Anxiety
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Support for children and young people that find going to school difficult because of worries, anxiety or other needs.
This information is to help parent carers understand the different levels of support available for children and young people that may be at risk of Emotional Based School Avoidance (EBSA) within Southend-on-Sea.
Anxiety
It is normal to sometimes feel anxious. Anxiety is a normal response that everyone has from time-to-time. It is usually in relation to a difficult situation. It becomes a problem when the difficult situation passes, but the anxiety remains or gets worse. Anxiety can be described as a feeling of fear or unease. When people are anxious it can affect how they behave, and they may have uncomfortable physical sensations like:
- shortness of breath
- palpitations
- hot flushes
- feeling sick
- headaches
- needing the toilet more
- stomach pain
- tightness in the chest
- trouble concentrating
- trouble sleeping
What causes anxiety?
Anxiety can be caused by many different situations and experiences. How it affects people is personal to them and everyone's anxiety levels are different. Possible contributors include:
- our relationships with others
- what is around us (our environment)
- things that happen to us
- our temperament
It is perfectly normal for children and young people to sometimes feel anxious. It is a natural reaction to some situations, but can become a problem it if starts to affect their day-to-day life.
Signs of anxiety in children and young people
Sometimes children and young people will hide or ‘mask’ their anxiety. They may present differently at school and at home. They may:
- say they feel nervous or frightened
- have a low appetite
- find it hard to concentrate
- struggle to get to sleep, leaving them feeling tired and irritable
- complain of feeling sick or have diarrhoea
New patterns of behaviour may emerge, like not wanting to socialise, when this was something they used to enjoy. Anxiety also affects how people behave. They may avoid doing things they want to do because they are worried about how it will turn out. Although short instances of anxiety are part of daily life, it becomes challenging when anxiety begins to follow people around and is a regular feature in their life.
Talking about anxiety
The aim is not to get rid of all anxiety but to reduce it to manageable levels. You can start by using these terms to explain what anxiety is:
- Flight - to confront or resist perceived threats. This often results in being more defensive or agitated
- Fight - the instinct to avoid or escape situations that feel overwhelming or threatening
- Freeze - feeling unable to move, take action or make decisions when experiencing perceived danger or overwhelming stress