Identifying symptoms of anxiety early may be crucial in helping your students as childhood and adolescence is the time of onset for many anxiety disorders (Headley & Campbell, 2013). Anxiety is often represented in a particular way. In movies and TV the 'anxious' student is usually the shy kid, off to the side playing by themselves. While this stereotype does highlight some very real symptoms of anxiety in children, in reality, the symptoms of anxiety are much broader and highly nuanced. This can make anxiety hard to spot, or easily misdiagnosed.
If you believe you have identified some symptoms of anxiety in one of your students, the most important thing to do is make contact with the parents if safe to do so. Also, you may need to provide some extra information about anxiety and support to the parents of the child. A poll by the Royal Melbourne Children's Hospital (Rhodes, 2017) found "a quarter of parents did not know that frequent physical complaints, such as headaches and tummy aches, can be a sign of a mental health problem in children" and "only a third (35%) of Australian parents are confident they could recognise the signs of a mental health problem in their child." This shows us that one of the best ways to help our students, may be to help our parents first. It may be a good idea to send out a flyer or hold an information evening for parents' if mental health issues are particularly prevalent in your school.
Symptoms
Some symptoms to look out for are:
Avoidance of situations such as: making friends / coming to school / participating in class
Sudden emotional change - becoming withdrawn / gets upset easily / frequent crying
Inattention - finding it hard to concentrate
Complaints of physical pain - stress headaches / feelings of nausea
Increased pace of breathing
shaking / restlessness / fidgeting and unable to stop
Aggression / fighting / meltdowns
Attachment issues - clingy / requests help frequently or will not attempt tasks on their own
Perfectionism and low self esteem
(Rhodes, 2017)
Gender Differences
It is important to note, gender has been found to have a major influence on the prevalence of anxiety disorders, where girls are around twice as likely to experience anxiety compared to boys. The symptoms of anxiety can also be quite different. Females experience symptoms to a greater degree, and are more susceptible to emotional stress and negative ruminating behaviours (Maeng & Milad, 2015). While there is limited research in the area, there are many anecdotal reports which suggest males are more likely to express symptoms such as anger and aggression, as well as reduced concentration when in a state of stress.
References:
Headley, C., & Campbell, M. (2013). Teachers’ Knowledge of Anxiety and Identification of Excessive Anxiety in Children. Australian Journal of Teacher Education, 38(5). https://doi.org/10.14221/ajte.2013v38n5.2
Maeng, L. Y., & Milad, M. R. (2015). Sex differences in anxiety disorders: Interactions between fear, stress, and gonadal hormones. Hormones and Behavior, 76, 106–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2015.04.002
Rhodes, A. (2017). Child mental health problems: Can parents spot the signs? In RCH National Child Health Poll. Royal Children’s Hospital. https://www.rchpoll.org.au/polls/child-mental-health-problemscan-parents-spot-the-signs/
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