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Children and panic attacks
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Children quite often suffer from various panic attacks. However, the problem is that they do not have enough skills to communicate their experiences. That is why their parents have to learn the problem in order to support their children and to help them in overcoming panic attacks.
Most parents mistakenly think that childhood is a wonderful period of life when their children feel comfort and are absolutely happy. They are protected by their families, homes and even schools. It is hardly the today’s reality.
Modern children get a great pressure from their early ages. They are convinced to be more communicative, smarter, thinner, more competitive and more athletic. If they do not suit all the above requirements they can be ridiculed by other children and get the criticism from the side of the adults.
Sometimes divorce of the parents and sibling rivalries become great problems for children. You will be surprised, but the financial troubles of the family touch your children greatly. If the level of stress and anxiety is very high in children, they become suffering from different panic attacks, which sometimes are very severe.
The researches showed that about 12 % of 9-graders at least once have experienced various panic attacks. After all, about 20 % of adults who suffer from panic disorders had their first one before the age of ten. That is why it is highly important to recognize the panic attacks in the childhood in order to determine the source of them and try to eradicate them.
Unfortunately, not all the children have the ability to determine their panic attacks verbally. Even if they do, they are often embarrassed and even fear to speak about the problem. Moreover, some parents do not recognize panic disorder in their children, making the situation just worse. So, what should we do to identify panic attacks in children?
First of all, we should notice the following symptoms: short breathing, elevated heart rate, suffocation feeling, dizziness, trembling, nausea, fear of death and feeling of doom.
You also should take notice of the following signs of panic attacks: unreasonable sadness, irritation, violence, changes in sleeping habits, mood shifts, loss or increase of appetite.
There are a great number of panic attacks among children, which happen in the classroom. In such a situation children feel miserable and hopeless. The simple worry at school can make children lose control; in the result, anxiety becomes so high that it leads to the unexpected panic attacks. Anyway, if the situation does not develop panic attacks, children’s fears distract them from learning and they get bad marks and misunderstanding with teachers and classmates.
In the severe cases of panic attacks, children even try to avoid school and communication. But if they miss classes they become delayed in the development. That is why the problem should be solved as soon as possible.