after the fact.

Individuals dealing with anxiety often experience episodes of heightened anxiousness. These episodes are likely to include both physiological and psychological symptoms. Some physical symptoms to be aware of include a racing heartbeat, breathing difficulties, shaking, sweating, chills, chest pains, or tingling.

Psychologically, someone may experience a full panic attack and its accompanying complete sense of panic. Other symptoms of very high anxiety are an intense sense of terror, lightheadedness, fear, fright, feelings of dread, and / or feeling unable to focus.

Much like adults, it is imperative that teens be familiarized with the extensive treatments available for people suffering from excessive anxiety and anxiety disorders. It is not necessary to suffer from the symptoms of one of the disorders mentioned above, and it is the duty of parents and other adults to be sensitive to symptoms of these issues in teens. Teenagers should be treated as soon as symptoms of teen anxiety emerge, to avoid a worse manifestation of their anxiety during adulthood.

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