Anxiety disorders in children can be very difficult for parents and teachers to recognize. It is not always easy for a child to articulate how he or she is feeling, so adults may not understand the reason for the girl or boy’s distress.
Children and teens can be affected by Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), panic disorder, and other anxiety conditions that are more commonly found in adults.
One girl, now a teenager, recalls how high anxiety hurt her as a child. She felt worried about how her peers would judge her, she felt physically unwell, and she eventually became too anxious to attend school.
Her mother felt emotionally overwhelmed and deeply worried.
Recently the girl was praised in an article for CTV (a Canadian broadcast company). Rather than being defeated by her anxiety, she is spreading a message of hope.
The young lady has learned to cope with her anxiety in a healthy way. She now attends school regularly where she has formed good relationships.
She has also written a book for children with anxiety problems. The book explains what anxiety feels like in a way children can understand. Through the book, the writer tells children that it is okay to feel anxious and that they can deal with their feelings better by sharing them with someone they trust.
The book, which the young woman has been brave enough to read in front of an audience of children, will be made available in schools throughout Ottawa, Canada.
If you want to read CTV’s article about the young woman’s triumph, visit the link below.
http://ottawa.ctvnews.ca/ottawa-teen-with-anxiety-pens-children-s-book-1.1334684
Photo Credit: JohnONolan via Compfight cc
